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Invest Shanghai
BEIJING, July 16 (Xinhua) -- Foreign nationals made 38.05 million cross-border trips to and from China in the first half (H1) of 2025, up 30.2 percent year on year, the National Immigration Administration (NIA) said on Wednesday.
Visa-free entries continued to rise sharply, with 13.64 million foreigners entering China without a visa in the first six months of the year. This category accounted for 71.2 percent of total foreign entries and represented a 53.9-percent year-on-year increase.
Overall, immigration authorities across China had processed 333 million inbound and outbound trips from January to June, marking a 15.8-percent rise year on year, the NIA said at a press conference.
This figure included 159 million trips by mainland residents and 136 million made by residents of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan -- up 15.9 percent and 12.2 percent, respectively.
The NIA noted that immigration authorities across the country are steadily advancing openness and improving service efficiency.
As part of ongoing policy changes, China recently added Indonesia to its 240-hour visa-free transit policy, bringing the total number of eligible countries to 55. This policy allows travelers from these countries to transit through China without a visa for up to 240 hours.
A new regional visa-free policy has also been introduced, allowing tourist groups from ASEAN countries to enter Xishuangbanna in southwest China's Yunnan Province without a visa.
China has further expanded its visa exemption arrangements, signing new mutual agreements with Uzbekistan, Malaysia and Azerbaijan, and extending unilateral visa-free entry to nine more countries -- Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Uruguay, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain and Kuwait.
With the recent start of the summer vacation season, there has been a significant increase in the number of foreign passport holders entering China, with the top tourist cities in the country experiencing a surge of international traveler arrivals at transportation hubs.
For instance, Beijing's ports of entry handled over 640,000 inbound and outbound travelers from July 1 to 10, including 171,000 foreigners, marking a 22.1 percent year-on-year increase.
Many overseas tourists cited China's distinctive and diverse cultural atmosphere as the main attraction. "China and its people are so diverse, I think there is always more to learn when traveling there," said American tourist Abigail Mueller.
A couple of years back, Mueller traveled to cities including Chengdu and Xi'an, and visited renowned tourist spots including the Leshan Giant Buddha.
One single trip was not enough, however, and Mueller said the opportunity to gain first-hand experience of China is always tempting.
"While in China, I would get familiar with WeChat, be open to people's curiosities, and embrace Chinese culture in the fullest," said Mueller. "I would like to go back to China again and visit other cities, I'm not sure which ones yet, but (I want to) learn more about regional cultures and practices."