Chinese police caught 3,021 persons trying to illegally cross Chinese borders in the first six months of 2006, according to statistics released by the Exit and Entry Administration of the Ministry of Public Security on Friday.

The statistics also showed that about 152 million people crossed Chinese borders in the January to June period, up 4.54 percent from the same period last year.

About 10 million automobiles crossed the borders during the period, up 5.85 percent over the same period last year.

A total of 16.57 million Chinese citizens exited the borders during the first half of 2006, up 13.32 percent over the same period last year. They traveled to 204 countries and regions. The ten most popular destinations for mainlanders are Hong Kong, Macao, Japan, Republic of Korea, Russia, the United States, Malaysia, Singapore, Mongolia and Thailand.

About 122 million people from 211 countries and regions entered Chinese borders during the first six months of the year, up 5.95 percent over the same period last year.

(Xinhua News Agency July 22, 2006)