Chinese passport: Witness of historical evolution and modern change

Chinese passport: Witness of historical evolution and modern change

    Passport is a legal document for a country's citizens to enter and exit and travel or stay abroad. It not only proves the identity and nationality of citizens, but also reflects the sovereignty and comprehensive strength of a country. Chinese passport has a long history, from simple to complex, from simple to advanced evolution process. This article will give a detailed account of the history and evolution of the Chinese passport.

The prototype of an ancient passport

    As early as the Xia, Shang and Western Zhou dynasties, China had the prototype of the passport, which was called "Ya-zhang" and "Gui-Zhang". These documents are mainly used to prove the identity and access of the holder. In the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, people began to use bamboo slips, cloth, wood, gold and jade or paper made of "seal", "contract", "according to the plate" and other documents to enter and exit the border, these documents recorded similar to the content of modern visas.

    In the Han and Tang Dynasties, the form of Chinese passport was further developed, and there appeared a pass that was more similar to modern passports - "passing". Especially in the Tang Dynasty, the pass-through system was more strict, specifying in detail the identity, destination and duration of the pass-through.

    After the Song Dynasty, the form of passport continued to evolve, and "Guan Guan" and "symbol plate" appeared. Yuan Dynasty is mainly "public inspection", "waist card" based. By the Ming Dynasty, the forms of passports were more diversified, including "letter ultimatum", "care", "symbol plate" and "Kanghe".

Passports from the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China

    After 1840, the Qing government began to authorize the issuance of passports, which was the beginning of China's single-person single-paper passport. However, during most of the Qing Dynasty, the management of passports was not strict, and there were many irregularities in the issuance and use of passports.

    In the period of the Republic of China, the government began to develop a relatively standardized and complete passport system. In 1919, the Beiyang Government Office in Shanghai issued the first verifiable Chinese passport with photo attached. In 1929, the National Government promulgated the Passport Regulations and registered overseas Chinese. In 1932, the National Government officially announced the "Interim Measures for the Issuance of Overseas Passports by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs", which divided overseas passports into diplomatic passports, official passports and ordinary passports.

The development of passport after the founding of New China

    After the founding of New China, the passport system has been comprehensively reformed and improved. In 1950, the first edition of New China's passport was printed at the Beijing People's Printing House, which was divided into three types: diplomatic, official and ordinary. The passports are covered in patent leather and printed with the words "Passport of the People's Republic of China" and the national emblem has been added to the inside page.

    Since then, the Chinese passport has undergone several revisions, mainly in terms of specifications, dimensions, filling items, materials and anti-counterfeiting technology. In 1951, China introduced official passports, which are issued to persons, except those holding diplomatic passports, who go abroad temporarily on business and to members of some diplomatic and consular missions abroad. In 1956, ordinary passports were divided into ordinary passports for business and ordinary passports for private purposes.

    Since the reform and opening up in 1978, China's passport work has made historic progress. In order to better meet the needs of foreign exchanges at all levels and in all fields, the scope of issuance of Chinese passports has been scientifically adjusted and accelerated to meet international standards. In 1991, China began to print machine passports that meet international standards, bidding farewell to the era of manual filling. In 2007, the Passport Law of the People's Republic of China was promulgated and implemented, marking the legalization of China's passport work.

Introduction and modernization of the e-passport

    In 2006, the International Civil Aviation Organization issued the international standard for electronic passports, and the electronic passport has become the development trend of international travel documents. Since 2011, China has officially launched the e-passport, which stores the holder's passport information page information, facial appearance, fingerprint and related digital signature certificate information in the chip, and is digitally encrypted. This change has greatly improved the security and convenience of passports, and Chinese citizens can swipe their passports to self-customs clearance when they return home.

    In recent years, the production technology and anti-counterfeiting means of Chinese passports have been constantly upgraded. The 2012 edition of the e-passport uses dozens of anti-counterfeiting technologies such as laser perforation, gloss ink, and high-resolution holography to ensure the security of information and the difficulty of forging documents. At the same time, the style of the Chinese passport is also more beautiful, and the inner page is printed with hand-painted world cultural and natural heritage images such as the Great Wall, the Forbidden City and Mount Tai, showing the history and culture of China.

The international recognition of passports has increased

    With the continuous improvement of China's comprehensive national strength, the international recognition of Chinese passports is getting higher and higher. Up to now, China has concluded visa-free agreements with 157 countries covering different types of passports, achieved comprehensive visa exemption with 24 countries including Thailand, Singapore, Maldives and the United Arab Emirates, and nearly 70 countries and regions have granted visa-free or visa-on-arrival facilities to Chinese citizens.

    The improved convenience and recognition of passports not only provide more convenience for Chinese citizens to travel abroad and conduct business activities, but also demonstrate China's international status and influence. In the future, with the development of the country and the increase of international exchanges, the Chinese passport will continue to play an important role in providing more support and guarantee for Chinese citizens to go to the world.

    The history and evolution of the Chinese passport has witnessed the historical process of the country's development and also reflected the improvement of the country's comprehensive strength. From the ancient "Ya-zhang" and "Gui-zhang" to the modern electronic passport, the Chinese passport has experienced great changes from scratch, from simple to advanced. In the future, the Chinese passport will continue to take the road of high-quality development, provide more convenient and efficient services for Chinese citizens, and become a unique "business card" to show the national image and national characteristics.