Under the pilot system, scalpers will just work more closely with rail company insiders. They will find clients and collect ID card information, insiders will provide tickets or confirmation numbers, said Yang.

"Scalpers do not work as individuals, they work in groups. Only those scalpers without connections will line up at ticket booths and buy as many tickets as possible. The more powerful scalpers have insiders working with ticketing companies, as well as regular customers," he said. "The identity-tagged system will just cause a reshuffle. Those with the best connections will expand their business, lower ones will be edged out."

Train tickets can only be purchased in China at stations or through licensed agents within 10 days of the intended travel date, and transport experts warn that huang niu are not the only ones making it difficult for ordinary people to get tickets home at peak travel times.

"Government bodies and large State-owned enterprises can always get their share of railway tickets, even though the number of tickets for ordinary people is very limited," said a Beijing Railway Administration official who did not want to be identified.

Most long queues outside train stations across China comprise of migrant workers, while the most in-demand tickets are for journeys from Shanghai to Sichuan, a major source of the country's migrant workforce, according to Shanghai-based Xinmin Evening News.

"The more disadvantaged some people are in society, the more difficult it is for them to get the precious tickets ahead of Spring Festival," said a manager for China Youth Tourism Service in Beijing who asked to remain anonymous. "When it comes to the competition for such rare resources, I'm afraid it comes down to the law of the jungle. It's every man for himself."