China’s National Immigration Administration (NIA) expects China’s ports of entry to handle an average of 2.2 million inbound and outbound passenger movements per day during the three-day Dragon Boat Festival holiday (18-20 June). That represents an 11.7 percent increase over the same holiday period in 2025 and would push the single-day peak above 2.35 million, according to figures released on 16 June. International airports will shoulder much of the load. Shanghai Pudong is forecast to process about 104,000 travellers daily, while Beijing Capital and Guangzhou Baiyun are each expected to see 52,000. Shenzhen Bao’an (21,000), Beijing Daxing (19,000) and Chengdu Tianfu (17,000) round out the busiest gateways. Land crossings with Hong Kong and Macao are bracing for the biggest surge: Shenzhen’s Luohu checkpoint alone could top 260,000 travellers a day, and ports along the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge are preparing for 37,000-plus daily movements. To keep traffic moving, the NIA has ordered border-inspection units to open additional inspection lanes, extend staffing rosters and issue real-time peak-flow alerts via social media and airport screens. The agency is also coordinating with customs, health-quarantine and transport departments to ensure rapid clearance for tour groups and returning overseas workers. For businesses, the numbers confirm that China’s rapid border re-opening is translating into concrete mobility gains. Corporations moving staff in and out of the mainland over the long weekend should anticipate longer queues at tier-one airports and consider secondary gateways such as Chengdu or Xiamen. Travel managers are being advised to book earlier flight or train slots, allow extra buffer time for immigration and remind employees to verify document validity—especially those entering under the new 240-hour transit-visa-free regime.
![Dragon Boat Festival to See Record 2.2 Million Daily Border Crossings, Says China’s Immigration Authority]()
For organisations or individuals needing help with Chinese visa requirements ahead of the rush, VisaHQ’s dedicated China portal (https://www.visahq.com/china/) offers an efficient way to check the latest entry rules, submit applications online and get expert support, ensuring travellers arrive with the correct paperwork and avoid last-minute hurdles at the border.
Analysts also see the holiday as a stress test for China’s upgraded e-border infrastructure. If congestion is kept in check, it will bolster the government’s case for expanding visa-free arrangements and accelerating the digitalisation of entry-exit processes—policies that multinational firms have lobbied for since the pandemic. "A smooth Dragon Boat rush would be a powerful signal that China can handle pre-Covid-level volumes again," notes Wang Tao, aviation analyst at CAPSE in Shanghai.
For organisations or individuals needing help with Chinese visa requirements ahead of the rush, VisaHQ’s dedicated China portal (https://www.visahq.com/china/) offers an efficient way to check the latest entry rules, submit applications online and get expert support, ensuring travellers arrive with the correct paperwork and avoid last-minute hurdles at the border.
Analysts also see the holiday as a stress test for China’s upgraded e-border infrastructure. If congestion is kept in check, it will bolster the government’s case for expanding visa-free arrangements and accelerating the digitalisation of entry-exit processes—policies that multinational firms have lobbied for since the pandemic. "A smooth Dragon Boat rush would be a powerful signal that China can handle pre-Covid-level volumes again," notes Wang Tao, aviation analyst at CAPSE in Shanghai.
