China’s National Immigration Administration (NIA) has released its preliminary traffic report for the nine-day Spring Festival “Golden Week”, revealing 17.796 million inbound and outbound trips between 15 and 23 February. Daily flows averaged almost 2 million—10 percent higher than last year—and peaked at just over 2.1 million on 18 February.
Of these movements, 14.6 million were made by mainland residents, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan compatriots, up 9–10 percent year on year. Crucially for corporate mobility managers, international travellers accounted for 1.313 million crossings, with 460,000—about one-third—entering on China’s expanding visa-free schemes. The NIA highlighted the addition of Canada and the United Kingdom to the 30-day unilateral visa-waiver list on 17 February, bringing the total of visa-exempt countries to 50.
![China logs 17.8 million cross-border trips over Spring Festival break]()
For organisations and individual travellers trying to keep pace with these frequent policy updates, VisaHQ can be an invaluable partner. The platform’s China hub (https://www.visahq.com/china/) consolidates real-time entry requirements, walks users through documentation for visa-free, transit-exempt and standard visa categories, and lets mobility managers submit applications online—freeing up time and reducing compliance risks.
Beijing says 65 ports nationwide now support 144- or 240-hour transit visa exemptions, simplifying multi-city itineraries for business visitors and MICE delegates. Airlines and airports ramped up English-language assistance and digital payment integration during the holiday, part of a broader campaign to restore pre-pandemic inbound volumes.
For multinationals, the data signal sustained recovery in face-to-face engagement with Chinese partners after three years of disruption. Mobility and travel teams should remind short-term assignees that visa-free entry still requires confirmed outbound tickets and accommodation details, and does not permit paid work. Firms operating in aviation, hospitality and retail can expect a demand surge in Q2 as pent-up travel intentions convert into trips, supported by easier border formalities.
Of these movements, 14.6 million were made by mainland residents, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan compatriots, up 9–10 percent year on year. Crucially for corporate mobility managers, international travellers accounted for 1.313 million crossings, with 460,000—about one-third—entering on China’s expanding visa-free schemes. The NIA highlighted the addition of Canada and the United Kingdom to the 30-day unilateral visa-waiver list on 17 February, bringing the total of visa-exempt countries to 50.
For organisations and individual travellers trying to keep pace with these frequent policy updates, VisaHQ can be an invaluable partner. The platform’s China hub (https://www.visahq.com/china/) consolidates real-time entry requirements, walks users through documentation for visa-free, transit-exempt and standard visa categories, and lets mobility managers submit applications online—freeing up time and reducing compliance risks.
Beijing says 65 ports nationwide now support 144- or 240-hour transit visa exemptions, simplifying multi-city itineraries for business visitors and MICE delegates. Airlines and airports ramped up English-language assistance and digital payment integration during the holiday, part of a broader campaign to restore pre-pandemic inbound volumes.
For multinationals, the data signal sustained recovery in face-to-face engagement with Chinese partners after three years of disruption. Mobility and travel teams should remind short-term assignees that visa-free entry still requires confirmed outbound tickets and accommodation details, and does not permit paid work. Firms operating in aviation, hospitality and retail can expect a demand surge in Q2 as pent-up travel intentions convert into trips, supported by easier border formalities.
