A growing number of hotels in Hangzhou have been turning to digital technology to expedite the check-in process for guests since the city proposed the goal of the "30-second check in" last year.

According to statistics released by the Hangzhou culture and tourism development center, 551 star-rated hotels in Hangzhou have adopted digital technology to achieve this goal. This has in turn benefited over 5.4 million tourists.

"More and more guests are getting accustomed to checking in using the self-service terminal," said Xu Dongmei, manager of the Hubin Pedestrian Street branch of All Seasons, the city's first hotel to introduce the practice.

The digital system is part of the Hangzhou City Brain, a smart city platform that aims to improve urban management through the use of big data, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence, among other cutting-edge technologies.

The system, which is connected to public security authorities, is designed to address the problem of long queues during the check-in process. With this system, guests only need around 30 seconds to complete the check-in process by having their identification cards scanned by the computer.

The system has been especially useful during the pandemic as it reduces person-to-person contact.