On March 31, as Qingming Festival approaches, an increasing number of travelers are returning to their hometowns via the Xiamen port to pay respects to ancestors and sweep tombs, visit relatives and friends, and enjoy spring outings. Inbound and outbound passenger flows at the Xiamen port have risen noticeably in recent days.

　　On the 31st, a China News Service reporter at the Xiamen Wutong Passenger Terminal observed that after the passenger ferry "Xin Jin Xiang Long" docked, nearly 200 passengers proceeded one after another to the border inspection hall to complete entry procedures. Among these travelers, many were hurrying back before Qingming to return with their families to their mainland hometowns to pay respects to ancestors and sweep tombs.

　　Taiwan compatriot Mr. Shi told the reporter that this year he had brought his children back specially from the main island of Taiwan, and the whole family planned to go to their hometown of Zhangpu to pay respects to ancestors and sweep tombs. "Clearance is becoming more and more convenient now. When I came during the Spring Festival, I completed the registration procedures for the express channel. This time I had all my family members go through it too; using the express channel is very fast."

　　At Qingming, honoring ancestors and remembering origins is a Chinese tradition. The Xiamen–Kinmen "mini three links" route, as a convenient channel for cross-strait exchanges, is now welcoming a peak in passenger flow of people returning home to pay respects to ancestors.

　　Chen Jinlai, director of the border inspection division at the Gaoqi Border Inspection Station of the Xiamen General Station of Exit and Entry Frontier Inspection, introduced that 80 percent of Taiwan compatriots have ancestral homes in Fujian, and taking the Xiamen–Kinmen "mini three links" passenger route home to pay respects to ancestors, sweep tombs, and reunite with clan relatives is the ** for many Taiwan compatriots; at the same time, many Taiwan compatriots and young Taiwanese working and living on the mainland also use this route to return to Taiwan to sweep tombs. During the three-day Qingming holiday this year, passenger flow on the route is expected to exceed 10,000 person-times, and with pre- and post-holiday flows combined, it is expected to exceed 20,000 person-times.

　　On the Xiamen airport side, Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport fully implemented the 2024 summer-autumn flight season on March 31. In the coming week, overseas Chinese and compatriots from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan returning home to pay respects to ancestors, along with mainland residents traveling abroad, will become the main force in inbound and outbound passenger flow during the Qingming holiday.

　　As China's visa-free "circle of friends" continues to expand, many overseas Chinese are gradually enjoying the convenience of visa-free policies. According to statistics, in the ** quarter of this year, the Gaoqi Border Inspection Station processed a cumulative total of more than 30,000 person-times of visa-free foreign inbound travelers, accounting for about 30 percent of the number of inbound foreign travelers. Affected by this, during this year's Qingming Festival, passenger flow of overseas Chinese from relevant countries returning home to pay respects to ancestors is expected to reach a new peak.

　　In addition, influenced by mutual visa exemption policies between China and Singapore, China and Thailand, and others, the number of mainland residents using the Qingming holiday to travel to Thailand, Singapore, and other Southeast Asian countries will also rise substantially.