The number of passengers using Shanghai as the gateway to coming into or leaving China reached a new high at 42.42 million last year, up 12.9 percent from 2015.

Shanghai General Station of Immigration Inspection said that during 2015, only 26 days saw more than 100,000 passengers passing through Shanghai ports, while last year local immigration inspection stations experienced 144 such days, most of them during holiday periods.

Foreign passengers have taken advantage of the 144-hour, visa-free policy introduced on January 30, and numbered over 35,000 in Shanghai — 90 percent higher than the number of foreigners using the 72-hour, visa-free policy in 2015.

To further boost links with other countries as well as helping local economic development, Shanghai also adopted a 15-day visa-exemption policy for foreign tour groups entering China by cruise ships via local ports from last October, benefiting more than 6,000 foreigners.

Immigration inspection efficiency was also improved as more self-service facilities were installed. Besides its 15 self-service channels at Terminal 2, Pudong International Airport added 12 more at T1 and the 27 channels served more than 6,200 passengers a day, with each visitor having the passport and face scanned and going through gates in about 10 seconds.

About 2.25 million passengers, who held passports with electronic chips and had their personal information registered at immigration authorities, entered the country via these channels in 2016, up 93 percent from 2015.

Twenty self-service channels will be installed at Hongqiao Airport when its Terminal 1 Building A is put into use after being renovated.