China’s National Immigration Administration (NIA) has published its first comprehensive traffic report for the just-ended Spring Festival Golden Week, and the numbers confirm what airlines, hotels and duty-free operators were already feeling on the ground: cross-border mobility is accelerating at an unprecedented clip.
According to the NIA, China’s ports handled 17.796 million entries and exits between 15 and 23 February—an average of almost two million movements a day, 10.1 percent higher than the same festive period in 2025. Mainland residents accounted for 9.51 million trips, while travellers from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan logged nearly seven million. Crucially for corporate mobility managers, 1.313 million crossings were made by foreign nationals, and fully one-third of those (460,000) took advantage of China’s fast-expanding visa-waiver and transit-without-visa programmes.
For travellers whose passports still require advance clearance—and for companies managing multiple employee trips—VisaHQ provides a convenient one-stop solution. Through its dedicated China page (https://www.visahq.com/china/), the platform offers real-time visa requirement checks, form digitisation, courier handling and status tracking, helping mobility managers keep pace with the shifting entry landscape.
![China processes 17.8 million border crossings over 2026 Spring Festival break]()
The NIA attributes the spike to a combination of pent-up demand, expanded visa-free access (Canada and the United Kingdom were added to the 30-day waiver list on 17 February) and the first full Spring Festival season with 240-hour transit privileges available at 65 ports nationwide. Airport operators in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou reported record inbound loads, while land checkpoints along the Greater Bay Area corridor were forced to run extra lanes and extend opening hours.
For global businesses the data carries several implications. First, travel lead-times for China are shrinking as more nationalities can enter without a pre-arranged visa; mobility teams should update travel-approval workflows accordingly. Second, the surge creates pressure on airport infrastructure—premium-lane passes and advance e-gate enrolment can help executives avoid congestion. Third, the inbound boom is boosting hotel occupancy and ride-hailing prices in Tier-1 cities; cost forecasts need revising for Q1 travel budgets.
Looking ahead, the NIA signalled that more unilateral visa waivers are in the pipeline before the peak summer conference season. Companies with Asia-Pacific footprints should monitor the Ministry of Foreign Affairs feed for further additions to the 30-day list and for any reciprocity expectations that could affect Chinese assignees overseas.
According to the NIA, China’s ports handled 17.796 million entries and exits between 15 and 23 February—an average of almost two million movements a day, 10.1 percent higher than the same festive period in 2025. Mainland residents accounted for 9.51 million trips, while travellers from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan logged nearly seven million. Crucially for corporate mobility managers, 1.313 million crossings were made by foreign nationals, and fully one-third of those (460,000) took advantage of China’s fast-expanding visa-waiver and transit-without-visa programmes.
For travellers whose passports still require advance clearance—and for companies managing multiple employee trips—VisaHQ provides a convenient one-stop solution. Through its dedicated China page (https://www.visahq.com/china/), the platform offers real-time visa requirement checks, form digitisation, courier handling and status tracking, helping mobility managers keep pace with the shifting entry landscape.
The NIA attributes the spike to a combination of pent-up demand, expanded visa-free access (Canada and the United Kingdom were added to the 30-day waiver list on 17 February) and the first full Spring Festival season with 240-hour transit privileges available at 65 ports nationwide. Airport operators in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou reported record inbound loads, while land checkpoints along the Greater Bay Area corridor were forced to run extra lanes and extend opening hours.
For global businesses the data carries several implications. First, travel lead-times for China are shrinking as more nationalities can enter without a pre-arranged visa; mobility teams should update travel-approval workflows accordingly. Second, the surge creates pressure on airport infrastructure—premium-lane passes and advance e-gate enrolment can help executives avoid congestion. Third, the inbound boom is boosting hotel occupancy and ride-hailing prices in Tier-1 cities; cost forecasts need revising for Q1 travel budgets.
Looking ahead, the NIA signalled that more unilateral visa waivers are in the pipeline before the peak summer conference season. Companies with Asia-Pacific footprints should monitor the Ministry of Foreign Affairs feed for further additions to the 30-day list and for any reciprocity expectations that could affect Chinese assignees overseas.
