A library in Pingtan county has launched a train ticket booking service for migrant workers ahead of the Spring Festival.

The Chinese New Year falls on Jan 31, and Dec 23 marked the first day that presale tickets are available online for temporary trains operating during the festival.

Many migrant workers do not have access to the Internet and so the library decided to make 25 computers available – and they can be used for ticket booking.

The library staff also visited various construction sites on Dec 23 to tell migrant workers about the free service.

About 1,200 migrants - including many from Guizhou, Sichuan and Hunan – are working at the construction site of an affordable housing project in Aoqian town, and a manager said that many were only able to get tickets as they booked them online in the library.

One migrant worker, Liang Guanglian, said he was surprised to hear about the library's initiative and that he planned to go to Fuzhou to buy train tickets to return to his hometown.

Wu Yu, from Yunnan, said he had never bought train tickets online, and that he was happy that someone helped him with the process this year.

The library staff told the migrant workers to bring their identity cards if they wish to book tickets.

If the workers do not have time to go to the library or do not have e-Banking accounts, they can give their ID number and ticket information – including departure and return dates and the destination - to their construction company which will contact the library.

In addition, the library said that the first fifty workers who use this service will receive a free library card, a book, and also a set of Spring Festival scrolls and a small present.

Edited by Chen Zhilin and Niva Whyman