Be prepared to stare into powerful headlights if you drive with your lights on high beam in Shenzhen, southern China.

The city's police announced the "eye for an eye" punishment on Tuesday (Nov 1), state-run news agency Xinhua reported.

Offenders will be made to sit on a special green chair labelled "specialised chair for high beam test" and stare into the blinding headlights for 60 seconds.

They will also be fined 300 yuan (S$61) and made to read out regulations on when headlights can be put on high beam.

A police post on Chinese social media website Weibo showed a photograph of a man sitting on the chair looking straight at the bright lights of a truck while two police officers stood by.

How did people react to the initiative?

Feedback was generally positive from Internet users. Many comments stated that the police have done a good job in punishing those who break traffic rules.

"I feel like I'm seeing the light of God whenever my eyes are flashed by high beam lights of BMWs on traffic lanes," one person commented on Weibo.

Chinese media have previously reported on several accidents where drivers were momentarily unsighted by high beams, leading to deaths.

The usual practice for Chinese police is to dock points on drivers' licenses or fine them up to several hundred yuan for the misuse of headlights.