China sees big increase in entry, exit trips

12-02-23

Chinese tourists interact with Maasai performers at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya, Feb 11, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]

Nearly 40 million entries and exits to and from the Chinese mainland were made in the past two months since China downgraded its COVID-19 management from Class A to Class B on Jan 8, as a number of countries are expected to relax their epidemic restrictions for travelers from China.

The National Immigration Administration said on Wednesday that the numbers of people and vehicles entering and leaving the mainland increased significantly since the implementation of the optimized COVID-19 response measures.

As of Tuesday, immigration authorities across the country had handled 39.72 million entry and exit trips, up 112.4 percent year-on-year, and the number of inbound and outbound vehicles, boats, planes and trains totaled nearly 2.5 million, up 59.3 percent year-on-year.

The authorities issued about 3.36 million passports to Chinese citizens in the past two months, more than 13 times the number issued in the preceding two-month period before the optimized COVID-19 measures took effect. In addition, 12.67 million certificates were issued for travel to and from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, an increase of 837.7 percent, and 122,000 visas and residence permits were issued to foreigners, up 33.1 percent.