A user asks Hangzhou Xiaodong for directions. [Photo/WeChat account: hzdzsn]

Hangzhou East Railway Station has launched the trial run of Hang Xiaodong, China's first AI assistant for transport hubs powered by the BeiDou-based indoor positioning system.

With a precision of up to 0.5 meters, the system helps solve navigation pain points in one of China's busiest rail stations, which sees roughly 400,000 passengers daily.

Accessible via Alipay or QR codes in the station, Hang Xiaodong offers real-time guidance to taxi pickup points, restrooms, luggage storage, and more. Users can ask questions via voice or text and receive detailed answers, queue status, and walking directions. It even provides smart routing based on live passenger flow.

Developed by the station authority, Canqoon Technology, and Alipay, the system combines AI voice interaction, big data, DeepSeek's language model, and indoor navigation. Future upgrades will include personalized guidance robots and seamless indoor-outdoor navigation, aiming to build a fully intelligent travel ecosystem.

A passenger scans the QR code to access Hangzhou Xiaodong. [Photo/WeChat account: hzdzsn]