Foreign visitors to China will no doubt be familiar with the experience of waiting in interminably long lines to pass through immigration.
Well, now the Guangzhou government has expedited the process with 97 self-service lanes placed at various immigration checkpoints throughout the city, according to GRT Radio. In a matter of seconds, foreigners can pass through the exit lanes after swiping a card, scanning their fingerprints and having their picture taken.
This comes at a particularly convenient time with the 123rd China Import and Export Fair (commonly known as the Canton Fair) having opened on April 15 and drawing floods of foreigners to the city.
The spike in foreign visitors is borne out in the numbers. The Guangzhou General Station of Exit and Entry Frontier Inspection recorded 68,000 trips made by foreigners between last Thursday and Saturday, which was 27 percent more than during that same time period in March.
It appears that the twice-yearly Canton Fair influx is only continuing to grow, with 6 percent more trips recorded this year than over the same period last spring.
The new expedited entry protocols at Guangzhou East Railway Station offer foreigners the added perk of being able to use the same self-service lane as the Chinese visitors after a one-time registration, provided they have a residence permit valid for more than six months.
READ MORE: How to Skip Airport Lines in China with a Z Visa
[Image via Nanfang News]
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