The Mong Cai-Dongxing international border gate pair linking Vietnam’s Quang Ninh Province and China’s Guangxi Province today, March 15, resumed immigration procedures for 38 Chinese tourists to come to Vietnam.
They belong to the first group of Chinese tourists to enter Vietnam via this border gate pair after a three-year hiatus induced by Covid-19, the local media reported. China had added Vietnam to the list of countries which groups of Chinese travelers can visit, with effect from March 15.
The 38 Chinese guests will spend four days in Mong Cai and Halong cities in Quang Ninh and the capital city of Hanoi.
The border gate pair reopened on January 8 this year but has since processed immigration procedures for Vietnamese and Chinese nationals to return home after China eased Covid-19 travel restrictions.
As of February 21, import and export activities via the two border gates were fully restored. However, only individual visitors have been able to cross the border there.
By 11 a.m. today, the Mong Cai international border gate saw 1,236 people going through.
More than 3,000 people are expected to travel through the Mong Cai border gate today.
Vietnamese authorities, tour operators and tourism service providers have begun working out plans to welcome back Chinese tourists.