Immigration management departments across the country have inspected and verified 163 million cross-border passenger trips in the first quarter this year, a 15.3 percent year-on-year increase, the National Immigration Administration revealed on Tuesday.

国家移民管理局周二透露，今年第一季度，全国移民管理部门共查验出入境人员1.63亿人次，同比增长15.3%。

Of these trips, more than 17.4 million were made by foreigners, a 33.4 percent increase compared with the same period last year, the administration's spokesman Lin Yongsheng said at an online news conference.

国家移民管理局发言人林勇胜在一次线上新闻发布会上表示，其中外籍人员出入境达1740余万人次，较去年同期增长33.4%。”

Residents on the Chinese mainland made 80.27 million passenger trips, and residents in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan made 65.72 million trips, both seeing a more than 10 percent year-on-year increase.

与此同时，内地居民出入境总人次为8027万，香港、澳门和台湾居民出入境总人次为6572万，均实现同比增长超过10%。

The administration improved the country's visa-free transit policy significantly in December last year by granting a 10-day visa-free stay for citizens from 54 countries who make a transit in China.

去年12月，中国政府大幅改进了过境免签政策，允许来自54个国家的公民在中国过境时享受10天的免签停留期。

To enjoy the policy, these people can enter China through 60 ports and stay in 24 provinces

为了享受这一政策，这些旅客可以通过全国60个口岸入境，并在24个省份停留。

"The expanded visa-free transit policy, in coordination with other visa exemption policies, contributed to a significant increase in the number of foreign travelers to China," Lin said.

"扩大过境免签政策与其他免签政策相配合，促进了外国游客来华人数的大幅增长。

By March 31 this year, the number of incoming foreign travelers received by ports across the country had increased by about 40 percent to more than 9.2 million, according to Lin. Of these people, about 71 percent came to China visa-free.

截至今年3月31日，全国各口岸接待的入境外国旅客数量增长了40%，达到920多万人次。其中，约71%的旅客是免签入境的。

the National Immigration Administration

国家移民管理局

cross-border passenger

跨境旅客

visa-free transit policy

过境免签政策

year-on-year

同比；与上年同期数字相比