China has rapidly expanded its visa-free entry schemes in recent years to boost its tourism sector. Here is how the systems work
Visiting China used to be a costly, time-consuming process. Obtaining a Chinese visa often requires filling out pages of paperwork, paying more than US$100, and waiting for days for the documents to be processed.
But things have changed rapidly over the past few years, as Beijing has introduced a slew of new visa-free entry policies in a bid to attract more foreign visitors and boost the country’s tourism sector.
There are also several other visa-free policies in effect, each of which has different rules and eligibility criteria. Here are five different options for travellers planning to enter the mainland without a Chinese visa.
Passport holders from 55 nations – including Australia, Russia, the United States and countries throughout Europe – can enjoy an extended stay in much of mainland China when transiting through one of its international airports.
Travellers can enter China via 60 ports of entry across 24 provincial-level regions under the scheme, including airports in Beijing, Shanghai, Xi'an, Chengdu, Chongqing, Guilin, Kunming, Qingdao, Shenyang, Tianjin, Wuhan, Xiamen, Guangdong province and the Shanghai-Jiangsu-Zhejiang cluster.
