Making Shanghai Visits Convenient: Immigration staff at Shanghai Pudong airport prepare for expo

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Immigration staff at Shanghai Pudong International Airport say they're prepared for the potential jump in international passengers arriving for the expo. Yang Chengxi finds out more.

In July, the Israeli Consulate unveiled a new visa application center in Shanghai.

EYAL PROPPER, CONSUL GENERAL ISRAELI CONSULATE IN SHANGHAI "We saw a lot of exchange in tourism, of business to business people, and this is growing all the time. This is very good. I see it when I'm traveling to many provinces, to many cities."

These new centers have come in response to the rapid increase of international travelers for tourism and business purposes.

YANG CHENGXI SHANGHAI "And some of them travel through here, Shanghai Pudong International Airport, one of the nation's largest airports. Over 100 thousand international travelers go in and out of China through here every day."

Immigration officers at the airport have been preparing for a new height in tourist numbers, as the first China International Import Expo is in less than 100 days.

YAO CHENYING, DEPUTY TEAM LEADER SHANGHAI GENERAL STATION OF IMMIGRATION INSPECTION "We will raise the service level of police staff here for guests from around the world. We will also put together a dedicated task force and launch a special passage for guests to the CIIE, so that they can cross the border quickly and conveniently."

The airport is expanding its use of automated border control lanes, which have already helped more than 6.8 million passengers pass through immigration in as little as 10 seconds.

LUIS CALANDRE VISITOR "I work here at Shanghai University, so I have to do this I guess once every two months, every three months. So it's very convenient."

Since 2016, visitors from 53 countries have benefited from the "144-hour visa exemption transit policy". Transit foreigners who are destined for a third country or region are allowed to move around in Shanghai city, as well as Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces for as long as 6 days.

RENE OMLOR VISITOR "Actually it's a good thing. Because otherwise, the application of a regular visa does take a long time. So this is a quick, short thing so we can visit this city."

Up until July 25th, over 26 thousand people have successfully applied for this policy, that's a 20 percent increase year on year. Immigration officers say this policy could prove useful for prospective attendees ahead of the 5-day import expo in November. YCX, CGTN, SHANGHAI.