China expects daily cross-border travel to surpass 2 million during upcoming holidays

China's National Immigration Administration (NIA) has projected average daily cross-border passenger flows of more than 2 million during the Mid-Autumn Festival and the National Day holiday periods, with the busiest day expected to see over 2.4 million crossings.

In particular, cross-border passenger flows are expected to peak on Sept. 25, Sept. 27, Oct. 1 and Oct. 4, according to NIA figures on Tuesday.

The Mid-Autumn Festival, a traditional holiday celebrated with lanterns and mooncake treats, runs this year from Sept. 25 to 27. That puts just three workdays between the festival and China's week-long National Day holiday, which kicks off on October 1.

According to forecasts, inbound and outbound passenger flows at major airports and ports will grow steadily during the two major holidays.

At international airports such as Shanghai Pudong International Airport, Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, Beijing Capital International Airport, Chengdu Tianfu International Airport, Beijing Daxing International Airport, and Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport, the average daily passenger throughput during the three-day Mid-Autumn Festival holiday is expected to reach 105,000 trips, 55,000 trips, 54,000 trips, 20,000 trips, 18,000 trips, and 18,000 trips, respectively.

During the week-long National Day holiday, it is expected to reach 107,000 trips, 55,000 trips, 55,000 trips, 21,000 trips, 18,000 trips, and 17,000 trips, respectively.

As Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao will host a variety of large-scale events during the holiday periods, including lantern fairs, fireworks displays, and concerts, passenger flows at border checkpoints near the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions are expected to increase significantly.

During the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, daily inbound and outbound passenger flows at Shenzhen's Luohu Port, Shenzhen Bay, Futian Port, West Kowloon Station Port of Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link, and Liantang Port are expected to average 263,000, 212,000, 191,000, 126,000, and 100,000, respectively. During the National Day holiday, the average daily volume of inbound and outbound trips is expected to reach 250,000, 202,000, 198,000, 130,000, and 95,000, respectively.

Major checkpoints in Zhuhai, a city in Guangdong Province, including the ports of Gongbei, Hengqin, Qingmao and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, are expected to see heavy cross-border traffic during the holidays.

During the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, the average daily number of inbound and outbound passengers at the ports of Gongbei, Hengqin, Qingmao and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, will reach 383,000, 121,000, 115,000, and 100,000, respectively, while during the National Day holiday, their numbers are projected to be 388,000, 127,000, 119,000, and 106,000, respectively.

China expects daily cross-border travel to surpass 2 million during upcoming holidays

The U.S. state of Utah's Chinese Dual Language Immersion Program has served nearly 12,000 students from grades 1 to 12 in 98 schools, as many local parents are showing a vision that learning Chinese will help their kids gain better opportunities in the future.

Implementation of the program started in Utah in 2009, one year after the state adopted a legislation to provide financial support for bilingual immersion education.

"I have been learning Chinese for seven years," said a local student with a Chinese name He Jie in Chinese.

"Those were my parents' choice. I didn't want to do it at first, but I've kind of grown to like it more," said another student named Nel Sume.

"We thought it might open more opportunities learning Chinese. Around the world, U.S. is a big country, China is a big country. And so we thought they would be potentially given more opportunities as they get older if they learn Chinese," said a local parent named Asher.

Stacy Lyon, the state director for the Utah Chinese Dual Language Immersion Program, said that more local parents see their kids learning the Chinese language as a preparation for the future.

"In fact, I think the parents understand the particularly important ties between China and the United States, so they hope that their children can be prepared in language and culture," said Lyon.

Local mother Victoria said her daughter became much more confident in having contacts with people after coming back from a China trip earlier this year.

"Her confidence. She became really confident after we went to China and she could speak to the locals. So that was really, really cool to see," said Victoria.

"I can talk to others (in Chinese). I can order things (in Chinese). I know I can talk to Chinese people, so (Chinese) is a very useful tool," said a student named Sarah in Chinese.

The eagerness for face-to-face communication is precisely what makes the people-to-people exchanges between Chinese and American people so valuable.

"I got to go to China, I got to enjoy the food, I got to see everyone, I got to see how the world looks differently through everyone else's perspective. And I think that's just such a cool way. I would love to do a study abroad to China in my college years," said He Jie.

Utah's Chinese Dual Language Immersion Program serves 12,000 students in 98 schools