Video:GT

China's central bank-backed digital yuan has become an eye-catching attraction at the ongoing China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) in Beijing, with visitors queuing up to experience the currency's trial functions.

Bank of China brought a foreign currency-digital yuan converting machine, digital yuan transportation cards , and automatic vending machines and coffee machines that support the digital yuan, as well as digital yuan wallets in different shapes.

"Each day we have about 2,000 visitors coming to try out  digital yuan functions," a staffer from Bank of China told the Global Times on Monday.

At a booth in the China National Convention Center, the main site of the CIFTIS, staffers from the Bank of China showed the Global Times how foreign currency can be exchanged into digital yuan and saved in a digital wallet.

People can use their Chinese ID card or passport to convert 17 major foreign currencies into digital yuan on an ATM-like machine without having to register for a bankcard, the staffer said.

Users just need to insert a banknote, input information from their ID card or passport, and undergo facial recognition. Foreign currency will then be exchanged using a live exchange rate and conserved in a digital wallet. The card-like wallet has a display window at the top right corner and can showcase the remaining value and the sum after each transaction.

"This application was designed for the convenience of foreign visitors and athletes traveling to China during the Winter Olympics, who may not have Chinese bank accounts," the staffer said.

In addition, audiences at the CIFTIS can also use digital payment to buy coffee and drinks, unlock bikes and pay traffic fees at the site.

Other vendors such as the Yuanmingyuan garden, Beijing one-card pass and Winter Olympics franchise stores, have also set up their branches on the spot, allowing users to experience the function of digital yuan wallet.

"The most popular application scenario is an automatic coffee machine, which has attracted nearly 500 visitors to try the function," a staffer told the Global Times.

The Global Times saw that many of the visitors had opened digital yuan services at the site, including some senior citizens.

"The installation of a digital wallet can be completed on-site within two minutes. We have provided digital wallets in various forms, which are convenient for senior citizens who are not very familiar with the smart phone payment. Many visitors said the digital yuan is convenient to use," the staffer said.