Cross-border travel surges at Chinese ports during Mid-Autumn Festival

Cross-border travel in China surged during the three-day Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, with nearly 6.71 million trips recorded as visa-free entry policies helped drive a sharp increase in foreign visitors.

Travelers kept border checkpoints busy, averaging more than 2.2 million crossings daily, a 16.8 percent jump from last year, according to the National Immigration Administration. The holiday rush peaked on September 26 with 2.3 million trips in a single day.

Chinese mainland residents accounted for the bulk of the movement with 3.2 million trips, a steady 5.3 percent increase. Travel by residents of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan jumped 27.7 percent to 2.7 million trips.

However, the most dramatic spike came from international visitors. Foreign crossings surged 37.7 percent to 728,000, fueled by China's expanding visa-free policies. About 247,000 of those travelers entered without a visa, marking a 32.7 percent leap from the previous year.

Mid-Autumn Festival is one of China's most important traditional holidays. Taking place annually on the 15th day of the eighth month in the Chinese lunar calendar, it was observed on Sept. 25 this year. The three-day Mid-Autumn Festival ran from Friday to Sunday.

Cross-border travel surges at Chinese ports during Mid-Autumn Festival

China firmly supports Cuba in safeguarding its national sovereignty and opposing foreign interference, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Monday, in response to a media inquiry on the development of China-Cuba relations.

"Over the 66 years since China and Cuba established diplomatic relations, the friendship between the two countries has been passed down from generation to generation. In recent years, under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, the building of a China-Cuba community with a shared future has continued to deepen and become more substantive," said Guo Jiakun, the spokesman, at a press conference in Beijing.

"No matter how the international landscape may change, China will, as always, firmly support Cuba in exploring a socialist development path suited to its national conditions, and firmly support Cuba in safeguarding national sovereignty and opposing foreign interference," he said.

China firmly supports Cuba in safeguarding national sovereignty: spokesman