China-Kazakhstan free trade zone sees 1m visitors in Q1

URUMQI - A China-Kazakhstan free trade zone received about one million visits in the first quarter of 2017, according to local border inspection authorities.

The Horgos International Border Cooperation Center on the China-Kazakhstan border, in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, has seen an increasing number of tourists since 2012. It attracted a total of 5.43 million tourists in 2016.

Hu Ruifeng with the Horgos city border checkpoint said the center launched 12 self-service customs clearance passages in mid-March, which allow people to pass through customs in 10 seconds with the help of face and fingerprint identification devices.

Covering 5.28 square kilometers, the center opened in April 2012 as a destination for cross-border shopping. It has more than 40 duty-free shops selling luxury brands such as Omega and Versace.

The facility is the world's first cross-border free-trade zone the biggest duty-free shopping center in west China. It allows entry of citizens from any country with valid passports or with exit and entry permits.