By Wednesday, a tourist visa center in Dongxing City, in southeast China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region which borders Vietnam, had issued visas for over 8,000 tourists from around the country.

Many local people in Guangxi also visit Vietnam for the day as a visa is not necessary for a 24-hour cross-border trip.

Meanwhile Vietnam has stopped issuing visas to foreign visitorsas its official Spring Festival holidays run between January 30 and February 5, while China's official holiday period runs from February 1-7.

However the number of Vietnam-bound tourists from China may further increase in the next few days as some border areas in Vietnam are continuing to accept visa applications by Chinese visitors, according to official sources.

Last Spring Festival, over 12,000 Chinese visited Vietnam via Guangxi.

(People's Daily February 2, 2003)