Facial recognition clears a passenger for the subway in Harbin, Heilongjiang province, on Wednesday. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Starting Wednesday, passengers in Harbin, Heilongjiang province were able to use facial recognition to board a subway and pay the fare, even without removing their masks, Harbin Metro Group reported.

The technology has been installed at all 27 stations of Harbin's Line 1 and Line 3 subways, making the city the first in China to introduce facial recognition technology that works even for people who wear masks.

After downloading the application — called Zhihuixing — to a mobile phone and registering personal information and completing the online registration with facial recognition authentication, passengers can experience new convenience and speed in entering and exiting stations.

The technology can help passengers avoid direct contact with tickets, bank notes and mobile phones, which can carry coronavirus, and will effectively reduce the risk of cross-infection during the epidemic.

  Passengers's faces are scanned before taking the subway in Harbin, Heilongjiang province, on Wednesday. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]