China extends visa-free transit stays, adds entry points

China announced on Tuesday a significant relaxation of its visa-free transit policy, extending the period of stay for foreign travelers and expanding the list of accessible ports and provincial-level regions, in order to further promote openness and people-to-people exchanges.

Eligible travelers are permitted to stay in the country for up to 240 hours, or 10 days, the National Immigration Administration said.

The period of stay was previously restricted to 72 or 144 hours.

The policy revision, effective immediately, also includes a substantial expansion of designated ports and travel regions, enhancing flexibility for international visitors.

Eligible citizens from 54 countries, including Russia, Brazil, the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada, can enter China visa-free when transiting to a third country or region. These travelers can now enter through any of the 60 ports across 24 provincial-level regions, up from 39 ports in 19 provincial-level regions, the NIA said.

The 21 newly included ports are located in the provinces of Shanxi, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian, Jiangxi, Shandong, Hunan, Hainan, Sichuan and Guizhou, and in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. The five newly included provinces for visa-free transit stays are Shanxi, Anhui, Jiangxi, Hainan and Guizhou.

China, which first implemented its visa-free transit policy in January 2013, has been improving it over the years. Mao Xu, deputy head of the NIA, said the 72- and 144-hour visa-free transit policy has been warmly welcomed both at home and abroad.

From January to November, the number of visa-free transit travelers surged by more than 130 percent year-on-year, Mao noted. When the maximum duration of visa-free transit stay was restricted to 144 hours, more than 80 percent of travelers did not leave China until the last few hours, he said.

"Many foreign friends hope they could spend more time traveling within China," Mao said, adding that the updated policy will allow them to explore more scenic places in the country as well as help them to get better acquainted with Chinese culture.

Anastasiia Shimko, from Russia, said the extension of visa-free transit stay will make China a more attractive destination for foreign travelers.

The 37-year-old, who is pursuing a doctoral degree at Beijing Language and Culture University, said the policy revision may also encourage her friends and family members in Russia to plan a stopover to China.

"When they plan a trip to a third country, they will perhaps choose to transfer in large Chinese cities, spend more time in China and understand the country better," she added.

In recent years, China has taken a series of steps to streamline its inbound travel. Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said on Tuesday afternoon that China has reached full mutual visa exemption agreements with 26 countries, and adopted a unilateral visa-free policy for travelers from 38 countries.

Liu Jia, deputy head of NIA's Department of Foreigner Management, said a notable feature of the new policy adjustment is the introduction of cross-regional travel, allowing foreign visitors to move freely across the designated areas of 24 specified provincial-level regions.

The updated policy allows foreign travelers to better plan their itineraries and arrange flexible travel routes, enabling multicity tourism and business activities across various regions, he said.

Liu noted that the visa-free transit policy now covers not only eastern regions of China, which boast stronger economic prowess and a higher level of opening-up, but also destinations in central and western regions that are popular and capable of offering good services.

It will better serve China's major strategies to boost development of the central and western regions, "creating a comprehensive opening-up pattern of coordinated development between the inland and coastal regions and between the east and the west", he added.

Xinhua contributed to this story.