China's visa-free transit policy reshapes inbound tourism, driving visitors to smaller cities

China's expanded visa‑free transit program is transforming inbound tourism, with international travelers increasingly bypassing Beijing and Shanghai for smaller inland cities and regional hubs, highlighting the policy's impact and rising appeal of cultural and natural heritage sites.

Official data shows that during this year's Spring Festival holiday, from Feb 15 to March 23, foreign tourists booked flights to 107 Chinese cities. Instead of traditional metropolitan destinations such as Guangzhou and Shenzhen, visitors are opting for lower‑tier cities and towns, seeking unique adventures, cultural experiences and authentic local encounters.

Previously lesser-known regions are seeing surging inbound traffic, according to the China Tourism Group. Datong in Shanxi Province, home to the Yungang Grottoes, a legacy of Buddhist art, has become a magnet for travelers. Additionally, Mount Wuyi in Fujian, celebrated for biodiversity and tea culture, Altay in northwest China's Xinjiang, famed for ski resorts, and Wuzhen in Zhejiang, a historic water town, are all drawing international crowds.

Chongqing Municipality, a densely populated mountainous region in southwest China, is also drawing swarms of international tourists with its unique blend of cyberpunk-inspired architecture, neon-lit nighttime scenes, and traditional charm.

"I cannot believe the amount of people that they live here, and how everything works so smoothly. It's amazing," Fermin Durand, a tourist from Argentina, said in an interview with China Central Television (CCTV), when visiting the iconic Raffles City complex, a "horizontal skyscraper" connecting four 250-meter towers with an open-air glass observation deck offering panoramic views of Chongqing's mountains, rivers, city and bridges.

China first launched a 240‑hour visa‑free transit program for eligible foreign passport holders in December 2024, and the scheme now covers 55 countries. In 2025, inbound visits exceeded 150 million, a year‑on‑year increase of more than 17 percent, with travelers’ total spending surpassing 130 billion U.S. dollars, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

China's visa-free transit policy reshapes inbound tourism, driving visitors to smaller cities

China's visa-free transit policy reshapes inbound tourism, driving visitors to smaller cities

Construction of the fifth phase of Guangzhou Port's Nansha Port area, one of the major national projects, commenced in Nansha District of Guangzhou, the capital of south China's Guangdong Province, on Friday.

The project is designed with an annual container throughput capacity of 6.7 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units), according to the Guangzhou Port Group.

It has four deep-water berths, each capable of accommodating 200,000-ton container vessels, with a combined shoreline exceeding 3,800 meters.

Upon completion of the Phase V project, the total container throughput capacity of the Nansha Port area is expected to reach 35 million TEUs annually. This would place it among the world's leading single port complexes in terms of handling capacity, further solidifying Guangzhou's status as an international shipping hub.

Guangzhou's Nansha Port enters 5th phase of construction