China’s first e-license for senior citizens was issued at Shibadong Village, Shuanglong Town, Huayuan County, on December 10, 2021.

Lady Shi Baya received her e-license on that day. According to the working staff of the Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture Big Data Center, Shi’s e-license had been registered last month, the first in China.

The issuing ceremony started at 10:00 that morning. The auditorium of Shibadong Village was bustled with the locals and guests from Beijing, Jinan, and Changsha. Twenty villager representatives in traditional Miao costumes, including Shi, were granted with signs of their “Chinese e-licenses for senior citizens”.

The e-license for senior citizens is an electronic form of senior citizen card. The registered applicants aged 60 years and above can show their e-licenses on their smart phones. With such e-licenses, they can take bus for free, and enjoy preferential services at scenic areas in China’s first batch of pilot regions, including Xi’an, Jinan, Chengdu, Changsha, and Xiangxi. Public transportation card, senior citizen card, and some other physical licenses are integrated into the e-license to facilitate senior citizens’ trips.

“The e-license is easy to operate. This is a practical practice to solve the digital gap for the elderly,” said Yang Dongshi, a retired teacher in Shibadong Village.

The pilot application of e-license for senior citizens in Xiangxi prefecture is based on the national integrated administrative service platform, said Long Yonghua, director of the Xiangxi Prefecture Big Data Center. It aims to realize cross-regional sharing of such e-license, in a bid to solve difficulties of the elderly in using smart devices and facilitate them to enjoy informatization development.

So far, in Xiangxi prefecture, the e-license related government services are accessible via a single website, and e-license is applicable in public transportation and scenic areas. Meanwhile, Xiangxi has collaborated with other pilot regions to achieve cross-provincial recognition of the e-license.

This article is from Hunan Provincial Government www.enghunan.gov.cn.

Translator: Pang Yuehui

Chinese source: hunan.gov.cn