A resident scans her face before taking the lift in Biguiyuan Community, Hangzhou, on May 17. [Photo/thehour.cn]

Mao Changyue, a resident at Biguiyuan Community in Hangzhou, praised the new lift in the building, which utilizes facial recognition technology and checks her information before taking her back to her home on the fifth floor.

"It is no longer strenuous for me to get home as the lift only costs me one yuan ($15.54 cents) per ride," Mao said.

The lift that Mao praised is part of the livelihood project initiated by the local government last year to improve the environment and facilities of old local residential communities.

There are currently 75 lifts in service at Biguiyuan Community, with 39 more expected to be put into operation before the end of the month.

Local residents compared taking the lift to taking a bus as the two have the same price, as well as follow a prepaid and pay-per-ride mode.

The residents should first set up their family account, which includes information on their house numbers and on each of their family members. They will then have their faces scanned and fees automatically deducted from their family account when taking the lift.

Each ride costs one yuan, with the price being the same when several family members take the lift together.

If the lift's facial technology system doesn't recognize any of the faces scanned, it will not work, aiming to prevent people from taking free rides and from allowing non-registered people to enter the building. However, visitors will be allowed in if a person with an account sends them a QR code sent authorizing them to use the lift.