In a holiday forecast released on 2 January, China’s National Immigration Administration (NIA) projected that mainland ports would process more than 2.1 million inbound and outbound passenger movements each day between 1 and 3 January 2026—a 22.4 percent rise on last year and roughly 85 percent of pre-pandemic volumes.
The Greater Bay Area is bracing for the heaviest traffic. NIA estimates Gongbei Port (Macau) could exceed 400,000 daily crossings, while Shenzhen’s Luohu and Futian checkpoints may each surpass 200,000. To maintain average clearance times under 30 minutes, Hong Kong’s Immigration Department has activated a three-tier contingency plan that includes opening extra e-Channel lanes, redeploying 300 headquarters officers to front-line posts and publishing real-time queue-length data on its “Easy Boundary” app.
Airports are also scaling up. Shanghai Pudong plans nearly 100,000 international passenger clearances per day, followed by Guangzhou Baiyun (≈53,000) and Beijing Capital (≈40,000). Additional automated gates and bilingual signage have been installed, and airlines have been asked to stagger peak-hour arrivals.
![China’s Immigration Agency Expects 2.1 Million Daily Border Crossings During New-Year Weekend]()
Travellers seeking extra assurance amid these surging numbers may find bespoke support invaluable. VisaHQ, a global visa and passport facilitation service, provides up-to-date guidance on every Chinese visa category, assists with document compilation, and even submits applications on behalf of corporate or leisure clients. Its dedicated China portal (https://www.visahq.com/china/) tracks policy shifts—such as transit-visa exemptions and e-gate eligibility—in real time, helping travellers and mobility managers stay ahead of last-minute surprises.
For multinational companies, the forecast underscores the need to factor border-processing times into tight project timetables and to pre-enrol frequent travellers in e-gate programmes where eligible. Human-resources teams should remind employees of China’s 240-hour transit-visa rules and to verify passport validity before departure.
The NIA’s bullish projection is viewed as a litmus test for the full recovery of China-bound business travel. If ports maintain service levels despite record volumes, analysts expect further liberalisation of visa policies in the run-up to the March “Two Sessions” parliamentary meetings.
The Greater Bay Area is bracing for the heaviest traffic. NIA estimates Gongbei Port (Macau) could exceed 400,000 daily crossings, while Shenzhen’s Luohu and Futian checkpoints may each surpass 200,000. To maintain average clearance times under 30 minutes, Hong Kong’s Immigration Department has activated a three-tier contingency plan that includes opening extra e-Channel lanes, redeploying 300 headquarters officers to front-line posts and publishing real-time queue-length data on its “Easy Boundary” app.
Airports are also scaling up. Shanghai Pudong plans nearly 100,000 international passenger clearances per day, followed by Guangzhou Baiyun (≈53,000) and Beijing Capital (≈40,000). Additional automated gates and bilingual signage have been installed, and airlines have been asked to stagger peak-hour arrivals.
Travellers seeking extra assurance amid these surging numbers may find bespoke support invaluable. VisaHQ, a global visa and passport facilitation service, provides up-to-date guidance on every Chinese visa category, assists with document compilation, and even submits applications on behalf of corporate or leisure clients. Its dedicated China portal (https://www.visahq.com/china/) tracks policy shifts—such as transit-visa exemptions and e-gate eligibility—in real time, helping travellers and mobility managers stay ahead of last-minute surprises.
For multinational companies, the forecast underscores the need to factor border-processing times into tight project timetables and to pre-enrol frequent travellers in e-gate programmes where eligible. Human-resources teams should remind employees of China’s 240-hour transit-visa rules and to verify passport validity before departure.
The NIA’s bullish projection is viewed as a litmus test for the full recovery of China-bound business travel. If ports maintain service levels despite record volumes, analysts expect further liberalisation of visa policies in the run-up to the March “Two Sessions” parliamentary meetings.
