Damien Tran, a resident of the Bay Area, was eagerly looking forward to his upcoming trip to Kunming, China, to explore the natural beauty of Yunnan Province. However, his vacation plans have been thrown into uncertainty due to a recent incident. On Tuesday, Tran made his way to the Chinese consulate in San Francisco's Western Addition to retrieve his passport, which had the approved tourist visa for his trip. To his disappointment, he discovered that the visa office had been indefinitely closed following an unusual event that occurred on Monday. During this incident, an armed man, wielding a gun and crossbow, drove into the consulate building. Tran, having seen the news, had hoped that there might be a chance that the office would remain open. Unfortunately, his hopes were dashed. The incident on Monday led to a fatal shooting by the San Francisco Police Department, gaining international attention.
Tran had already made flight and hotel bookings for his family's trip, planning to depart over the upcoming weekend, first to Vietnam and then to China. However, with his passport still held within the consulate, he is now unable to proceed with his international travel. Late the previous night, the consulate posted an announcement that its visa office would be closed until further notice due to significant damage to the building. On Tuesday, the consulate took the precaution of closing its office with a metal door to deter any potential visitors. Nonetheless, numerous individuals arrived in the hope of picking up their documents, with some having traveled from Sacramento for this purpose Shirley Cen, who operates a travel agency in Chinatown, catering to Chinese Americans, revealed that she has received numerous inquiries about tourist visas for China. This surge in interest comes as China has only recently reopened its borders after a three-year closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Cen also mentioned that some of her clients have urgent travel plans and are eagerly anticipating the resumption of visa services in the near future.
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