China sees thriving inbound tourism during National Day holiday

China's inbound tourism has seen a continuously robust growth during the National Day holiday, buoyed by relaxed visa policies, including the 144-hour transit policy.

The week-long holiday started on Tuesday, setting the stage for a bustling inflow of international travelers.

During the period, the Silk Street, a famous shopping destination in the Chinese capital city of Beijing, is expected to see a more-than-50-percent increase in the number of international travelers year on year, especially those from European countries and the United States.

Its sales are expected to grow by 100 percent, with sales of creative gifts and silk clothing jumping remarkably.

Transportation hubs in Shenzhen, a city in south China's Guangdong Province, have witnessed a flurry of activity, as holidaymakers make their way through railway stations and airports.

"This year, the number of international travelers entering China through Shenzhen's airport for business negotiations, cultural exchanges, sightseeing, and relative visits has exceeded 360,000, a year-on-year increase of about 143 percent. Among them, the number of international travelers entering China under visa-free policies has surpassed 130,000, a growth of more than five times from the previous year," said Liang Rui, deputy head of the Border Inspection Division of the Shenzhen Airport Border Inspection Station.

China extended the visa-free policies to more countries on Monday, covering Portugal, Greece, Cyprus, and Slovenia.

Following the announcement, searches for China-related keywords by tourists from these four countries on the Ctrip overseas platform soared 60 percent month on month.

Since the beginning of this year, travel bookings by tourists from these four countries skyrocketed by 120 percent, 150 percent, 166 percent, and 182 percent, respectively, from the previous year.

Data from booking platforms showed that inbound travel bookings have outpaced that of outbound tourism during this holiday, surging by 60 percent year on year.

"During the National Day holiday this year, the growth of the number of international tourists traveling to China has exceeded 60 percent, far surpassing the growth of outbound tourists. Visitors from the United States, Russia, and Malaysia saw growth rates exceeding three times. The international tourists prefer immersive travel experiences, so, in general, they will stay more than seven days here," said Chen Linan, director of public affairs at Ctrip.

China sees thriving inbound tourism during National Day holiday

China sees thriving inbound tourism during National Day holiday

China sees thriving inbound tourism during National Day holiday

China sees thriving inbound tourism during National Day holiday

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's official visit to China signals a policy shift towards building a more pragmatic relationship between the two countries, according to a Canadian researcher.

Carney arrived in Beijing on Wednesday to begin an official visit to China through Saturday, which marks the first trip by a Canadian Prime Minister to the country in eight years.

Robert Hanlon, director and principal investigator of Canada and the Asia Pacific Policy Project (CAPPP) at Thompson Rivers University in British Columbia, told the China Global Television Network (CGTN) that Carney's visit indicates Canada is recalibrating its strategic perception of China, which could cement the foundation for the country's economic diversification efforts and boost the development of bilateral cooperation.

"I think it's a clear message that he has moved Canada's strategy to a much more pragmatic, interest-based, -focused relationship with our trading partners, moving away from values-based narratives that we might have heard on previous governments. Canada has spoken about moving from what the Prime Minister's Office is calling "from reliance to resilience", and that means diversifying our economies and our trade everywhere in the world. And so China being our second largest trading partner, it makes perfect sense for our PM to head to Beijing," he said.

The scholar also noted the huge cooperation potential between the two sides in economic and trade fields, citing Canada's efforts to step up shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and the planned construction of an oil pipeline in Alberta which aims to increase export access to Asian markets. "Canada and China both share tremendous economic opportunities together and so finding ways to enhance our exports. Canada specifically looking to build out its LNG and oil, kind of export market. We know Canada is a major producer of critical minerals and China is a buyer. And so there's a lot of synergy between that kind of those kind of markets," he said.

Canadian PM's visit to China paves way for more pragmatic trade ties: scholar