Pilot check facilities have been installed at the two stations around Tian'anmen square as part of the Beijing Municipal Government's plans to strengthen the city's subway security system. [File Photo: China.org.cn]

A woman has been detained by the Beijing police for attempting to carry guns onto the subway, according to a report by the Beijing News.

The incident happened at the Gongzhufen Station on Line 1 of the Beijing subway last Thursday, when guns were discovered in a suitcase carried by the woman at the security check as she entered the station.

After detecting the guns through the X-ray machine and to avoid panic, a security staff secretly told other staff members to control passenger flow, while they called the police for help.

The police discovered that the guns taken by the woman were actual firearms, and she also had in her possession 50 bullets.

The woman later was detained by the police, and the case is still under investigation.

This is the first time that real guns have been seized since security checks began on the Beijing subway in 2008, the report adds.

Since 2008, a total of 940,000 illegal items including knives, explosives and other military equipment has been seized by security staff, while 47,000 people have been transferred to the police for further investigation, according to the Beijing Subway Corporation.