China’s immigration authorities are forecasting cross-border travel during the Lunar New Year holiday to rebound to pre-pandemic levels, with the number of such trips increasing threefold compared to the same travel period last year. The travel surge is expected despite what forecasters called “complex” winter weather over the holiday.
The National Immigration Administration (NIA) predicted that an average of 1.8 million inbound and outbound trips will be made in China during the eight-day holiday period starting on Saturday – a day longer than last year’s holiday.
Major international airports were expected to experience peak passenger flows from Thursday through Sunday, as well as during the closing weekend. Shanghai will see a total daily average of 830,000 arrivals and departures at Pudong Airport, while Guangzhou’s Baiyun airport is predicted to have 390,000 transits, and Beijing Capital airport with 360,000 each day.
The country’s weather administration has warned that transport could be impacted by “complex” winter weather across the country, including in snowstorm-prone northern China and the northeastern provinces of Jilin and Liaoning, and the far western Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, which were hit by a blizzard last week.
Blizzards and extreme weather could disrupt China’s Lunar New Year travel
Blizzards and extreme weather could disrupt China’s Lunar New Year travel
In southern regions, the Greater Bay Area will also see a travel surge on land, with the Gongbei Port between Zhuhai and Macau expecting about 305,000 daily transits, and Luohu Port – the busiest border checkpoint for people passing between Hong Kong and Shenzhen – expecting 198,000 daily passengers. The neighbouring Futian port was expected to see 157,000 passengers daily.
More Chinese expected to travel abroad for Lunar New Year
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. Also known as chun yun, during the season, hundreds of millions of Chinese return home or journey overseas to celebrate the Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival.
On the first day of the travel season, 189 million passenger trips were recorded, a rise of almost 20 per cent over the same period last year, according to a report from state news agency Xinhua.
Observers said that post-pandemic enthusiasm, as well as the extended holiday, have prompted the surge in trips. This time last year, China had just emerged from its years-long zero-Covid policy, with travel sentiment only starting to recover.
China and Singapore’s agreement will take effect on Friday, on the eve of the Spring Festival, allowing citizens from both sides to visit the other 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
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, a poll conducted by state-owned newspaper Global Times has found, with Russia, Japan and New Zealand also among the most popular countries.
The NIA said it had taken measures to cope with the travel surge, including having “sufficient personnel” deployed to keep wait times at customs checkpoints under 30 minutes, extend customs clearance hours, provide passenger assistance and provide traffic support during peak hours.