On January 4, a reporter from Shaanxi Exit and Entry Administration Station (hereinafter referred to as "Shaanxi EE Administration Station") learned that in 2025, the number of foreign passengers entering and leaving Xi'an Port was 577,000, an increase of 89% year-on-year.
As an important node city in the joint construction of the "Belt and Road" and an air hub for opening up, Xi'an continues to burst with vitality and openness. Data shows that by 2025, the Shaanxi Exit and Entry Administration Station had inspected 2.06 million people entering and leaving the Xi'an port, an increase of 47% year-on-year. Among them, 1.36 million mainland residents, 124,000 Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan residents, and 577,000 foreigners were inspected, representing year-on-year increases of 33%, 62%, and 89%, respectively.
Lv Bin, director of the Exit and Entry Administration Department of Shaanxi Provincial Exit and Entry Administration Bureau, said that in 2025, the number of foreign nationals entering Xi'an Port of Entry exceeded 2.8 million, a year-on-year increase of 94 percent. Among them, more than 70 percent of passengers entered the country through unilateral visa-free and visa-exemption policies. The optimization of visa policies and the innovation of exit and entry management services directly promoted the facilitation of personnel exchanges.
By 2025, with the operation of the T5 terminal at Xi'an Xianyang International Airport, the inspection environment at Xi'an ports has been significantly enhanced. The inspection waiting area for the T5 terminal has been expanded to 6,500 square meters, with the number of manual and express inspection channels increased to 36 each; immigration departments have simultaneously introduced 6 convenient measures for the public and businesses, launched the "Shaanxi Immigration Information Filing System", and about 40% of foreign passengers have achieved "online pre-filling, offline quick review", with the declaration efficiency increased by 40%; by promoting the new generation of biometric recognition express channels, the average time for passengers who meet the conditions to clear customs has been shortened to within 10 seconds, and the overall efficiency of customs clearance has been significantly improved.
By 2025, new routes to Dushanbe in Tajikistan, Qimqent in Kazakhstan, and Istanbul in Turkey will be added to Xi'an Xianyang International Airport, and the layout of Xi'an's flights to Central and West Asia will continue to be improved. The "Air Silk Road" is becoming denser, making the connection between Xi'an and the world more closely. The number of people and flights inspected at Xi'an ports of entry to Central Asian countries increased by 56% and 19% respectively year-on-year, fully reflecting the vitality of economic and trade and people-to-people exchanges under the "Belt and Road" initiative.
While passenger flights continue to grow, the growth of cargo flights is also significant. In 2025, the number of inbound and outbound flights at Xi'an Port exceeded 14,000, a year-on-year increase of 46%. Among them, passenger flights numbered over 12,000, an increase of 46% year-on-year, and cargo flights numbered over 1,700, an increase of 78% year-on-year. The border control department implemented "priority inspection and quick customs clearance" for some key cargo routes, ensuring safe control while improving the efficiency of the supply chain, and helping Shaanxi to build a new pattern of opening up that is "mutual benefit between the east and the west, and internal and external linkage".
"Xi'an port of entry cargo and passenger transport has maintained a 'dual increase' trend, and the hub's radiation function has continued to strengthen," said Lv Bin. The border control department will focus on improving the functions of the airport port of entry, continuously optimize the border control inspection process, and further promote Shaanxi's high-level opening up with meticulous control and efficient service. (Reporter for the Masses News, He Haibin)