Staff members provide consultation services to passengers from Spain at a service center in Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 8, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

More than 20 million exit and entry passenger trips had been recorded via Beijing exit and entry frontier inspection stations so far this year as of early Saturday morning, the highest number since 2020, according to local authorities.

This figure, of which foreign passengers accounted for 30%, is 1.1 times the level of the whole of 2024, the Beijing General Station of Exit and Entry Frontier Inspection revealed.

Over 6 million border crossings by foreign nationals had been recorded as of early Saturday morning, up 34.5% from the same period last year. About 1.86 million entries were facilitated by visa exemption policies, 1.9 times the number recorded in 2024 and accounting for 60% of total entries of foreign nationals.

Statistics showed that nearly half of these foreign passengers had traveled as tourists, while the rest were on business trips or traveled to visit friends or family.

The surge was partly boosted by China's continuous optimization of visa-free policies. By the end of last month, China had established mutual visa exemption agreements with 29 countries and unilaterally offered visa-free entry to nationals of 48 countries, spanning Europe, Latin America and the Middle East.

To ensure efficient and smooth border crossings, the Beijing General Station of Exit and Entry Frontier Inspection has adopted multiple measures to facilitate customs clearance. Starting from Nov. 20, foreign visitors are able to complete their arrival cards online beforehand, while guidance signs were added at ports to assist passengers entering the country.