Expanded visa-free access fuels surge in foreign entries

BEIJING, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- The strong growth momentum in foreign arrivals to China has extended to the third quarter of 2025, driven largely by the country's continued expansion of its visa-free access policies.

From July to September, foreign nationals made 7.246 million visits to China under its visa-free policies, marking a 48.3 percent year-on-year increase, the National Immigration Administration (NIA) said on Thursday.

Visa-free entries accounted for 72.2 percent of all entries made by foreign nationals, the NIA said.

In recent years, China has been continually expanding its visa-free travel policies for foreigners arriving in the country. Tourists from 76 countries are now able to benefit from unilateral or mutual visa-free entry, while citizens of 55 further countries can visit China visa-free in transit for up to 10 days, before traveling on to a third destination.

The latest country added to China's visa-free arrivals list is Russia. Since the policy took effect on Sept. 15, the number of Russians entering China has risen notably.

Arriving at the Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, Russian traveler Anna Ivanova expressed her surprise at the swift entry process. "It only took me about 20 minutes from getting off the plane to completing the entry process. Traveling to China has become very convenient under the visa-free policy," she said.

During China's eight-day National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holiday in early October, visa-free travel policies and improved travel facilitation measures fueled a rise in inbound tourism, with countries such as the Republic of Korea (ROK), the United States, Russia, Japan and Malaysia among the top sources of overseas visitors, according to a report from travel platform Trip.com.

As the Korean Chuseok holiday overlapped with China's eight-day holiday this year, bookings for travel from the ROK to China for the period saw a 200 percent spike, and the "flying to China right after work on Friday" tag began trending on social media platforms in the ROK.

Moon Chung-in, a professor emeritus at Seoul's Yonsei University, said that under China's visa-free travel policies, young Koreans are being offered more opportunities to understand China, the Chinese people and Chinese culture.

"I hope the Korean side can also relax restrictions, so that the Chinese people can also better understand Korean culture and its people," he added.

According to the NIA, cross-border trips made by foreigners surged 21.6 percent to 1.43 million during the holiday. A total of 751,000 foreigners entered China, including 535,000 who entered under visa-free travel policies -- year-on-year increases of 19.8 percent and 46.8 percent.

Many foreign visitors celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival by immersing themselves in Chinese traditions such as mooncake preparation, lantern-making and moonlit walks in traditional attire, experiencing the vibrant local atmosphere to the fullest possible extent.

"When China opens its doors to foreign tourists, it sends a clear message: Come, see and experience," said Biljana Vankovskais, a professor of international relations and peace studies at the Institute for Security, Defense, and Peace at Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in North Macedonia.

In the future, China will build on its efforts to facilitate entry by adding more countries to its visa-free arrivals list, and provide high-quality products, diverse options and convenient services for more of its international friends, said a Chinese government official.