Two passenger vehicles departed from Hanoi, Vietnam pass China's Youyiguan Border Gate. [Photo by Song Jian/China News Service]

Two passenger vehicles departed from Hanoi, Vietnam, via China's Youyiguan Border Gate and entered Nanning, capital of Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, on July 11, marking the resumption of the Hanoi-Nanning direct passenger route.

The passenger route covers a total distance of about 381 kilometers, of which 171 kilometers are in Vietnam. The travel time, including customs clearance time, is about 7 hours.

On Jan 31, 2020, China and Vietnam suspended international road passenger transport services due to the COVID-19 pandemic, making this resumption a significant milestone in opening-up.

"With the operation of this passenger route, vehicles and passengers can directly go into China after customs clearance procedures through the Youyiguan Border Gate. They do not need to transit at the checkpoint, which embodies the 'point to point' and 'door to door' transport concept," said Zheng Haiping of the Youyiguan Border Gate.

Of note, Guangxi also plans to resume the operation of other road routes, such as the Nanning-Hanoi, Nanning-Halong and Nanning- Haiphongo routes, which will further promote the regular operation of international transport channels.