Flying into Beijing is tougher than ever as China ramps up its zero-Covid measures
CNN
Beijing is partially locking down to control a Covid outbreak that could completely shutter the Chinese capital. But just as the government is tightening controls in the city -- testing 21 million residents, shutting schools and some shopping malls -- I'm trying to get in.
Flights from Tokyo to Beijing this week were impossible to find -- the closest available flight was to Kunming, southern Yunnan province, around 1,600 miles (2,600 kilometers) away. There, I'll spend 21 days in quarantine, and even then, there's no guarantee I'll be allowed into the Chinese capital.
China's strategy of strict border controls, snap lockdowns, and mass testing worked in the early days of the pandemic to contain the spread of Covid-19, but the highly transmissible Omicron variant has posed a much harder challenge.