The government service centers in Xi'an – capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi province – have launched a weekend service since Oct 15, to meet the needs of employees who previously had to ask for leave from work to handle their personal affairs.

Citizens handle their personal business in the government service center in the Xi'an High-tech Industries Development Zone. [Photo/Xi'an Daily]

Before the launch of the weekend service, government service departments at all levels in the city sorted out a list of the types of services that would initially be covered.

For some affairs that can be done online and nearby, citizens can handle it through the Xi'an government service network or at the nearest self-service machine.

For things that really need to be done in person, citizens now only need to go to the special area for the weekend service at the nearest government service center, where they can handle those matters on-site.

So far, the municipal government service center has launched a first batch of 51 government service items, involving a large amount of handling and high frequency of handling, for the weekend service.

In the first weekend following the launch of the service, the government service centers at all levels handled 763 cases and provided 230 consultations, and the service was warmly received by the public.