Having broken the cardinal rule that is not to leave Jiangsu quite a few times of late, this correspondent feels the time is right for an update from the field as regards foreigners and their train tickets. And there is good news indeed.
最近多次违反“不出江苏”的基本规定，记者觉得现在是时候从现场了解外国人及其火车票的最新情况了。确实有好消息。
Once upon a time, pre epidemic, it was possible for foreigners to make online purchase of tickets for travel on trains in China. But there still necessitated a trip to the railway station to pick up the ticket(s). That’s all changed, and for the better.
曾几何时，疫情爆发前，外国人可以在中国网上购买火车票。但仍然需要去火车站取票。这一切都改变了，而且变得更好了。
Today, those tickets can still be bought online using an app such as Alipay. However, foreigners need to be first registered in the ticket booking system. This can be done in person at a railway station ticketing booth or online using the official China Railways app, 12306. After that, say good bye to those ticketing-queue blues.
如今，这些门票仍然可以使用支付宝等应用程序在线购买。不过，外国人需要先在订票系统进行登记。您可以亲自到火车站售票亭办理，也可以使用中国铁路官方应用程序 12306 在线办理。之后，告别排队购票的烦恼。
Upon entry to the station, presenting your passport is now normally all that is required. It is possible that staff may also ask for your ticket information, in which case a screenshot of the purchase will suffice.
进入车站后，通常只需出示护照即可。工作人员也可能会询问您的门票信息，在这种情况下，购买的屏幕截图就足够了。
Then come the passport readers. Mainland Chinese nationals have for some time been able to use facial recognition to pass through the turnstiles and access the station platform. That time-saving technology has now been joined by passport readers, usually located to the side of the turnstiles.
然后是护照阅读器。一段时间以来，中国大陆公民已经能够使用面部识别通过闸机并进入车站月台。现在，护照阅读器也加入了这种节省时间的技术，通常位于十字转门的一侧。
At Nanjing South Railway Station however, each and every turnstile has a passport reader installed. In the event that your passport is not recognised, as was the case on occasion for this correspondent, staff will complete the check manually.
而在南京南站，每个闸机都安装了护照阅读器。如果您的护照无法被识别（正如本记者偶尔遇到的情况），工作人员将手动完成检查。
In addition to passports, the readers are also able to recognise QR codes and other kinds of identity documents, such as Hong Kong ID cards. Chinese nationals unable to use the facial recognition system may also scan their ID cards using the readers which began being rolled out last year.
除了护照之外，阅读器还可以识别二维码和其他类型的身份证明文件，例如香港身份证。无法使用面部识别系统的中国公民也可以使用去年开始推出的读卡器扫描身份证。
To date, over the last couple of months The Nanjinger has test driven the ticketless foreigner concept at a multitude of stations across the Yangtze River Delta, in addition to Anhui Province and Shanghai Municipality.
迄今为止，在过去的几个月里，除了安徽省和上海市外，《南京人》还在长三角地区的多个车站试行了外国人无票概念。
While much added convenience is afforded by these latest developments, there remains a snag. For those lucky enough to be traveling on business and able to put the cost of the ticket down as expenses, there is no escape. Get back to the ticket office, to once again queue for that blue piece of card required by those paper-clip counting Chinese accountants.
虽然这些最新的发展提供了更多的便利，但仍然存在一个障碍。对于那些有幸出差并能够将机票费用作为开支的人来说，这是无可避免的。回到售票处，再次排队领取那些用回形针计数的中国会计师所需要的那张蓝色卡片。
Oh, and there’s another snag to train travel in post-epidemic China; increased vigilance on the part of security officers. At Chizhou Railway Station in Anhui Province, The Nanjinger had its hairspray confiscated. The cheek of it. Should have did as we were told and stayed home.
哦，疫情后的中国火车旅行还有另一个障碍：保安人员提高了警惕。在安徽池州火车站，《南京人》的发胶被没收。它的脸颊。应该按照我们所说的去做并呆在家里。
