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Chinese New Year 2023

13 January 2023

The Chinese New Year (known as "Chunyun" in the Chinese language) is the world's largest annual human migration. In 2023 Chinese New Year falls on 22 January. It will be the year of the Rabbit. Celebrations will last for 14 days, concluding with the Lantern Festival on 5 February 2023.

Because of the sheer scale of this event, there is an associated enhanced risk of spread of a range of infections, with COVID-19 now representing a new problem that was never there previously.

Advice to Travellers

When large crowds of people gather the risk of accidents and injuries occurring can increase:

  • all travellers should be advised to obtain comprehensive travel insurance to cover the duration of their trip and any planned activities, including cover for COVID-19-related illness.

The potential health risks in China for travellers will vary between individuals depending on:

  • the amount of time they plan to spend in China
  • the areas of China being visited
  • planned activities during their trip
  • mode(s) of travel being used (e.g. air, rail, river cruise)
  • individual risk factors for the traveller (e.g. age, pre-existing health conditions, regular medications, pregnancy)

See the TRAVAX China country page for further information on potential health risks.

Infectious diseases such as influenza, measles and COVID-19 can spread easily between people in crowds. Therefore it is important to

Many other health problems experienced by travellers cannot be prevented by vaccinations, and preventative measures should be recommended including:

COVID-19

China is currently experiencing a large expansion in the number of COVID-19 cases. Although many COVID-19 restrictions in China have recently been lifted, local services may still be impacted, and movement of people may still be restricted in some areas. Therefore, those travelling to China before booking their trip, should be advised to:

  • review the latest FCDO foreign travel advice for China, including entry requirements and quarantine restrictions, and be aware restrictions can change at short notice
  • check with their airlines for updates on routes, schedules and ticketing, and details of any changes in pre-departure COVID-19 testing required
  • be fully familiar with how to reduce their risk of exposure to coronavirus (COVID-19) during travel – see the fitfortravel COVID-19: Health Considerations for Travel page for details
  • be aware that access to medical facilities or supplies of medication in China may be impacted due to the large increase in COVID-19 case numbers currently being experienced

As of 5 January 2023, travellers arriving in England from mainland China are required to take a pre-departure COVID-19 test:

Travellers transiting to the UK via another country should be advised to check travel advice for that country before their departure, as other countries may also introduce travel or testing restrictions for those arriving from China.

Avian Influenza

Although human cases of avian influenza are rare, visitors to China should be aware of:

See the Avian Influenza page for further information. In addition, remember you can email the Avian Influenza advice sheet to the traveller using the TRAVAX Suitcase function.

After Travel

Travellers who become unwell after returning home to the UK, particularly with fever and/or respiratory symptoms, should be advised to call their GP or NHS 111 and inform the health professional of their recent travel history.