Since 2026, the inbound and outbound passenger flow at Shanghai Port has continued to increase. According to statistics from the Shanghai General Station of Immigration Inspection, as of 9:00 on March 28, the cumulative number of entry-exit personnel inspected by the Shanghai Immigration Inspection Agency has exceeded 10 million, a year-on-year increase of 2.9%. The flow of people entering and exiting Shanghai ports showed a "two-way rush" trend. Among them, about 5.055 million people went out and about 4.945 million people entered, a year-on-year increase of 2.6% and 3.3% respectively.

As the "gold content" of Chinese passports continues to increase, mainland residents are becoming more enthusiastic about cross-border travel. Since the beginning of this year, Shanghai border inspection authorities have inspected more than 6.075 million mainland residents entering and exiting the country, with an average of about 70,000 visits per day.

On February 17, as China Canada and the United Kingdom have implemented unilateral visa-free policies. China's unilateral visa-free "circle of friends" has expanded to 50 countries, mutual visa-free countries have reached 29 countries, and 240-hour transit visa-free coverage covers 55 countries. The all-round open policy has provided great convenience for foreign tourists to come to China. Shanghai border inspection agencies have inspected a total of 1.388 million inbound foreign passengers this year, a year-on-year increase of 25.7%, accounting for 30.5% of inbound passengers. Among them, 886,000 foreign tourists entered the country using the visa-free policy and the 240-hour transit visa-free policy, accounting for 63.8% of the total number of foreign tourists entering the country.

It is worth noting that with the current integrated development of Shanghai’s cultural, business, tourism and sports exhibitions, many international exhibitions and events such as the China Home Appliances and Consumer Electronics Expo (AWE), the First Overseas Investment and Comprehensive Services Exhibition, and the 2026 F1 China Grand Prix have been held in Shanghai, becoming new growth points for attracting foreigners to enter the country. Since March, the number of inbound foreign passengers at Shanghai Port has exceeded 20,000 for 23 consecutive days. Shanghai’s magnetic attraction to build a gathering place for the world’s top events and enhance its status as an international convention and exhibition capital continues to be highlighted.

The continued development of the visa-free policy has also injected strong impetus into the rise of the Shanghai cruise port. A number of ultra-luxury cruise ships have docked in Shanghai this year, and foreign tourists can start their trip to Shanghai with the convenient visa-free policy. Since the beginning of this year, the Shanghai border inspection authorities have inspected a total of 305,000 inbound and outbound passengers at the cruise port, of which foreign passengers accounted for 10.8%.

Passenger flow continues to grow, placing higher demands on port customs clearance services. In order to ensure that passengers come and go quickly, the Shanghai Immigration Inspection Agency further optimizes customs clearance service measures:

Scientific implementation of service mechanisms such as passenger flow analysis and dynamic police reinforcements at airport ports;

Comprehensive online filling of foreign entry cards to minimize the waiting time for passengers to clear customs;

Adopt the "on-board inspection" mode at cruise ports to optimize the customs clearance process for cruise passengers and enable passengers to quickly log in for sightseeing after the cruise ship docks.

(CCTV reporter Wu Bing)

'