More than five million foreign passengers' entries and exits had been recorded this year as of August 31 at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in south China's Guangdong Province.
The figure marked a year-on-year increase of over 30 percent, a historic high for the same period, according to the airport's border inspection station.
The surging traffic reflects the combined impact of China's expanded 240-hour visa-free transit policy and a wave of major diplomatic events including the APEC meetings hosted by China.
"This is my second visit to China, and my first to Guangzhou. I plan to stay in the city for a week. Now we enjoy the visa-free policy, and fast-track clearance is incredibly convenient. Everything is just so easy.," said Oleg Mokrov, a Russian traveler.
While inbound foreign arrivals climb, the scale of Chinese citizens' exits and entries is also steading expanding. As of August 31, the airport had recorded cumulatively 7.67 Chinese citizens' exits and entries, up 11.1 percent year on year.
To handle the sustained high-volume flow, the border inspection authorities have rolled out a slew of passenger-friendly measures.
"We have streamlined the process by combining the temporary entry permit with inbound border inspection into a single transaction, practicing online arrival card filing services by handling them in advance, on mobile phones and offering guidance, paired with real-time multilingual translation to provide travel information services for inbound foreign passengers. For special groups such as the elderly, the weak, the sick, the disabled and women with pregnancy, we provide full-process guidance and assistance," said Xin Xin, an officer of the airport's border inspection station.
Guangzhou airport already handles 5 mln foreign passengers this year
Large vehicles and heavy machinery have now entered the core disaster area of the mudslide-hit Gyirong Port in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region following a major effort to clear a key access road, enabling emergency teams to conduct deeper search and rescue operations.
Road access to the core area was restored at around 10:00 Wednesday after days of round-the-clock repair work on the G216 national highway, which was left cut off following last Wednesday's deadly mudslide on the China-Nepal border.
The disaster had damaged an almost three-kilometer section of the highway, forcing the initial rescue teams to trek through the treacherous mountain terrain for over 10 hours or take helicopters to reach the main port area.
With the route re-opened on Wednesday following days of road clearance efforts, more rescue personnel soon entered and immediately optimized their approach.
They closely followed the paths cleared by the heavy machinery, using life detectors and other specialized equipment to conduct detailed searches, while sniffer dogs were also deployed as the teams hope to find any signs of life among the piled boulders, buried buildings, and silted river channels.
Soldiers from the People's Liberation Army Xizang Military Command and the Armed Police Force also joined the operation, helping conduct clearance work and carrying out disinfection at the site.
Specialist teams are also assessing for risks and advising preventative steps to avoid secondary disasters occurring. A joint monitoring group is continually checking the barrier lake dam, upstream glaciers, and other noted landslide points to ensure the safety of ongoing rescue operations.
Temporary insurance claims services have also been launched. Insurers have initially estimated losses at approximately 450 million yuan (around 67 million U.S. dollars), and banks have provided more than 200 million yuan in emergency cash support.
The mudslide, caused by an ice-rock avalanche on the Nepalese side of the border, hit the Gyirong Port on the morning of Aug 26. It has claimed at least 21 lives and left 541 missing at the border port as of Wednesday noon, according to the regional government's latest update.
Heavy machinery enters Gyirong Port mudslide zone after road repair
