Tourists visiting China will be fingerprinted. China's Ministry of Public Security announced that China will collect fingerprints of international travelers visiting the country. It will apply to people between the ages of 14 and 70.
Foreigners holding a diplomatic passport or coming from countries that have reciprocal agreements with China will be exempted, the ministry said.
Fingerprint logging will start Friday in Shenzhen, the southern Chinese city bordering Hong Kong, before being gradually implemented elsewhere.
Chinese authorities counted more than 76 million entries and exits last year from foreigners, primarily from South Korea, Japan, the United States and Russia.
The ministry said in a statement that the new requirement was "an important measure to strengthen entry and exit management" that matches requirements in other countries.
