China has recorded a sharp increase in foreign arrivals over the past year, official data cited by China Daily showed on Wednesday. The surge was driven by expanded visa-free transit policies aimed at boosting inbound travel and international exchanges.
According to the National Immigration Administration, 40.6 million foreign nationals entered China through ports nationwide in the past year – a 27.2 percent increase compared with the previous year.
The 240-hour visa-free transit policy has proved particularly popular, with traveller numbers under the scheme up 60.8 percent year on year. The scheme, introduced in December 2024, applies to citizens of 55 countries and currently covers 65 ports across 24 provinces.
China’s main entry hubs reported the largest absolute increases. Beijing recorded more than 3.4 million foreign arrivals, with 55 percent entering under visa-free arrangements. Shanghai welcomed nearly 5.35 million foreign visitors, 56 percent of whom used the policy, while Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport processed over 3.2 million foreign entries, with visa-free transit accounting for more than 57 percent.
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Smaller and regional ports clocked faster growth in relative terms. Xiamen, Fujian province, reported more than a threefold increase in visa-free foreign arrivals, while ports in Liaoning province recorded a year-on-year rise of 570 percent.
In Hunan province, ports in Changsha and Zhangjiajie saw visa-free foreign arrivals exceed the combined total of the previous nine years – underscoring eased transit policies importance in reshaping China’s inbound travel landscape.
Authorities at major ports have rolled out measures to support the policy, including dedicated immigration lanes, one-stop clearance services and online declaration systems.
Shanghai has also introduced self-service terminals for electronic form-filling, supported by multilingual assistance and on-site inquiry services.
