Is China Opening up to Tourists again after COVID Shut Down?

Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2019, China shut down all its borders to tourists from different parts of the world. However, the Chinese government decided to reopen all the crossing borders to its mainland to allow tourists to visit the country. This announcement was made on January 8, 2023, in Hong Kong after a three-year shutdown of the borders. This allowed Chinese residents who have had more than three years of separation from their loved ones to travel back to their country. All the border crossing points all over the countries are officially reopened. This has also made all the operations and activities within the crossing points resume as usual.

The border restrictions imposed in 2019 due to the Covid-19 virus, such as self-quarantine, have also been lifted. For this reason, you no longer need to worry about such expensive restrictions, especially when traveling from abroad to Mainland China. However, when crossing from Hong Kong to Mainland China, you need to prove you are Covid-19 negative. You will therefore be required to show the Covid-19 test taken in up to two days with the result being negative. In China, Hong Kong was the most hit place with the virus, leading to the closing of all its checkpoints and borders for a long time.

Even though there is still a high risk of new infections in Hong Kong, many residents and other tourists have been able to visit the place. This has reformed the retail and tourism sectors in Hong Kong, with all the activities returning to normal. John Lee, the Chief Executive officer of Hong Kong, made another touching statement the same Sunday morning. He said they would continue expanding the crossing points from the known seven to fourteen. Lee continued that the approach to developing the crossing points and borders is very significant to Hong Kong residents. It is a great step to make the people return to the everyday life they lived in the pre-epidemic times. It will also lead to the growth of the tourism and retail sectors across Hong Kong.

On the other hand, the mainland was affected too, with all the international flights to Beijing being diverted to only five pints. The international airport based in Beijing was now operating after March 2020. However, after lifting the ban, the airport in Beijing was now expecting to receive up to eight international flights on the same Sunday. This was a great chance which the new policy brought to the transport sector as more and more flights were now expected to arrive.

Passengers from abroad taking flights to China are no longer required to go for a three-week quarantine as it was during the pandemic period. In addition, the Chinese will again start applying for their passport for international traveling. This was an announcement by the Shanghai officials who wanted to ensure Chinese could get new passports with their visas extended or renewed. Therefore, they will be free to move outside the country for family visits and foreign travels as before the pre-pandemic period. However, some foreign governments still have restrictions, including ensuring travelers from China show testing requirements proving them negative for the virus. These countries include Portugal, Germany, and Sweden.