At international airports in China’s major cities, families waited at the exit gates for the first returnees since the early days of the pandemic – a sharp change from long-standing Covid protocols that saw all arrivals processed by hazmat-clad staff and forced into days or weeks of hotel quarantine.
Yu, a Beijing resident, brought her young son to Beijing Capital International Airport to await the arrival of her husband, who returned home from work in Spain for the first time in nearly a year.
“(Previously) we couldn’t pick him up today because he had to be quarantined before coming home. We’re excited to see him today,” said Yu, who arrived to hold her son moments before her husband left home.
In Hong Kong, where most border crossings with mainland China have been closed since the early days of the pandemic, residents waited to meet their loved ones at the previously closed Lok Ma Chau station as the mainland also eased border controls with the city.
“I’ve been looking forward to it for so long,” said newlywed Felicia Feng in Hong Kong, who hasn’t seen her husband since they got married on the mainland a few months ago.
“It’s her first time to Hong Kong… I have a whole list of food and places we want to go,” she said, adding that her hometown in mainland China is not far from Hong Kong, but how often she gets to see her family during the pandemic. he was also limited in his ability to return.
“It’s been a lot of trouble for my life, but now it seems things are starting to get better,” he said.
The Hong Kong government said up to 60,000 people a day would be allowed to cross the border between the city and mainland China Tens of thousands of people did so in both directions and on Sunday, he added.
Passengers are seen in the arrivals area for international flights at Beijing Capital International Airport on January 8, 2023.
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Three-year restrictions eased
China’s easing of strict border controls, both with Hong Kong and internationally, is a radical step for the country as it rapidly loosens years of draconian Covid-19 restrictions.
For nearly three years, strict border controls have cordoned off China from the rest of the world and burdened families and businesses with ties to the mainland, Hong Kong, Macau and overseas.
As other countries have lifted their Covid travel restrictions over the past year, entering China has remained a serious and expensive ordeal for overseas Chinese citizens hoping to return home and other travelers who are eligible to enter the country, requiring quarantine, multiple Covid tests and vying for seats at limited venues. . flights.
But the policy change both eases the entry process for eligible travelers and will see authorities start processing passport applications from Chinese nationals for tourism outside of China, which has been restricted to curbing leisure travel.
The rule change, announced at the end of last month, has been met with great interest in China, with overseas travel bookings up 540% year-on-year during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday this year, which begins on January 21. Chinese travel platform Trip.com Group information.
“A lot of people are very interested in taking their family on a nice vacation after three years of lockdown,” Trip.com Group CEO Jane Sun told CNN on Monday, pointing to the upcoming week-long vacation as another driver.
Meanwhile, China’s travel industry is preparing for an expected travel recovery, Sun said.
“We expect that for the first quarter or two (of 2023), it will take some time for airlines and hotels to rehire their staff and build infrastructure. We hope that the infrastructure will be back to normal in the second half of this year,” he said. .
Travelers wait for their luggage at the baggage claim area of Shanghai Pudong International Airport as China lifts quarantine requirements for international arrivals in Shanghai, China, on January 8, 2023.
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Restrictions imposed by other countries
On Sunday, another Beijing resident surnamed He expressed his travel comfort as he prepared to take his family on a vacation to Macau ahead of the Lunar New Year.
He said finding tickets and preparing travel documents was simpler than last summer, when he also left China.
“It’s faster now. You can just buy a ticket and renew (your travel permit) and go … and then the day you land you can start your life,” he said.
But others, such as Hong Kong resident Anthony Chan, traveled to the mainland to attend his cousin’s wedding, lamenting the loss of time to see loved ones and live life as usual.
The 18-year-old said he has been unable to see his extended family on the other side of the border for nearly three years amid other restrictions on daily life due to pandemic controls.
“The policy that has been damaging our lives for the last few years (has continued) … we are not afraid of this Covid. We are afraid of this policy,” he said.
Jadyn Sham, Kathleen Magramo and Cheng Cheng contributed to the report.
