Móng Cái City leaders presented flowers and souvenirs to the first Chinese tourists in group tours arriving in Việt Nam after COVID-19 pandemic curbs were eased on Wednesday. — VNA/VNS Photo

QUẢNG NINH — The Móng Cái (Việt Nam) – Dongxing (China) International Border Gates officially resumed customs clearance procedures for international tourists on Wednesday.

The first foreign tourists entering Việt Nam through the border gate in the northern province of Quảng Ninh on the day were a group of 38 Chinese tourists. They are scheduled to visit several places in Việt Nam during their four-day visit such as the UNESCO-recognised Hạ Long Bay (Quảng Ninh) and the capital city of Hà Nội.

The Móng Cái - Dongxing International Border Gates officially re-opened on January 8 but only Vietnamese and Chinese citizens were allowed to go through to return home after a period of being stuck due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On February 21, import-export activities were fully resumed, and individual travellers were allowed to go through the border gates.  

It is expected that about 3,000 people will go through the border gate on March 15, the day China re-opened group tours to Việt Nam.

Both the authorities and tourism agencies in Quảng Ninh have got infrastructure and staff ready to receive foreign tourists. 

Việt Nam is on the list of countries to which Chinese group tours can be conducted starting from March 15 in the second phase of China’s pilot programme on resuming outbound group tours. — VNS