Over 100,000 People Cross Hong Kong-China Border After COVID-19 Restrictions Lifted

People line up at the Lok Ma Chau checkpoint at the Shenzhen border crossing with mainland China in Hong Kong on Jan. 8, 2023. Peter Parks/AFP via Getty Images

Thousands of people from the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong crossed the border on Sunday after Beijing lifted COVID-19 quarantine requirements, despite the recent COVID-19 surge in the region.

Since early 2020, people from mainland China could not visit Hong Kong without being quarantined on arrival. Quarantine requirements also existed for travelers entering mainland China. This restriction was lifted on Jan. 8.