Passenger traffic at China's Shenzhen Bay border crossing in Guangdong Province has surged past ten million trips this year, reflecting a dramatic rise in cross-border movement.
According to the Shenzhen General Station of Exit and Entry Frontier Inspection, the Shenzhen Bay port had handled over ten million inbound and outbound passenger trips as of March 20, marking a 27 percent increase compared to the same period last year.
The port, located near Hong Kong International Airport, is a key entry point for travelers arriving in Shenzhen. Since the beginning of this year, Shenzhen Bay border inspection station has processed around 200,000 trips by foreign nationals, with over 27,000 entering visa-free, a year-on-year increase of approximately 170 percent.
Since December 17, 2024, China's National Immigration Administration has extended the visa-free transit period for foreigners to 240 hours or ten days.
According to data from the National Immigration Administration, between December 17, 2024 and March 17, 2025, China's ports saw 8.805 million foreign arrivals, marking a 34.9 percent year-on-year increase.
"It (visa-free policy) is a very good thing. It's easy to immigrate," said Rose Max, a German traveler.
The surge in passenger volume also follows the implementation of new policies designed to facilitate easier travel, including "no-document" clearance, the resumption of "one trip per week" permits between Shenzhen and Hong Kong, and the expansion of "multiple-entry" permits.
The daily peak processing capacity at Shenzhen Bay reached 180,000 passenger trips.
"To ensure efficient and smooth customs clearance, we have developed and applied new inspection equipment such as no-document channels, mobile inspection terminals, and mobile inspection desks. This is to effectively use scientific and technological innovation to accelerate openness and further promote the level of interconnection between Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao," said Huang Zhao, deputy captain of the fourth duty team at Shenzhen Bay border inspection station.
Shenzhen Bay port sees passenger surge, with over 10 mln trips recorded this year
Zhao Leji, chairman of China's National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, held talks with Tomio Okamura, speaker of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic, in Beijing on Thursday.
Noting that this year marks the 10th anniversary of the China-Czech strategic partnership, Zhao, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said China stands ready to work with the Czech side to carry forward traditional friendship, enhance mutual understanding and trust, strengthen exchanges and cooperation, and promote the sound and steady growth of bilateral relations.
Zhao called on both sides to consolidate the political foundation of their ties, sustain the momentum of improvement in bilateral relations, and resume and step up exchanges and interactions at all levels and across all fields.
Both sides should further tap cooperation potential, give full play to the role of mechanisms such as the economic joint committee between China and Czech and the China-Central and Eastern European Countries Expo, explore ways to strengthen cooperation in new energy, electric vehicles and other fields, and support enterprises of the two countries in expanding investment cooperation, Zhao added.
The NPC is ready to enhance friendly exchanges with the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic, carry out mutual learning and exchanges on legislative supervision, economic development, improvement of people's livelihood, formulate, revise and ratify legal documents conducive to bilateral cooperation, and maintain close communication and collaboration within multilateral mechanisms such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Zhao said.
Zhao also said China is willing to work with all countries, including the Czech Republic, to strengthen exchanges and cooperation in the field of artificial intelligence and promote the establishment of a fair and equitable global governance system for AI.
Okamura said the Czech Republic adheres to the one-China policy, adding that it hopes to strengthen tourism cooperation with China and welcome more Chinese tourists to visit the Czech Republic, expand cooperation in areas such as economy and trade, cultural relic exhibitions, and direct flights, and enhance people-to-people exchanges.
The Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic stands ready to strengthen friendly exchanges with China's NPC and enhance the friendship between the two peoples, Okamura added.
China's top legislator holds talks with speaker of Czech Chamber of Deputies
