China has eased visa rules for Shenzhen residents traveling to Hong Kong, allowing unlimited visits within a year instead of the previous one-trip-per-week limit.
Starting Dec 1, residents of the southern Chinese tech hub will be able to apply for multiple-entry visas to Hong Kong, according to state broadcaster China Central Television.
This move restores a 2009 policy that allowed Shenzhen residents to apply for multi-entry visas. The system was replaced in 2015 with a one-trip-per-week rule after complaints from Hong Kong residents about parallel trading, where a surge in people buying daily necessities in Hong Kong to resell on the mainland spurred weeks of street protests.
The Hong Kong government recently asked Beijing to bring back the multiple-entry visa as part of efforts to revive its stalling tourism industry. It’s unclear how much impact the new rules will have, given the economic slowdown in the mainland and the waning popularity of Hong Kong among Chinese travelers.
In addition, residents of Zhuhai, a city in Guangdong province, will be able to apply for a visa to visit neighboring Macau once a week, according to CCTV.
