Airports across south China's Hainan Province have made full preparations ahead of an anticipated rise in international travelers once the island-wide special customs operations are launched.
This tropical island province will officially launch its special customs operations on Thursday, lifting lift the share of zero-tariff products in Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP) from 21 percent to 74 percent and further opening the port's tourism, modern services, and high-tech industries.
The policy is expected to boost the island's appeal for winter sun-seekers and shopping-driven travelers, along with easier entry procedures, which will draw more international travelers.
Currently, Hainan allows ordinary passport holders from 86 countries to enter Hainan without a visa, more than anywhere else in the Chinese mainland.
"I'm very pleased with the visa-free policy. It's very easy to come in," said a foreign traveler.
In 2024, Hainan Province welcomed 1.11 million international travelers, a year-on-year increase of over 115 percent.
The island's Immigration Department expects a further increase once the operations take effect and has made the necessary preparations.
"We've added 17 new inspection lines at the airport with 55 new pieces of equipment. We've also developed an intelligent inspection assistant and passenger flow inspection system, which will allow every passenger to save 30 seconds when going through the immigration check and 30 minutes for each flight," said Chen Rixiong, instructor at Phoenix Station of Immigration Inspection.
These measures will allow arriving passengers to pass through ports with ease and begin experiencing Hainan's tropical lifestyle without delay.
"I've heard the best thing about their seafood, the coconuts, the palm trees, the beaches," said an arriving traveler.
Hainan airports ready for increasing passengers with island-wide special customs operations set to commence
China's industrial production sustained steady growth, while market sales continued to expand in November, reflecting positive trends in the national economy, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), which held a press conference in Beijing on Monday to introduce the country's November economic operations.
The total value added of the industrial enterprises above the designated size grew by 4.8 percent year on year. Driven by industrial upgrading and development, the equipment manufacturing industry, characterized by high technological content and added value, experienced rapid growth, according to the NBS.
In November, the value added of equipment manufacturing increased by 7.7 percent year on year, contributing 59.4 percent to the overall growth in value added of industrial enterprises above the designated size.
Additionally, the indices for information transmission, software and information technology services, as well as leasing and business services grew by 12.9 percent and 8.4 percent year on year, respectively, both demonstrating robust growth, the NBS said.
On the consumption front, market sales expanded, with continued growth in product sales. In November, the total retail sales of consumer goods rose by 1.3 percent year on year, reflecting an improvement in consumption quality and robust sales in certain upgraded goods, said Fu Linghui, spokesman of the NBS.
"In November, retail sales of cosmetics and gold, silver and jewelry of the enterprises (units) above the designated size increased by 6.1 percent and 8.5 percent respectively. Service retail sales grew rapidly. Services related to residents' cultural and leisure activities and online entertainment performed well. The effects of consumption upgrading continued to be evident. With the continuous release of residents' demand for a high-quality life and the in-depth implementation of special actions to boost consumption, prices in industries such as sports and cultural goods continued to rise, driven by consumption upgrading. In November, the manufacturing price of arts and crafts and etiquette supplies rose by 20.6 percent year on year, an increase of 2.2 percentage points compared to the previous month, while the manufacturing price of sports balls rose by 4.3 percent year on year," said Fu.
China's industrial production grow steadily, market sales scale up in November
