Ticket scalpers vanishing from train stations

Ticket scalpers, once the scourge of Spring Festival train travelers, have seen their profits derailed by online booking services and the rapid expansion in high-speed rail.

For years, Manniu, who would give only his nickname, used to hide from police at a railway station in Jiangxi province to resell tickets. He has now switched to selling cakes to commuters instead.

"No matter what I do, I can earn more money than by scalping," he said. "Plus, it's not so easy to scalp tickets anymore."