China’s largest road crossing on the Sino-Vietnamese frontier—Hekou port in Honghe Prefecture, Yunnan—has become the province’s first border gate to exceed three million passenger movements this year, the local *Economic Daily* reported on 20 June. As of noon on 18 June the tally stood at 3.001 million, up 6.7 % year-on-year. Growth is being driven by resurgent Vietnamese inbound tour groups eager to experience mainland Dragon-Boat festivities and retail offerings. Between 1 January and 15 June the border post processed 1,500 Vietnamese package tours (29,600 travellers), increases of 14.6 % and 13.8 % respectively. The port authority credited the expansion of an online foreigner arrival-card system, real-time flow monitoring and the opening of “love” and “green” fast-track lanes for vulnerable passengers. Hekou is a key node of the Kunming–Hai Phong economic corridor and a bellwether for China–Vietnam people-to-people exchanges. The crossing facilitates not only day-trip shopping but also the movement of Chinese expatriate managers overseeing textile and electronics plants in neighbouring Lao Cai province. Robust volumes bolster the case for further simplifying group-tour visa procedures and for extending cargo-vehicle opening hours, long requested by logistics operators. With 2026-27 designated the China-Vietnam Cross-Border Tourism Cooperation Years, regional authorities expect traffic to continue climbing. Infrastructure upgrades under review include biometric e-gates compatible with Vietnam’s new e-passport and an air-conditioned pedestrian sky-bridge to replace the current open walkway across the Nanxi River. Mobility planners sending staff to the Red River Delta should note that mid-day heat and holiday queues can still produce 30-minute waits at manual counters.
Source: Economic Daily (Jingji Ribao)
