Primary Country (Mandatory)

United States

Other Country (Optional)

Set News Language for United States

Primary Language (Mandatory)
English
Other Language[s] (Optional)
No other language available

Set News Language for World

Primary Language (Mandatory)
English
Other Language(s) (Optional)

Set News Source for United States

Primary Source (Mandatory)
CNN
Other Source[s] (Optional)

Set News Source for World

Primary Source (Mandatory)
AajTak
Other Source(s) (Optional)
  • Countries
    • India
    • United States
    • Qatar
    • Germany
    • China
    • Canada
    • World
  • Categories
    • National
    • International
    • Business
    • Entertainment
    • Sports
    • Special
    • All Categories
  • Available Languages for United States
    • English
  • All Languages
    • English
    • Hindi
    • Arabic
    • German
    • Chinese
    • French
  • Sources
    • India
      • AajTak
      • NDTV India
      • The Hindu
      • India Today
      • Zee News
      • NDTV
      • BBC
      • The Wire
      • News18
      • News 24
      • The Quint
      • ABP News
      • Zee News
      • News 24
    • United States
      • CNN
      • Fox News
      • Al Jazeera
      • CBSN
      • NY Post
      • Voice of America
      • The New York Times
      • HuffPost
      • ABC News
      • Newsy
    • Qatar
      • Al Jazeera
      • Al Arab
      • The Peninsula
      • Gulf Times
      • Al Sharq
      • Qatar Tribune
      • Al Raya
      • Lusail
    • Germany
      • DW
      • ZDF
      • ProSieben
      • RTL
      • n-tv
      • Die Welt
      • Süddeutsche Zeitung
      • Frankfurter Rundschau
    • China
      • China Daily
      • BBC
      • The New York Times
      • Voice of America
      • Beijing Daily
      • The Epoch Times
      • Ta Kung Pao
      • Xinmin Evening News
    • Canada
      • CBC
      • Radio-Canada
      • CTV
      • TVA Nouvelles
      • Le Journal de Montréal
      • Global News
      • BNN Bloomberg
      • Métro
MoreBack to News Headlines
Travellers stream into China as it says goodbye to zero-COVID policy

Travellers stream into China as it says goodbye to zero-COVID policy

CBC
Sunday, January 8, 2023 3:16 PM GMT

Travellers began streaming into mainland China by air, land and sea on Sunday, many eager for long-awaited reunions, as Beijing opened borders that have been all but shut since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

After three years, mainland China opened sea and land crossings with Hong Kong and ended a requirement for incoming travellers to quarantine, dismantling a final pillar of a zero-COVID policy that had shielded China's people from the virus but also cut them off from the rest of the world.

China's easing over the past month of one of the world's tightest COVID regimes followed historic protests against a policy that included frequent testing, curbs on movement and mass lockdowns that heavily damaged the second-biggest economy.

Long queues formed at Hong Kong's international airport for flights to mainland cities including Beijing, Tianjin and Xiamen, and some Hong Kong media outlets estimated that thousands of people were travelling across.

"I'm so happy, so happy, so excited. I haven't seen my parents for many years," said Hong Kong resident Teresa Chow as she and dozens of other travellers prepared to cross into mainland China from Hong Kong's Lok Ma Chau checkpoint early on Sunday.

"My parents are not in good health, and I couldn't go back to see them even when they had colon cancer, so I'm really happy to go back and see them now," she said, adding that she plans to head to her hometown in eastern China's Ningbo city.

Investors hope the reopening will eventually reinvigorate a $17-trillion US economy suffering its lowest growth in nearly half a century. But the abrupt policy reversal has triggered a massive wave of infections that is overwhelming some hospitals and causing business disruptions.

The border opening follows Saturday's start of "chun yun," the first 40-day period of Lunar New Year travel, which before the pandemic was the world's largest annual migration of people returning to their hometowns of taking holidays with family.

Some two billion trips are expected to be made this season, nearly double last year's movement and recovering to 70 per cent of 2019 levels, the government says.

Many Chinese are also expected to start travelling abroad, a long-awaited shift for tourist spots in countries such as Thailand and Indonesia, though several governments — worried about China's COVID spike — are imposing curbs on travellers from the country.

Travel will not quickly return to pre-pandemic levels due to such factors as a dearth of international flights, analysts say.

China on Sunday also resumed issuing passports and travel visas for mainland residents, and ordinary visas and residence permits for foreigners. Beijing has quotas on the number of people who can travel between Hong Kong and China each day.

At the Beijing Capital International Airport, families and friends exchanged emotional hugs and greetings with passengers arriving from Hong Kong, Warsaw and Frankfurt at the airport's Terminal 3, meetings at the arrival hall that would have been impossible just a day ago due to a now-cancelled requirement for travellers from abroad to quarantine.

"I've been looking forward to the reopening for a long time. Finally we are reconnected with the world. I'm thrilled, I can't believe it's happening," said a business woman surnamed Shen, 55, who flew in from Hong Kong.

Read full story on CBC
Share this story on:-
Run 3 Space | Play Space Running GamePlay Run 3, the ultimate space tunnel running game with 300+ challenging levels!Adv.
Traffic Jam 3D | Online Racing GameTraffic Jam 3D is a game where you’ll be driving through heavy traffic.Adv.
Duck Hunt | Play Old Classic GamePlay the classic 1984 light gun shooter game Duck Hunt on your browser.Adv.
More Related News
Parking Slot | Free Parking GamePlay Parking Slot, the best online 3D car driving and parking game.Adv.
Slope Ball Run - Play OnlineSlope Game takes you on an exciting journey of a ball on special paths.Adv.
7 children killed in Israeli strike while lining up for nutritional supplements in central Gaza

At least seven children were killed by an Israeli strike in broad daylight while waiting in line for nutritional supplements near a medical centre in central Gaza on Thursday, health officials say.

What to know about Francesca Albanese, the UN investigator sanctioned by the U.S.

The United States has imposed sanctions on the United Nations official who investigates human rights abuses in occupied Palestinian territories, the latest effort by the Trump administration to punish those who criticize Israel's war in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas says it's given 'positive' response to U.S. ceasefire proposal, but more talks needed

Hamas said Friday it has given a "positive" response to the latest proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza but said further talks were needed on implementation.

Russia strikes Kyiv with missiles, drones in largest aerial attack since war in Ukraine began

Waves of drone and missile attacks targeted Kyiv overnight into Friday in the largest aerial attack since Russia's invasion of Ukraine began more than three years ago, injuring 23 people and inflicting severe damage across multiple districts of the capital in a seven-hour onslaught.

U.S. House passes Trump's tax and spending cuts bill by narrow margin

U.S. House Republicans propelled President Donald Trump's big multitrillion-dollar tax breaks and spending cuts bill to final congressional passage on Thursday, overcoming multiple setbacks to approve his signature second-term policy package before a Fourth of July deadline.

Militarized Gaza aid system shows Israel's continued use of starvation as weapon of war, Amnesty report says

A new Amnesty International report says the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation — a controversial U.S.- and Israel-backed group that took over aid distribution in the territory more than a month ago — uses a militarized aid mechanism that enables Israel to use starvation as a weapon of war and inflict genocide against Palestinians.

Jan. 6 rioter pardoned by Trump gets life in prison for plot on FBI

An American military veteran was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison for plotting to attack an FBI office and assassinate law enforcement officers in retaliation for his arrest on charges that he was part of the mob that stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, court records show.

Iran suspends co-operation with UN nuclear watchdog

Iran's president on Wednesday ordered the country to suspend its co-operation with the International Atomic Energy Agency after U.S. and Israeli airstrikes hit its most-important nuclear facilities, likely further limiting the ability of inspectors to track Tehran's program that had been enriching uranium to near weapons-grade levels.

Trump says Israel agrees to 'necessary conditions to finalize' 60-day Gaza ceasefire

U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Israel has agreed on terms for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza and warned the militant group Hamas to accept the deal before conditions worsen.

Stepping off the Trump treadmill: A CBC correspondent bids farewell to Washington

I got a journalism tip over drinks from a veteran Canadian correspondent when I first landed in Washington more than a decade ago — a formula for stories guaranteed to thrill audiences back home.

58 killed in intensified Israeli strikes in Gaza, ahead of another ceasefire push

Israeli strikes killed at least 58 people across Gaza on Monday, as residents in the enclave's north reported one of the heaviest bombardments in weeks. It comes as Israeli officials were due in Washington for a new ceasefire push by the Trump administration.

© 2008 - 2025 Webjosh  |  News Archive  |  Privacy Policy  |  Contact Us