The city of Xiamen in east China's Fujian Province is experiencing a boom in inbound cruise tourism, a trend attributed to growing global interest in traditional Chinese culture stimulated by the box office frenzy of Chinese movies and the country's further expansion of its visa-free policies.
In the first two months of this year, a number of visiting cruise ships have arrived in Xiamen, with over 1,800 inbound and outbound passengers having their travel documents processed.
"Zhao Shang Yi Dun," the first cruise ship operated by China Merchants Viking Cruises, docked at the Xiamen International Cruise Center on Tuesday. The cruise departed from Japan, carrying nearly 200 international tourists from 12 countries to Xiamen for sightseeing.
While several films for the Spring Festival season, including Chinese animated blockbuster "Ne Zha 2," a thriller comedy "Detective Chinatown 1900" and a mythological epic "Creation of the Gods II: Demon Force" have been enjoying international success at the box office, they have also sparked interest in filming locations and traditional Chinese cultural travel destinations, which have become hot topics on international social media platforms these days.
"I like this. The trailer [of Ne Zha 2] is good. That's what I saw. I'm going to watch it soon if possible," said a tourist from Indonesia.
"I think that it is a good way to present the culture and also to present the nation as well. So, definitely, something that I will consider also to share with my young son in the future to watch Chinese animated movies," said a tourist from Serbia.
"Film, TV, media are always greater to learn about new things and new cultures and experience new things as well," said a tourist from the United Kingdom. The surge in tourism is greatly facilitated by China's visa-free policies. Among the foreign passengers on board the "Zhao Shang Yi Dun" cruise, many are from Japan, with others from countries such as the Philippines, Argentina, the United Kingdom, and Mexico.
"Of the 197 passengers arriving today on the cruise, 118 are enjoying unilateral and mutual visa exemptions and they are from countries including Japan, New Zealand, Portugal, Croatia and Serbia; and 58 passengers are enjoying a 15-day visa-free entry as part of a foreign tourist group arriving by cruise. We have pre-registered the tour group information, eliminating the need for passengers to wait for each other, enabling a streamlined process of individual clearance, dispersing the checkpoint congestion, and ensuring a smooth and efficient cruise passenger clearance experience," said Chen Jinlai, deputy station chief of Xiamen Gaoqi Border Inspection Station.
The favorable policies and the continuous improvement in the facilitation of immigration procedures have attracted international cruise companies to expand their businesses into the Chinese cruise market.
This year, the Xiamen International Cruise Center will operate 19 sailings departing from Xiamen to Japan and the Philippines. Meanwhile, eight cruise ships making port calls in Xiamen will bring foreign tourists into the city for sightseeing adventures.
Xiamen's inbound cruise tourism booms as int'l visitors eager to explore traditional Chinese culture
