China Handles 15.46 Million Cross-Border Trips During National Day ‘Golden Week’

China’s National Immigration Administration (NIA) reported a bumper week of cross-border activity as the nation’s seven-day National Day holiday drew to a close. Between 1 and 7 October, border officers processed 15.46 million inbound and outbound movements—an average of 2.21 million a day and 6.7 percent higher than the same period last year. Outbound mainland residents accounted for 4.44 million trips, a 9.3 percent year-on-year rise as Chinese holiday-makers flocked to visa-friendly destinations such as Iceland, New Zealand and the UAE. Foreign arrivals hit 682,000, up 5.4 percent, with more than 505,000 travellers—roughly three quarters—entering under China’s expanding visa-free regimes. Air, land and sea checkpoints together inspected 732,000 planes, trains, vessels and vehicles, an increase of 14.7 percent, after immigration authorities deployed extra staffing and real-time crowd-flow forecasting to ease peak congestion. Golden Week is traditionally a stress-test for China’s border infrastructure, and the smooth processing this year underlines the impact of digital inspection systems rolled out at major airports and land ports since 2025. The agency said it issued passenger-flow alerts 48 hours in advance, helping airlines and cruise operators stagger departures. For corporate mobility managers the data confirm that international connectivity is entering a new post-pandemic normal. Frequent-traveller e-gate enrollment, which now covers 95 percent of foreign passport holders arriving in Beijing Capital and Shanghai Pudong, shaved average inspection times to under 20 seconds. Logistics firms reported no cargo backlog at bonded zones, a key metric for just-in-time supply chains. With China scheduled to host the China International Import Expo in November and several Formula E fixtures this winter, officials said Golden Week served as a rehearsal for even larger inflows. Companies sending teams to China later in Q4 should nevertheless book flights early and ensure travellers are pre-registered for e-channel use to replicate this week’s friction-free experience.