Sure, at some point I will just go there to see what’s open/possible and whatnot. It’s not about crossing the border immediately but rather figuring out what will be possible in January.

It looks like situation is too fluid to get a definite answer online.

I noticed Shekou isn't on the list. Do you think this suggests that a ferry ticket alone would suffice for inclusion in the quota?

You have to book your ferry ticket first, so there's effectively a quota based on ferry capacity but it's not administered as part of the Government's land-border reservation scheme.

Given pent-up demand and the coming CNY, I think it'd take some persistence to get to Shenzhen in January.

I'm still not clear if transiting through HKIA to the mainland is allowed yet or not. Can I fly SFO-HKG-PVG after Jan 8th with no issues?

You need a negative PCR result within 48 hours of your flight to PVG. It is unknown whether the check-in counter at HKG will accept an overseas PCR report so you *may* have to enter HKG and do the $499 airport rapid PCR test.

The ban on transiting to the Mainland on flights via HKIA is being lifted January 8.

https://www.thestandard.com.hk/break...-for-January-8

It’s allowed starting today, everything’s as you would in late 2019

The time has come, restrictions on COVID testing upon arrival and quarantine are lifted in Chinese boarders.

HKIA has also resumed overseas to mainland transit as of today, along with the resumption of ferry services from HKIA to Shekou. Note that a negative COVID result is still required for HK and CN entry (48/24h PCR/antigen before departure for HK, 48h PCR before arrival for CN), and the current HK-mainland entry scheme has limited quota and requires a reservation if you’re traveling through one of the land ports (Lok Ma Chau/Futian Checkpoint, Shenzhen Bay or Man Kam/Wenjindu). If you’re a foreign visitor or HK citizen returning to HK from mainland, you’re exempt from the scheme, and the scheme does not apply to air or ferry travels (albeit you’ll have to get a ticket first). The daily one-way quotas are 35,000 for Lok Ma Chau, 10,000 for Shenzhen Bay and 5,000 for Man Kam.

High Speed Rail from West Kowloon is scheduled to resume some time around the 15th, and Lo Wu/Luohu port is currently under renovation. The metro link from Shenzhen Bay into Shenzhen is still under construction. Here’re a few links regarding HK entry and HK-mainland scheme that might be of use:
https://www.coronavirus.gov.hk/eng/inbound-travel.html
https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/...htm?fontSize=1

Except that the ten-year L visa in your passport remains suspended and they're not issuing new ones.

Meanwhile, no country has imposed reciprocal bans on Chinese tourists.

The 144 hour visa-free "transit" is back however. If 6 days (not counting the day you arrive) is enough for your trip, and you are only visiting Beijing/Tianjing, or Shanghai/Zhejiang/Jiangsu, or Guangdong, you can go to China immediately with a simple USA-HKG-China-USA itinerary. Other routings are available, but USA-HKG-China-USA is probably the cheapest--almost back to normal prices.

At the time the visa suspension was put in place in 2020, both South Korea and Japan had already suspended all visas. These weren't lifted until much later. Japan only lifted its own visa suspension in October 2022.

Worth also pointing at the TWOV thread which is a sticky but has been super quiet for a very long time! It will be useful to get feedback whether the pre-pandemic rules are fully back in place

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/chin...er-thread.html

China was well-aware that upon opening, most traffic in and out of country would be locals getting the eff outta there, or relatives coming back.

It's rubbish that visas for mainlanders haven't been suspended even as those foreigners continue to be so; OTOH, are tourists rushing to be back in a country that refuses to be transparent, and/or where being welded into a room is a fact of the not-so-distant past?

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It’s confirmed that L-visas are still suspended and new tourism visa applications still aren’t accepted according to an announcement today from the Chinese Embassy in U.S.

144h TWOV should be fine if you really, absolutely need to travel to Mainland.

That announcement, in Chinese, says that previously-issued multi-year visas 仍暂停使用. Since 暂停 "suspend" carries a temporary connotation here, there're some grounds for optimism existing visas will eventually be re-activated.