Feb 03, 2023.
Following China's relaxation of quarantine restrictions for the new coronavirus, Mongolia resumed immigration checkpoints at the Zamyn-Uud border checkpoint on January 8, 2023. On the same day, China also reopened immigration checkpoints for passengers at the Elayn border checkpoint in Elenhot, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, marking the first time in nearly three years since January 27, 2020, that passenger movement by land between Mongolia and China has resumed.
In conjunction with the reopening of immigration checkpoints, passenger immigration checkpoints were put into service at one of the Zamyn-Uud border checkpoints, which had been undergoing expansion and renovation since September 2019 with grant assistance from the Chinese government.
At the request of the Chinese government, as of February 1, passengers entering China must have a negative PCR test certificate and fill out a medical questionnaire within 48 hours, while those entering Mongolia can enter only by filling out a medical questionnaire. Both countries do not quarantine passengers after their entry.
Passengers entering and leaving Mongolia are allowed to use only large buses (small conventional shared-ride jeeps are not allowed). Buses from Zamyn Oud to Elaine depart every 30 minutes from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Tickets can be purchased through the e-government website E-mongolia. Note that international passenger rail service between Mongolia and China has not resumed as of February 1.
Construction began on September 12, 2019. Construction was funded by a grant of 233.5 million yuan (about 4,436.5 million yen; 1 yuan = about 19 yen) from the Chinese government and 30.35 billion tugrik (about 1,122 million yen; 1 tugrik = about 0.037 yen) from the Mongolian government's own funds. The renovation and expansion work tripled the area of the border checkpoint to 19.72 hectares and quadrupled the daily passenger processing capacity of the immigration checkpoint. The renovation and expansion of the entire border checkpoint, including trucks and railroads, is scheduled for completion in July 2023.