China is Now Using the World’s Most Hated Verification System to Buy Train Tickets

If you thought websites making you type in indecipherable phrases through their CAPTCHA tests was frustrating, you’re lucky you’re not a China Railway ticket buyer.

The national railway operator of the People’s Republic of China is employing a new verification system for booking tickets on its website that has stumped its users, reports the South China Morning Post.

Potential ticket buyers on the site are required to correctly match one of eight total images with a presented word after logging in. However, netizens on Chinese social media are complaining that the task is confusing and ridiculous.

One example: Which one of the photos below is of a “roasted duck”? (choose all)

Another example shows how users are often given multiple words: which of the photos below show a salad or a sleeping bag? (There is only one correct answer.)

China Railway recently adopted the verification system in order to stop scalpers from purchasing tickets and reselling them at higher prices.

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