Starting December 1, tourists from 53 countries can now visit 20 cities in China without a visa for up to 144 hours, according to the National Immigration Administration. This new policy is designed to attract more business and holiday travelers and to increase tourism from outside Asia, which has been China’s main source of tourism revenue.
To take advantage of this visa-free entry, visitors need a valid passport and tickets to a destination outside of China that fall within the 144-hour period. Typically, visitors will only be able to stay in the city where they initially arrive, but there’s an exception for travelers landing at Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport in southwestern China. These visitors will have the flexibility to explore 11 cities within Sichuan province.
Earlier this year, in January, the cities of Qingdao in Shandong province and Wuhan in central Hubei joined the list of locations allowing 144-hour stays. The scheme already includes prominent cities like Beijing, the northern coastal city of Tianjin, Shanghai, and Hangzhou, which is known as a tech hub in Zhejiang province.
The list of 53 eligible countries features the United States, Canada, EU member states, Russia, Japan, South Korea, several South American nations such as Brazil and Argentina, as well as countries from Scandinavia and the Gulf Arab states.
In 2018, China welcomed a total of 141.2 million tourists, marking a 1.2 percent increase from the previous year. International tourism brought in $127.1 billion in revenue, up 3 percent from 2017, according to the China Tourism Academy.