14122829.jpg (Photo : Women Images)
China's annual Spring Festival celebration received an auspicious boost on Saturday, in which an expression of generosity from Beijing university students stood out among the tragic world events that have appeared in the pre-Christmas headlines.
Volunteers assisted at two of the capital city's major railway transportation hubs to provide a more relaxing experience for train-ticket buyers during a typically busy period.
The Beijing university students were armed with the ticket-purchasing app, "rush-ticket-purchasing," and the railway company's official website, 12306.com, while "not-so-digitally-involved" members of the public were their targets.
Divided between Beijing West Railway Station and Beijing South Railway Station, the tech-familiar students kindly offered assistance to their fellow Chinese citizens, who were waiting in line to purchase a train ticket for the upcoming festival according to the traditional way.
By buying their ticket online with the handset app and the help of the volunteers, those in the railway station queues saved valuable time and reduced stress levels. Their gratitude was reported in the media, proving that the initiative was successful for organizer Shen Feifei (not a real name).
The novel idea first came to Shen, who is only a junior student herself, during an online visit that informed her that online tickets, or those reserved by phone, could be secured two days early. With the massive popularity of the Spring Festival, Shen realized the risk that had emerged for the less tech-savvy members of the community who could not utilize the early offer.
However, a testament to the high level of demand was observed by the volunteer students, as explained by the organizer: ". . . the number of student volunteers was not overwhelming, so we were unfortunately unable to help every person who lined up for tickets."
