Thousands of Chinese travellers on January 8 returned home for family reunions – some delayed by as long as three years – as China finally opened its borders and dismantled the last remnant of its “zero-COVID” regime.
Starting January 8, travellers to China for the first time were no longer required to undergo quarantine on arrival.
Since early 2020, China has had among the world’s strictest travel restrictions, requiring as long as three weeks of central quarantine and “green codes” to be issued from Chinese embassies, many of which were largely reluctant to grant them.
On January 8, thousands returned to the mainland across multiple land border crossings in Hong Kong and Vietnam and on international flights, for long awaited family reunions ahead of the upcoming Chinese New Year holiday.
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The land border crossings between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, which reopened fully after three years, were the busiest points of entry, with as many as 37,000 people crossing over as of Sunday afternoon, according to Hong Kong immigration authorities.
Until January 8, travellers were made to undergo PCR tests on landing in China before being taken away on buses to central quarantine. The quarantine period for most of the past three years was as long as three weeks, although late last year the period was reduced to five days.
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On December 7, China finally ended its “zero-COVID” regime amid a surge of cases. Beijing last month also announced it would end travel restrictions starting January 8, although travellers will be required to take PCR tests within 48 hours of travel.
On Saturday, China’s government announced the tenth edition of its official COVID-19 prevention protocol, which has now downgraded managing the disease from Class A to Class B, no longer allowing for lockdowns and quarantine.
The recent surge of cases in China, which crossed 250 million by December 20 according to estimates of the National Health Commission, has now peaked in many cities, which are in the coming two weeks expecting by far the biggest domestic travel rush since 2019 ahead of the week-long Lunar New Year holiday, starting January 22. Experts fear the holiday could see a rise in cases in rural areas as many from the cities travel home.
China is also expecting to see a surge in outbound tourism after three years of closed borders, despite many countries now requiring travellers from China to take PCR tests before their trips. The orders for international flights were up 628% from last year, State media quoted online Chinese travel agency LY as saying. Hong Kong, the United States, Thailand and Japan are among the most sought after travel destinations.
