240-hour transit visa exemption is launched, the era of "one visa for multiple tours" for Chinese tourism is coming
On December 17, 2024, the National Immigration Administration announced the comprehensive relaxation of the transit visa exemption policy, extending the stay time of citizens of 54 countries to 240 hours (10 days), adding 21 ports, and expanding to 24 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) for cross-regional travel. This means that international tourists only need one connecting ticket to connect popular tourist destinations in China such as Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, the Yangtze River Delta, Chengdu-Chongqing, and Hainan within 10 days, realizing "one visa for multiple tours".
The diversity of China's tourism products has been further released: Shanxi ancient buildings, Jiangxi ceramics, Guizhou karst, Hainan Free Trade Port duty-free shopping and other routes have been cleverly integrated into the "One Week Travel North and South" theme product; Shanghai-Suzhou-Hangzhou high-speed rail 1-hour living circle, Chengdu-Chongqing Twin Cities Spicy Food Corridor, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Cruise + Bay Area City Connecting Lines are launched simultaneously, providing menu-style choices for foreign tourists with different needs.
The convenience of the policy implementation is immediate: Zhangjiajie Hehua International Airport has been newly added as a visa-free port. Mr. Kim, a Korean tourist, and his family of three flew to Zhangjiajie in the morning and took the high-speed rail directly to Fenghuang Ancient Town in the afternoon. There was no need to apply for a visa in advance for the whole journey, "saving 3 working days compared to the past".
Industry experts pointed out that this transit visa exemption is complementary to regional visa exemption, unilateral visa exemption, mutual visa exemption and other policies, which has greatly lowered the threshold for Chinese tourism. It is expected that the number of inbound tourists will increase by more than 35% year-on-year in 2025. Chinese tourism is moving from "sightseeing" to "in-depth experience", and welcomes global travelers to experience the diversity of China in 240 hours.