Immigration office sees large spike across the board

Immigration authorities across the country saw 168 million entries and exits to and from the Chinese mainland in the first half of this year, up 169.6 percent year-on-year, data released by the National Immigration Administration said on Wednesday.

The number of inbound and outbound vehicles, boats, planes and trains totaled over 9.83 million, up 119.2 percent, according to the data.

The authorities also issued more than 10 million passports to Chinese citizens, up 2,647.5 percent year-on-year, the data said, adding that over 42.79 million certificates were issued for travel to and from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, up 1,509 percent year-on-year.

In addition, 379,000 visas and residence permits were issued to foreigners, an increase of 53.4 percent compared with the same period last year, read by the data.