South-west China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region logged a surge in cross-border traffic during the nine-day Spring Festival break, recording 249,000 passenger movements through its land and river ports with Vietnam, Xinhua reported on 27 February. The holiday ran from 15–23 February, overlapping both nations’ Lunar New Year celebrations and pent-up demand for family visits and short vacations. (en.people.cn)
Local immigration officials said the majority of the flows were two-way tourist trips, with Vietnamese holiday-makers continuing on to Nanning and Guangdong via high-speed rail, and Chinese shoppers heading south for border markets. Compared with pre-pandemic 2019 figures, volumes are at 92 percent, signalling an almost complete recovery of people-to-people exchanges on the key ASEAN corridor.
![Guangxi ports process 249,000 China-Vietnam border crossings over Spring Festival]()
Whether you’re planning a spontaneous border hop for shopping or coordinating a company delegation across multiple checkpoints, VisaHQ can simplify the paperwork. Its China hub (https://www.visahq.com/china/) provides up-to-date guidance on visa exemptions, electronic applications and rush processing, helping travellers and mobility managers navigate evolving rules with confidence.
The spike highlights the commercial impact of China’s 30-day visa-free entry for ASEAN tour groups via Xishuangbanna and the 240-hour transit-without-visa (TWOV) expansion, both introduced in 2025. Travel agents report package prices up 12 percent year-on-year but buses and rail tickets sold out days in advance, underlining the need for additional capacity.
For companies moving staff or goods between southern China and northern Vietnam, the figures point to tighter border-crossing windows for cargo trucks and a possible squeeze on hotel inventory in Nanning and Pingxiang. Mobility managers should advise travelling employees to secure accommodation early and factor longer wait times at smaller checkpoints.
Local immigration officials said the majority of the flows were two-way tourist trips, with Vietnamese holiday-makers continuing on to Nanning and Guangdong via high-speed rail, and Chinese shoppers heading south for border markets. Compared with pre-pandemic 2019 figures, volumes are at 92 percent, signalling an almost complete recovery of people-to-people exchanges on the key ASEAN corridor.
Whether you’re planning a spontaneous border hop for shopping or coordinating a company delegation across multiple checkpoints, VisaHQ can simplify the paperwork. Its China hub (https://www.visahq.com/china/) provides up-to-date guidance on visa exemptions, electronic applications and rush processing, helping travellers and mobility managers navigate evolving rules with confidence.
The spike highlights the commercial impact of China’s 30-day visa-free entry for ASEAN tour groups via Xishuangbanna and the 240-hour transit-without-visa (TWOV) expansion, both introduced in 2025. Travel agents report package prices up 12 percent year-on-year but buses and rail tickets sold out days in advance, underlining the need for additional capacity.
For companies moving staff or goods between southern China and northern Vietnam, the figures point to tighter border-crossing windows for cargo trucks and a possible squeeze on hotel inventory in Nanning and Pingxiang. Mobility managers should advise travelling employees to secure accommodation early and factor longer wait times at smaller checkpoints.
