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China-Visa-Free Policy/Tourism
Qingdao City, Shandong Province, east China - Recent (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Various of airport exterior
2. Various of passengers at airport, signs
3. Various of passengers waiting for border inspection, filling out form
4. Sign reading (in Chinese and English): "Temporary Entry Permit Application"
Weihai City, Shandong Province, east China - Recent (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
5. Aerial shots of snow-covered city
6. Snow-covered beach
7. Various of cruise ship sailing
8. SOUNDBITE (Korean) Korean visitor (full name not given):
"The weather is great, the sea is so blue, and I feel very happy."
9. Passengers getting off shuttle bus
10. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Bi Jianbo, officer, Weihai entry-exit border inspection station (ending with shot 11):
"We dynamically adjust the inspection channels based on the shipping companies' schedule information, and guide passengers through fingerprint collection and entry card completion in an orderly manner. We have also set up visa-free policy consultation stations to provide on-site services."
11. Various of passengers collecting fingerprint on machine, getting border inspection
12. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Xu Xianzhen, manager, passenger department, Weidong Shipping Co., Ltd.:
"Currently, we have two large luxury passenger ferries operating between Incheon and Qingdao, with three round-trip sailings each week."
13. Ships at port
Jiangsu Province, east China - Recent (CGTN- No access Chinese mainland)
14. Various of visitors in traditional garden
15. Aerial shots of cityscape
Jiangsu Province, east China - Recent (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
16. Passengers waiting for border inspection
Beijing, China - Recent (CGTN- No access Chinese mainland)
17. Graphics showing content and effects of China's visa-free policy
China's recent expansion of its visa-free policy has opened up new opportunities for inbound travel, especially benefiting smaller cities.
In November, China added 18 more countries to its visa-free list, including Japan and South Korea in two separate groups. Citizens of these countries can now enter for up to 30 days without a visa for business, tourism and other visits.
On November 1, China announced the expansion of its visa-free policy to include ordinary passport holders from Slovakia, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Andorra, Monaco, Liechtenstein, and the Republic of Korea on a trial basis. Then, on November 22, the policy was further extended to Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Malta, Estonia, Latvia, and Japan.
The additions have expanded the coverage of China's unilateral visa-free policy from 20 to 38 countries.
Since November 22, Trip.com's international platforms witnessed a surge of interest in Chinese cities, with searches rising by 65 percent on its European site and 112 percent on its Japanese site compared with the same period of the previous month. Interest in direct flights from various cities in Japan to China also has seen a notable spike.
According to latest data, there was a significant surge in inbound travel bookings, particularly from Japan and South Korea. Ports in Chinese provinces like Shandong and Jiangsu, which have frequent traffic with the two neighboring countries, have seen a noticeable increase in incoming travelers.
At Qingdao Jiaodong International Airport in east China's Shandong Province, large groups of international passengers were able to clear customs quickly. The airport has also increased its flight services to Japan and South Korea, launching seven new routes to destinations including Seoul, Busan, Osaka, and Fukuoka.
Weihai, a small Chinese city in Shandong, located closest to South Korea, welcomed two cross-border tour groups of 240 tourists on November 10, all of whom entered visa-free. The number of incoming travelers has continued to rise in the following days.
"The weather is great, the sea is so blue, and I feel very happy," said a Korean visitor.
"We dynamically adjust the inspection channels based on the shipping companies' schedule information, and guide passengers through fingerprint collection and entry card completion in an orderly manner. We have also set up visa-free policy consultation stations to provide on-site services," said Bi Jianbo, an officer at Weihai entry-exit border inspection station.
"Currently, we have two large luxury passenger ferries operating between Incheon and Qingdao, with three round-trip sailings each week," said Xu Xianzhen, passenger department manager of Weidong Shipping Co., Ltd.
As another key hub for personnel exchanges and trade between China, Japan, and South Korea, east China's Jiangsu Province is also preparing for a peak in tourist arrivals from Japan and South Korea.
This year, Jiangsu has resumed seven flight routes to Japan and South Korea, and the province now boasts nearly 20 passenger and cargo routes to both countries.
On Dec 1, 2023, China began implementing unilateral visa-free entry trials for ordinary passport holders from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia. The policies were later expanded several times to 38 countries.
Moreover, starting Saturday, the duration for ordinary passport holders from the 38 countries entering China visa-free has been extended from 15 days to up to 30 days for business, tourism, family visits, exchanges, or transit.
Data from the National Immigration Administration showed that in the third quarter of this year, ports across China handled 8.186 million inbound passenger trips made by foreign nationals, up by 48.8 percent year on year. Among them, a total of 4.885 million trips enjoyed visa-free policy, representing a remarkable 78.6 percent growth compared to the same period last year.
China-Visa-Free Policy/Tourism
Dateline : Recent
Location : China
Duration : 2'02
Qingdao City, Shandong Province, east China - Recent (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Various of airport exterior
2. Various of passengers at airport, signs
3. Various of passengers waiting for border inspection, filling out form
4. Sign reading (in Chinese and English): "Temporary Entry Permit Application"
Weihai City, Shandong Province, east China - Recent (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
5. Aerial shots of snow-covered city
6. Snow-covered beach
7. Various of cruise ship sailing
8. SOUNDBITE (Korean) Korean visitor (full name not given):
"The weather is great, the sea is so blue, and I feel very happy."
9. Passengers getting off shuttle bus
10. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Bi Jianbo, officer, Weihai entry-exit border inspection station (ending with shot 11):
"We dynamically adjust the inspection channels based on the shipping companies' schedule information, and guide passengers through fingerprint collection and entry card completion in an orderly manner. We have also set up visa-free policy consultation stations to provide on-site services."
11. Various of passengers collecting fingerprint on machine, getting border inspection
12. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Xu Xianzhen, manager, passenger department, Weidong Shipping Co., Ltd.:
"Currently, we have two large luxury passenger ferries operating between Incheon and Qingdao, with three round-trip sailings each week."
13. Ships at port
Jiangsu Province, east China - Recent (CGTN- No access Chinese mainland)
14. Various of visitors in traditional garden
15. Aerial shots of cityscape
Jiangsu Province, east China - Recent (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
16. Passengers waiting for border inspection
Beijing, China - Recent (CGTN- No access Chinese mainland)
17. Graphics showing content and effects of China's visa-free policy
China's recent expansion of its visa-free policy has opened up new opportunities for inbound travel, especially benefiting smaller cities.
In November, China added 18 more countries to its visa-free list, including Japan and South Korea in two separate groups. Citizens of these countries can now enter for up to 30 days without a visa for business, tourism and other visits.
On November 1, China announced the expansion of its visa-free policy to include ordinary passport holders from Slovakia, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Andorra, Monaco, Liechtenstein, and the Republic of Korea on a trial basis. Then, on November 22, the policy was further extended to Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Malta, Estonia, Latvia, and Japan.
The additions have expanded the coverage of China's unilateral visa-free policy from 20 to 38 countries.
Since November 22, Trip.com's international platforms witnessed a surge of interest in Chinese cities, with searches rising by 65 percent on its European site and 112 percent on its Japanese site compared with the same period of the previous month. Interest in direct flights from various cities in Japan to China also has seen a notable spike.
According to latest data, there was a significant surge in inbound travel bookings, particularly from Japan and South Korea. Ports in Chinese provinces like Shandong and Jiangsu, which have frequent traffic with the two neighboring countries, have seen a noticeable increase in incoming travelers.
At Qingdao Jiaodong International Airport in east China's Shandong Province, large groups of international passengers were able to clear customs quickly. The airport has also increased its flight services to Japan and South Korea, launching seven new routes to destinations including Seoul, Busan, Osaka, and Fukuoka.
Weihai, a small Chinese city in Shandong, located closest to South Korea, welcomed two cross-border tour groups of 240 tourists on November 10, all of whom entered visa-free. The number of incoming travelers has continued to rise in the following days.
"The weather is great, the sea is so blue, and I feel very happy," said a Korean visitor.
"We dynamically adjust the inspection channels based on the shipping companies' schedule information, and guide passengers through fingerprint collection and entry card completion in an orderly manner. We have also set up visa-free policy consultation stations to provide on-site services," said Bi Jianbo, an officer at Weihai entry-exit border inspection station.
"Currently, we have two large luxury passenger ferries operating between Incheon and Qingdao, with three round-trip sailings each week," said Xu Xianzhen, passenger department manager of Weidong Shipping Co., Ltd.
As another key hub for personnel exchanges and trade between China, Japan, and South Korea, east China's Jiangsu Province is also preparing for a peak in tourist arrivals from Japan and South Korea.
This year, Jiangsu has resumed seven flight routes to Japan and South Korea, and the province now boasts nearly 20 passenger and cargo routes to both countries.
On Dec 1, 2023, China began implementing unilateral visa-free entry trials for ordinary passport holders from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia. The policies were later expanded several times to 38 countries.
Moreover, starting Saturday, the duration for ordinary passport holders from the 38 countries entering China visa-free has been extended from 15 days to up to 30 days for business, tourism, family visits, exchanges, or transit.
Data from the National Immigration Administration showed that in the third quarter of this year, ports across China handled 8.186 million inbound passenger trips made by foreign nationals, up by 48.8 percent year on year. Among them, a total of 4.885 million trips enjoyed visa-free policy, representing a remarkable 78.6 percent growth compared to the same period last year.
ID : 8405949
Published : 2024-11-30 17:07
Last Modified : 2024-11-30 20:09:21
Source : China Central Television (CCTV),China Global Television Network (CGTN)
Restrictions : No access Chinese mainland
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