Foreign tourists visit Zhaoxing Dong Village of Liping County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, May 2, 2026. China's inbound tourism booms thanks to visa exemption policies. (Photo by Liang Huibo/Xinhua)

Starting on Thursday, citizens of Kyrgyzstan and Vietnam became eligible for China's 240-hour visa-free transit policy and Hainan's 30-day visa-free entry policy, the National Immigration Administration (NIA) announced on the same day. Upon the new policy's implementation, China's 240-hour visa-free transit policy now covers 57 countries, and Hainan's 30-day visa-free policy covers 61 countries.

Industry observers pointed out that the expanding visa policy offers a vivid display on China's resolute commitment to advancing high-level opening-up and international cooperation. It will also inject new dynamics into China's inbound tourism market, which has been moving from "check-in sightseeing" to immersive, diversified and in-depth cultural tourism experiences - a trend as marked by trending terms on social media, from "China Travel" to "China Cool" and further to "Chinamaxxing."

Under the new policy released by NIA, citizens of Kyrgyzstan and Vietnam holding ordinary passports and confirmed connecting tickets with fixed dates and itineraries, who are transiting through China to a third country or region, may enter visa-free through 65 open ports, including Beijing and Shanghai, and stay for no more than 240 hours within designated areas. Citizens of the two countries holding ordinary passports may also enter through open ports in South China's Hainan Province and stay visa-free within Hainan for no more than 30 days.

During stays under either policy, they may engage in short-term activities such as tourism, business, visits, and family reunions. Activities that require prior approval — including work, study, and news reporting — must still be covered by an appropriate visa obtained before travel to China.

Vietnam welcomes China's decision to include Vietnamese citizens in the 240-hour visa-free transit program and the 30-day visa-free entry policy for Hainan Province starting on Thursday, said Pham Thu Hang, spokesperson for the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, adding that she looks forward to further deepening people-to-people exchanges with the Chinese side, according to the Xinhua News Agency. 

Kyrgyzstan is a member of the SCO, and the Central Asia country will also be hosting the meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of State on September 1 in the capital of Bishkek. 

Vietnam was China's fourth-largest inbound tourism source market in the first half of 2026, according to official data. 

Industry insiders pointed out that the new policy echoes the deepening tourism exchanges between China and Central as well as Southeast Asia. They noted that impact will also go beyond tourism, facilitating not only cultural exchanges, educational cooperation but also family visits and people-to-people communication.

"China is especially attractive to travelers from Central Asia because of its combination of cultural proximity and extraordinary diversity. The geographic proximity and growing air connectivity are additional advantages," Aliya Mussabekova, head of the International Security Department at Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies under the President of the republic of Kazakhstan, told the Global Times. Since November 10, 2023, citizens in Kazakhstan, another Central Asia country, can travel visa-free to China.

Mussabekova noted that visitors from Central Asia can experience major historical and cultural sites, modern megacities such as Beijing and Shanghai, distinctive regional cultures, world-class shopping and cuisine, as well as rapidly-developing tourism infrastructure.

In addition to an immediate drive on international tourists from the two markets, the visa free policy is also expected to boost regional cultural, tourism cooperation, and facilitate business talks and corporate visits, thereby laying a stronger foundation of people-to-people mobility for commercial exchanges, Wang Wei, president of Spring Airlines Group, told the Global Times on Thursday. 

The release of the new visa policy runs in tandem with China's broader high-level opening-up measures that all make travel to China more convenient, including simpler payments for foreign visitors, an expanding departure tax-refund network, faster entry clearance and advanced basic infrastructure development. 

Together, these measures are encouraging inbound travelers to "stay longer, experience more, spend more and return more," Wang said, while taking note of the platform's inbound orders for the summer season, which have risen more than 20 percent year-on-year, with the number of booked travelers has also surpassed last year's level.

The surging momentum is evident across major Chinese travel platforms. For example, data from online travel platform Qunar showed that inbound travel bookings in July rose more than 20 percent year-on-year. At China Travel Service, inbound tourism orders for June-August period rose by about 50 percent year-on-year, according to media reports. 

In the first half of the year, inbound trips to China by foreign nationals reached 22.914 million, up 20.4 percent year-on-year, also showing a rapidly-rising trend, data from NIA showed. 

A Spaniard in his 20s surnamed Ferreira is among the tourists visiting China under the visa-free program. When the Global Times met him on Shanghai's Wukang Road, he had just finished cupping and a spa massage at a nearby shop.

"I started in Chengdu and then came to Shanghai — my second stop. Today is my 11th day in China, and also my last. I didn't just hop between landmarks. I ate peanut-topped noodles, spicy noodles, sour-fish hot pot and barbecue, tried cupping and spa massages, and got completely hooked on WeChat and its mini-programs…I'll definitely come back and next time I want more of western China's landscapes," he told the Global Times.   

Wang pointed out that as China opens its door wider, the inbound travelers' demand for trips to China has been thoroughly transformed, shifting toward "a more diversified mix of in-depth immersion, high-end customized itineraries, and business and study tours." 

He noted that foreign visitors are no longer limited to sightseeing at landmarks in a single city, and they now place greater emphasis on experiencing local culture, observing cutting-edge technology and taking part in distinctive interactive activities.