Travellers stream into China as it says goodbye to zero-COVID policy

Travelers began arriving in mainland China by air, land and sea on Sunday, many eager for the long-awaited reunion, as Beijing opened borders that have been closed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

After three years, mainland China opened sea and land crossings with Hong Kong and ended the requirement for incoming travelers to quarantine, dismantling the last pillar of the zero-COVID policy that protects Chinese people from the virus, but also excludes others. from the world.

China’s easing over the past month of one of the world’s strictest COVID regimes follows historic protests against policies that include frequent testing, movement restrictions and mass lockdowns that have crippled its second-largest economy.

Long queues formed at Hong Kong’s international airport for flights to mainland cities including Beijing, Tianjin and Xiamen, and some Hong Kong media estimated that there were thousands of people traveling.

‘I’m very happy’

“I’m so happy, so happy, so excited. I haven’t seen my parents in years,” Hong Kong resident Teresa Chow said as she and dozens of other travelers prepared to cross into mainland China from Hong Kong’s Lok Ma Chau. early checkpoint on Sunday.

“My parents are not well, and I can’t go back to see them even though they have colon cancer, so I’m very happy to go back and see them now,” he said, adding that he will lead. to his hometown in the eastern Chinese city of Ningbo.

Investors hope the reopening will revive the $17 trillion U.S. economy, which has seen its slowest growth in nearly half a century. But the sudden reversal of the policy has led to a massive wave of infections in some hospitals and disrupted business.

The opening of the border began on Saturday with “chun yun,” the first 40-day period of Lunar New Year travel, which before the pandemic was the world’s largest annual migration of people returning to their hometowns for the holidays with family.

About two billion trips will be made this season, almost double last year’s movement and a recovery to 70 percent of 2019 levels, the government said.

More Chinese are also expected to start traveling abroad, a long-awaited change for tourist destinations in countries such as Thailand and Indonesia, although some governments – worried about China’s COVID surge – are imposing a curve on travelers from those countries.

Embrace your emotions

Travel will not quickly return to pre-pandemic levels due to factors such as a lack of international flights, analysts say.

China on Sunday also resumed issuing passports and travel visas for mainlanders, and regular visas and residence permits for foreigners. Beijing has a quota on how many people can travel between Hong Kong and China each day.

At the Beijing Capital International Airport, family and friends embraced emotionally and greeted passengers arriving from Hong Kong, Warsaw and Frankfurt at the airport’s Terminal 3, gatherings in the arrival hall that were impossible just a day ago because now- canceled for travel from abroad for quarantine.

“I’ve been waiting for it to reopen for a long time. We’re finally reconnecting with the world. I’m so happy, I can’t believe it’s happening,” said a businesswoman surnamed Shen, 55, who flew in from Hong Kong.

Others waiting at the airport included a group of female fans carrying long-lens cameras in hopes of catching a glimpse of South Korean boy band Tempest, the first idol group from South Korea to enter China in three years.

“It’s great to see them in person! They’re more handsome and taller than I expected,” a 19-year-old man who gave his name as Xiny told Reuters after chasing the seven-member boy band, which flew in from Seoul. through the Chinese city of Dalian.

“With the quarantine restrictions lifted, it will be more convenient to fly to see him, and have him come to Beijing,” he said.

protest

The reunion scene, however, jarred with other protests in several cities around China over the weekend, a reminder that the economy remains under pressure.

Protests are not rare in China, which for years has seen many people get out of trouble such as financial or property fraud. But authorities have been on heightened alert after protests spread across China’s cities and top universities in late November against the COVID-19 ban.

On Saturday, hundreds of Tesla owners gathered at the manufacturer’s showrooms and distribution centers in China to protest its decision to cut prices twice in three months, a move aimed at boosting sales.
faltering demand in the world’s largest car market.