(ECNS) -- Since the reopening of Khunjerab, the only land port between China and Pakistan, on April 1, the volume of inbound and outbound travelers has been steadily increasing, according to the port.
The port had seen over 5,000 traveler visits by Sunday, a year-on-year increase of 454 percent. Among these visits, 246 were traveling to Pakistan and other South and Central Asian countries, with Chinese citizens accounting for 69 percent.
Khunjerab Port is 420 kilometers from Kashgar City in Northwest China's Xinjiang Autonomous Region and 1,890 kilometers to Urumqi City. It is 270 kilometers to Gilgit, the capital of Pakistan's northern region, and approximately 870 kilometers to Islamabad, capital of Pakistan.
Convenient transport conditions make this port an important transit point for international trade and cross-border tourism between China and Pakistan.
As cross-border tourism between China and Pakistan gains momentum, the Khunjerab Port has become particularly bustling.
"We set off from Kashgar and traveled along the Karakoram Highway to Pakistan, where we could see many magnificent sights along the way, such as Muztagh Ata, the Panlong Ancient Road, and the Khunjerab Pass," said Huang Mingyu, a Chinese tourist. He exited China through the Khunjerab Pass to visit Pakistan and other Central Asian countries and planned to return home via an airport.
A tour group of nine people from a travel agency in Kashgar City recently took an international bus to northern Pakistan on a five-day tour. The Khunjerab Pass border inspection station opened a special lane for the tour group, allowing them to pass through customs smoothly in less than 30 minutes.
"Increasingly popular cross-border tourism demands higher service standards," said Song Xueliang, deputy director of the Border Inspection Department at the Khunjerab Pass Border Inspection Station. He explained that the station enhances service efficiency by optimizing handling procedures, establishing special lanes, etc.
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