Train ticket collector’s new dream in E-ticket era

As of now, 26 railway stations in Yunnan have introduced the e-ticketing system that is integrated with the nationwide network. Passengers can quickly enter the station by swiping their ID cards. This has made Sun Kunyu, a train ticket collector, a little upset. He has been collecting train tickets for 30 years, but the advent of e-tickets may spell the end for his hobby.

Sun Kunyu is an employee of the China Railway Kunming Bureau Group Co., Ltd. Influenced by his grandfather and father, both of whom were railway workers, he has developed a deep love for the railway since he was a child.

Sun Kunyu began to collect train tickets when he became a railway worker in 1990. Up until now, he has collected more than 50,000 train tickets of different years and types. He is known among the railway workers of Yunnan as the biggest train ticket collector.

The oldest train ticket in his collection is a handwritten train ticket from 1950, and the newest one is a Kunming to Dali bullet train ticket issued in 2019. He also owns more than 50 rare tickets from the 1950s.

"E-tickets are really convenient and advanced," Sun exclaimed. The 2020 Spring Festival travel rush has already begun. Watching the passengers swiping their ID cards to check in, Sun was amazed as well as sad, wondering if his hobby of collecting train tickets has come to an end.

Some friends suggested that he could still have the e-tickets printed out and collect those, and Sun thought that the suggestion made sense. Now, he spends a lot of time in his study searching information related to train tickets online. He plans to publish a book on train ticket collections and train ticket appreciation, and run a train ticket museum after his retirement.

"The form of train tickets has changed greatly over time, and China's railways will keep developing. Collecting train tickets will continue to happen, in tandem with the development of China's railway," Sun said. (Xinhua; Online photo)