Mong Cai City leaders present flowers and souvenirs to the first Chinese tourists in group tours arriving in Vietnam after Covid-19 pandemic curbs were eased on March 15, 2023. — VNA/VNS
QUANG NINH (Vietnam News/Asia News Network): The Mong Cai (Vietnam) – Dongxing (China) International Border Gates officially resumed customs clearance procedures for international tourists on Wednesday (March 15).
The first foreign tourists entering Vietnam through the border gate in the northern province of Quảng Ninh on the day were a group of 38 Chinese tourists.
They are scheduled to visit several places in Vietnam during their four-day visit such as the Unesco-recognised Ha Long Bay (Quang Ninh) and the capital city of Hanoi.
The Mong Cai-Dongxing International Border Gates officially re-opened on Jan 8 but only Vietnamese and Chinese citizens were allowed to go through to return home after a period of being stuck due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
On Feb 21, import-export activities were fully resumed, and individual travellers were allowed to go through the border gates.
It is expected that about 3,000 people will go through the border gate on March 15, the day China re-opened group tours to Vietnam.
Both the authorities and tourism agencies in Quang Ninh have got infrastructure and staff ready to receive foreign tourists.
Vietnam is on the list of countries to which Chinese group tours can be conducted starting from March 15 in the second phase of China’s pilot programme on resuming outbound group tours.
