Lunar New Year: China tips cross-border travel to hit pre-pandemic levels

Immigration authorities say 1.8 million trips will be made in and out of the mainland each day, triple last year’s levels
Busy travel season comes as harsh winter weather lashes parts of the country

China's border reopening

Cyril Ip

Published: 5:59pm, 5 Feb 2024

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Lunar New Year travel in and out of mainland China is projected to rebound to pre-pandemic levels, with the number of trips expected to triple compared to last year, according to immigration authorities.

The travel surge is expected despite what forecasters say will be “complex” winter weather over the holiday.

The National Immigration Administration (NIA) said on Monday it expected an average of 1.8 million inbound and outbound trips a day during the eight-day holiday period starting on Saturday.

Passenger flows at international airports are expected to peak from Thursday to Sunday, as well as during the closing weekend.

Shanghai Pudong International Airport is expecting an average of 830,000 arrivals and departures a day, while Guangzhou’s Baiyun airport is predicted to have 390,000, and Beijing Capital International Airport 360,000.

This year’s holiday period is a day longer than last year.

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Lunar New Year rush under way in China with more travel overseas and to major domestic cities

The China Meteorological Administration has warned that transport could be affected by “complex” winter weather across the country, including in snowstorm-prone northern China, and the northeastern provinces of Jilin and Liaoning, and Xinjiang in the west – all of which were hit by a blizzard last week.

It also last week issued an orange alert for freezing rain – the second-highest warning in its three-tier system – which remained in effect over the weekend for central and eastern parts of the country.

In the south, more than 300,000 people are expected to pass each day through the Gongbei Port between Zhuhai and Macau, while Luohu Port – the busiest border checkpoint for people travelling between Hong Kong and Shenzhen – is expecting 198,000 daily passengers. Neighbouring Futian Port is preparing for 157,000 people daily.

Residents and tourists from Hong Kong and the mainland were expected to make a total of 7.5 million trips across the border over the festive period. The Shenzhen Bay border crossing will operate around the clock, while the Lo Wu checkpoint on the Hong Kong side will extend its operating hours.

More Chinese expected to travel abroad for Lunar New Year

The official holiday falls in the middle of a 40-day festive travel period, which this year began on January 26 and ends on March 5. During the period known as chun yun, or Spring Festival, hundreds of millions of Chinese return home or journey overseas.

On the first day of the travel season, domestic passengers made 189 million trips, a rise of almost 20 per cent over the same period last year, according to state news agency Xinhua.

Observers said the increase in travel was being driven by post-pandemic enthusiasm, as well as the extended holiday. This time last year, China had just emerged from its years-long zero-Covid policy, with travel sentiment only starting to recover.

Beijing has also signed mutual visa exemption agreements with 23 countries, including popular warmer hubs Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, as well as France, Germany and Italy.

An agreement between China and Singapore will take effect on Friday, allowing citizens from both sides to make trips for tourism, family visits, and business or other private matters, and stay up to 30 days without a visa.

Vendors at Hong Kong’s largest Lunar New Year fair optimistic over festive sales

The Maldives, Thailand and Singapore have been the top overseas destinations for Chinese tourists this year, according to a poll conducted by state-owned newspaper Global Times. Russia, Japan and New Zealand were also among the most popular countries.

The NIA said it had taken measures to cope with the travel surge, including deploying “sufficient personnel” to keep wait times at customs checkpoints to under 30 minutes, extending customs clearance hours, offering passenger help and providing traffic support during peak hours.