Beijing in December abruptly dropped some of the toughest COVID restrictions on earth, which had battered the world's second-biggest economy.

Business owner Yoyo Chen, 32, from Yiwu in central China, said returning to Thailand felt like coming home.

"I'm here to eat seafood. Previously, when I was here, I ate mango sticky rice, which was delicious. Back in China I kept thinking about the mango sticky rice here. I'm looking forward to the food, as well as visiting the beaches," Chen said.