Zhejiang Province’s first scenic‑area ETC parking lot has begun trial operations.

Not long ago, The “Encountering the Kingdom of Wu and Yue” Lin’an Digital Cultural Tourism Express Line has just been launched. Of course, Lin’an has more surprises in store for visitors. Following closely on its heels, the district has introduced an ETC‑enabled parking system at scenic spots—an innovative initiative that combines the Lin’an cultural tourism platform with the Hanghui Expressway operated by the Provincial Transportation Group, leveraging digital technology to deliver convenient services to travelers.

A provincial first ---The Culture and Tourism Bureau is leading, with three departments jointly launching an ETC-enabled scenic‑area parking system.

Scenic area The ETC contactless payment parking system was jointly planned by the Lin’an District Culture and Tourism Bureau and Hangzhou–Huangshan Expressway Co., Ltd. of the Provincial Transportation Group, with strong support from the provincial ETC management authority. Through close collaboration among the three parties and in accordance with the established schedule, the system has been completed to facilitate its faster integration into the “One Hour More” module of the City Brain’s tourism platform. Recently, the first pilot parking lot accepting ETC payments—the underground car park at Lin’an Wuyue Cultural Park—has officially opened, charging RMB 3 per hour with a 15-minute free‑parking allowance. This initiative represents a provincial first.

ETC system allows vehicles to stop, giving tourists an extra hour of sightseeing.

This year Starting in January, with subsidies funded by the Lin’an District Government, passenger cars with Zhejiang license plates—seven seats or fewer—equipped with ETC will be exempt from tolls on the Hangzhou–Huangshan Expressway between the Hangzhou West (Liujiang) Toll Station, the Qingshan Lake Toll Station, and the Lin’an Toll Station. This policy has not only benefited many residents of Lin’an but has also attracted a significant influx of tourists to the area.

We have now entered the peak summer tourist season in Lin’an. Travelers not only face heavy traffic jams, but also spend considerable time waiting—parking in line upon entering scenic areas, queuing to buy tickets, and lining up for security checks—leaving them with very little time for sightseeing. As a result, on the one hand, excessively long wait times can breed negative feelings among visitors; on the other hand, superficial, hurried experiences make it difficult for tourists to form a lasting impression of Lin’an.

How ETC converts time saved into sightseeing time

Use With the ETC system, parking‑paying visitors have their tolls automatically deducted at the lane, and the parking lot operates unattended. The average transaction time per vehicle has been reduced from 15 seconds under manual payment to just 4 seconds, meaning one ETC lane is equivalent to four manually staffed lanes. This significantly cuts down on the time visitors spend waiting to park and dealing with congestion, enabling faster parking and a more relaxed experience once they step out of their cars to explore.

The deployment of the ETC contactless payment parking system has undoubtedly made parking more convenient for drivers and helped them save time. The pilot project to install ETC contactless payment systems in scenic‑area parking lots was designed with one key consideration: compared with urban parking facilities, scenic‑area lots tend to attract a higher proportion of out‑of‑town motorists. As a nationwide, universally accepted contactless payment solution, ETC will further streamline the entry and exit process for self‑drive travelers, enabling them to spend an extra hour exploring the site. Coupled with the city‑wide contactless payment system, this approach ensures that both local and visiting drivers can enjoy seamless convenience.

This time, we will first establish it at the parking lots of urban scenic areas. Following a stable trial phase, the ETC‑enabled convenient payment parking system will be rolled out to other scenic areas. At the same time, relevant data will be integrated into Hangzhou’s City Brain, where it will be combined with other datasets for big‑data analytics. This will enable more optimized development strategies for the entities operating ETC‑based parking facilities and for the broader Lin’an cultural‑tourism ecosystem, while delivering more precise and tailored services to visitors.

According to reports, as of now, Hangzhou has installed… The number of vehicles equipped with ETC has reached 1.29 million (including freight‑truck payment cards), with 51,439 vehicles in Lin’an, bringing the ETC installation rate to around 60%. Recently, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Transport, together with relevant departments, have jointly formulated the “Implementation Plan for Accelerating the Promotion of Electronic Non‑Stop Toll Collection Services on Expressways” (hereinafter referred to as the “Plan”). The Plan sets a target of exceeding 180 million nationwide ETC users by the end of December this year.