(ECNS) -- The Detian-Ban Gioc waterfalls, located on the China-Vietnam border, officially opened to tourists on Tuesday after more than one year of trial operations.
This marks the establishment of China's first cross-border tourism cooperation zone.
Within this zone, China's Detian Waterfall and Vietnam's Ban Gioc Waterfall are interconnected, featuring the region's unique karst and beautiful natural landscapes, forming the largest transnational waterfall in Asia. Tourists can also enjoy this scenery from different vantage points around the site.
A series of convenient customs procedures have also been launched by the border inspection authorities, according to Huang Canqiang, director of the Office of the Shuolong Border Inspection Station in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
New measures by China include "three exemptions" for Vietnamese tourists traveling in groups: no fingerprint collection, no entry and exit stamps, no entry card filling. Chinese tourists also benefit from dual customs lanes and are exempt from entry and exit stamps.
These streamlined procedures have boosted the interest of Chinese and Vietnamese tourists for cross-border travel.
"I led 20 Vietnamese tourists to experience the ‘One day tour in two countries’ today, and everyone had a great time," a Vietnamese tour guide said to China News Network.
In 2015, the governments of China and Vietnam signed an agreement to cooperate in the protection and development of the Detian-Ban Gioc tourism resources.
Both sides agreed to designate 2 square kilometers of land in each area to establish the cross-border tourism cooperation zone.
The zone began trial operations on Sept. 15, 2023, allowing tourists from both countries to cross borders through a system of pre-booking in groups, fixed routes, quota-based cross-border travel, and group entry and exit.
Since then, this destination has welcomed 1,232 cross-border tour groups from China and Vietnam, totaling 17,991 visitors by Oct. 10 this year.
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