Beijing has recorded 2.3 million inbound and outbound trips made by foreigners this year as of Tuesday, up 39.3 percent year on year, according to official data.
During the same period, the city saw a total of 8 million entries and exits, achieving the 8-million milestone one month earlier than last year, with a year-on-year increase of 22.1 percent.
Foreigners made up 28.6 percent of all the travelers to Beijing.
The surge in foreign visitors is partly attributed to China's policies to make travel easier for them, such as visa-free access and departure tax refunds. These policies have generated a strong enthusiasm among international tourists to visit China and shop in China.
So far this year, the total number of entries made by foreigners to Beijing has surpassed 1.17 million, marking a 39.3-percent year-on-year increase.
Among them, more than 600,000 visits were made under visa-free access or the 240-hour temporary entry permit, nearly doubling the figures of the same period last year.
Foreigners visiting Beijing for purposes of tourism, business, and visiting family members accounted for 70.9 percent of the total, a year-on-year increase of 41.4 percent.
The proportion of foreigners among all inbound arrivals has grown steadily each month, rising from 21 percent in January to 36.4 percent in April, a jump of 15.4 percentage points.
Starting June 1, China's visa-free policy will benefit five more countries of Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru and Uruguay, which is expected to bring more foreign tourists to Beijing.
Beijing sees 2.3 mln inbound, outbound trips by foreigners this year: data
China's benchmark Shanghai Composite Index hit a 10-year high on Tuesday, and even the shares of oil companies with investments in Venezuela bounced back from recent losses, according to China Global Television Network's financial market analyst Timothy Pope.
Chinese stocks closed higher on Tuesday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index up 1.5 percent to 4,083.67 points.
The Shenzhen Component Index closed 1.4 percent higher at 14,022.55 points.
"Today the Shanghai Composite Index jumped 1.5 percent, closing at 4,083.67. I mean, look we both remember the last time that Chinese stocks were this high, but it feels like an age ago -- more than 10 years, July 2015. The markets have really picked up the 2025 rally and continue to run with it. We've seen that Monday and Tuesday. There has been a bit of impact from the U.S. attack on Venezuela so far, but that's really been limited to the stocks of the Chinese oil companies with investments in Venezuela and today even those shares came back. The same themes are really remaining very popular, tech in general, AI in particular. But investors were also really grabbing up commodities stocks today in a big way. Prices jumped for both gold and copper. Gold miner Zijin [Mining Group Limited] was the biggest contributor to gains on the Shanghai Composite Index today. Financial stocks were also doing pretty well. The big insurers making some very solid gains on the Shanghai Composite [Index]. Now these companies are both helping to propel the rally and are going to be beneficiaries too, because remember these insurers have huge stock portfolios and rules have fairly recently been loosened to allow them to invest even more heavily," Pope said.
"Among retail investors there's also a bit of a sense that this is the moment to ride the wave. We've got about a month left before things traditionally start to slow down ahead of the Lunar New Year and China's Spring Festival holiday. It is perfectly possible that the couple of slow weeks preceding that holiday could be a bit truncated this year with the amount of energy that's in the markets at the moment. But I'm also sure that most people are looking forward to that break. I know I am, and they do tend to cash out in the lead-up. So, there really does seem to be a sense that investors are making hay while the sun shines," he said.
China's benchmark stock index hits 10-year high as oil stocks rebound: CGTN market analyst
