On January 22, 2023, China will celebrate its annual Lunar New Year holiday, which is often a high season for outward travel, less than two weeks after the government lifts its quarantine restrictions for incoming tourists on January 8, 2023.
As China’s tourism industry continues to expand, more and more people from across the world are eager to visit the country. Starting from January 8, China will again begin issuing passports to Chinese mainland citizens, in addition to conventional visas and residency permits to foreigners.
Government statistics revealed that before the epidemic, an annual total of more than 236 million passengers crossed the land borders between China and Hong Kong, with approximately 650,000 crossings each day.
The immigration bureau of China has announced that it would once again issue visas to mainland citizens who want to go abroad. Travelers departing from Hong Kong or China are required to receive a negative COVID test result and record it online 48 hours before their scheduled departure.
Tourists entering mainland China from Hong Kong do not need to undergo quarantine or on-arrival COVID testing. A quick antigen test may be requested from anybody who exhibits symptoms of COVID.
Albert Ng, the co-founder of the Beijing-based luxury travel agency Wild China, is overjoyed to share the news that “family, business, and student visas would be given priority.” He anticipates a surge in visitors to China in the second part of the year. In the interim, however, he has received several requests from institutions of higher learning and commercial enterprises alike.
In the beginning, not all tourists will be accepted. If you’re a tourist hoping to visit China before anyone else in the post-COVID era, you’ll have to wait. Currently, there has not yet been an established timeframe for when tourists may apply for visas. Post-pandemic China has plenty to offer, partially due to an anticipated spike in outdoor tourism.
