A facial recognition system has been used to catch jaywalkers and expose their faces on screens in northern China.

The bizarre clip, filmed in Taiyuan city in Shanxi province on April 5, shows some peoples' photos and a part of their ID numbers being displayed on a screen after they jaywalked at a crossing on Nan Nei Huan Xi Street.

According to local police, the facial recognition system and the display screen aimed to stop people from crossing the road illegally. The jaywalkers' faces would be displayed on the screen for around one week.

However, the high-tech system caused controversy on privacy concerns.

Reports said both childrens' and adults' faces will be exposed if they jaywalked.

One netizen commented on Weibo: "Are you sure exposing children's faces does not against the Law of the People's Republic of China on the protection of minors? I did not say I against the way, but should it not break the law?"

But another netizen said: "They do not even care about their lives, why do they need to care about their reputation?"

近日，山西太原南内环西街一路口红绿灯下，设置了屏幕曝光闯红灯的行人，其中还有未成年人的照片未打码直接展示在屏幕上。太原交警部门表示，人脸识别是为了警示每个人都不要闯红灯，未成年人和成年人是一样的，只要违法就会被曝光展示一周左右。