A total of 168 million cross-border trips were made in China in the first half of 2023, a 169.6% increase compared with the same period in 2022, said China's immigration department on Wednesday.

According to the administration, the 168 million cross-border trips, 48.8% of 2019's numbers, included around 80.3 million trips made by mainland residents, 74.9 million trips by residents from the regions of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, as well as 8.4 million trips of foreigners.

From January to June, more than 10 million ordinary passports were issued, a 2,647.5% increase from 2022, while the number of documents issued for travel between the mainland and the regions of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan reached 42.8 million, almost as many as the number in 2019, said the administration. More than 379,000 foreigners in China were granted residence permits, accounting for 86.7% of the same period in 2019.

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