Travelers began pouring into mainland China by air, land and sea on Sunday, many eager for long-awaited appointments, as Beijing opened borders that had been largely closed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
After three years, mainland China opened sea and land links with Hong Kong and ended the requirement for arriving travelers to be quarantined, removing the last pillar of the zero-spread policy for COVID-19 that protected Chinese people from the virus but also cut them off from the rest of the world.
China’s easing over the past month of one of the world’s strictest COVID regimes followed historic protests against policies involving frequent testing, restrictions on movement and mass lockdowns that have taken a heavy toll on the country’s second-largest economy.
Long queues formed at Hong Kong International Airport for flights to mainland cities including Beijing, Tianjin and Xiamen, and some Hong Kong media estimated thousands of people were traveling through it.
‘I’m so happy’
“I’m so happy, so happy, so excited. I haven’t seen my parents for many years,” Hong Kong resident Theresa Chow said as she and dozens of other passengers prepared to cross into mainland China from the Lok Ma Chau Hong Kong checkpoint early Sunday.
“My parents are not in good health and I couldn’t go back to see them even when they had colon cancer, so I’m really glad to go back and see them now,” she said, adding that she plans to head in his hometown in the city of Ningbo in eastern China.
Investors hope the reopening will eventually revive a $17 trillion U.S. economy that is suffering its slowest growth in nearly half a century. But the sharp reversal of policy has sparked a massive wave of infections that is flooding some hospitals and causing business disruption.
Passengers from Hong Kong arrive at the international arrivals hall of Terminal 3 of Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing on Sunday. (Andy Wong/Associated Press)
The opening of the border follows Saturday’s start of “chun yun,” the first 40-day period of the Lunar New Year journey, which before the pandemic was the world’s largest annual migration of people returning to their hometowns to holiday with your family.
About two billion trips are expected to be made this season, almost double last year’s movement and a recovery of up to 70 percent from 2019 levels, the government says.
Many Chinese are also expected to start traveling abroad, a long-awaited change for tourist spots in countries such as Thailand and Indonesia, although several governments – worried about a surge of COVID in China – are imposing restrictions on travelers from the country.
Emotional hugs
Travel will not quickly return to pre-pandemic levels due to factors such as a shortage of international flights, analysts say.
On Sunday, China also resumed issuing passports and travel visas for mainlanders, as well as ordinary visas and residence permits for foreigners. Beijing has quotas on the number of people who can travel between Hong Kong and China each day.
At Beijing Capital International Airport, families and friends exchanged emotional hugs and greetings with passengers arriving from Hong Kong, Warsaw and Frankfurt at the airport’s Terminal 3, meetings in the arrivals hall that would have been impossible just a day ago due to the current… canceled requirement for quarantine of travelers from abroad.
“I have been looking forward to the reopening for a long time. We finally reconnected with the world. I’m excited, I can’t believe it’s happening,” said a businesswoman surnamed Shen, 55, who flew in from Hong Kong.
Other people waiting at the airport included a group of female fans carrying cameras with long lenses in the hope of catching a glimpse of South Korean boy group Tempest, the first South Korean idol group to enter China in three years.
“So nice to see them in person! They are much prettier and taller than I expected,” a 19-year-old, who gave her name as Xiny, told Reuters after chasing the seven-member boy band, which had flown in from Seoul via the Chinese city of Dalian.
“With the lifting of quarantine restrictions, it will be much more convenient to fly over to see them and for them to come to Beijing,” she said.
Protests
But similar scenes of gatherings rocked others at protests in some cities around China over the weekend, a reminder of how the economy remains under strain.
Protests are not uncommon in China, where over the years people have come out in large numbers over issues such as financial or property fraud. But authorities are on heightened alert after widespread protests in Chinese cities and leading universities in late November against the COVID restrictions.
On Saturday, hundreds of Tesla owners gathered at the automaker’s showrooms and distribution centers in China to protest its decision to cut prices for the second time in three months, a move it made to boost sales at a time of faltering demand in the world’s largest car market.
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