Travelers from Kazakhstan enter the China-Kazakhstan Horgos International Border Cooperation Center in Horgos, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, April 19, 2024. (Xinhua/Chen Shuo)

URUMQI, July 8 (Xinhua) -- More than 2.4 million entry-exit personnel were inspected at ports of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in the first half of 2026, marking a 33.2 percent year-on-year increase, official data showed Tuesday.

The region hit the 2-million entry-exit trips milestone 39 days earlier than in 2025, highlighting the strong opening-up vitality of Xinjiang as a core area of the Silk Road Economic Belt, according to the Xinjiang entry-exit border inspection administration.

Statistics show that nearly 1.23 million exit trips and 1.18 million entry trips were recorded in the first half of the year, up 34.8 percent and 31.6 percent year on year respectively.

"Self-driving trips to Kazakhstan are extremely convenient now. The whole trip is smooth and worry-free as we have dedicated lanes and very fast customs clearance," said Jiang Weijie, a tourist from Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.

In the first half of the year, cross-border self-driving trips registered at Xinjiang ports surged nearly 4.5 times, and nearly 1,500 cross-border foreign tourist groups were recorded, the regional immigration authority said.