China continues to see rising number of foreign visitors thanks to favorable policies

BEIJING -- China continues to see a rising number of foreign visitors thanks to its series of entry policies, the National Immigration Administration (NIA) said on Monday.

In the first seven months of this year, the number of foreign visitors to China soared 129.9 percent year on year to 17.25 million, said Liu Haitao, NIA deputy head, at a press conference.

Meanwhile, a total of 341 million cross-border travels were recorded, up 62.34 percent from the same period of last year.

The foreign visitors are estimated to boost consumption topping 100 billion yuan (about $14 billion) in total, with a per capita daily average consumption volume of nearly 3,500 yuan, Liu said.

During the period, 846,000 port visas were issued to foreign nationals who have urgent needs to enter China but do not have enough time to apply for visas at Chinese embassies or consulates abroad. The figure rose 183 percent year on year.

Regarding port visas, the NIA said foreign nationals can submit applications in advance to port visa authorities by themselves or through inviting parties, or apply on site upon arrival at ports in China.

Liu said China's immigration authorities had stepped up efforts to make customs clearance "more convenient" and cross-border supply chains "more efficient," shortening the time for customs inspections and setting up priority channels for major cargo flights.

Since the beginning of this year, China has expanded its visa-free policies, relaxed visa application requirements and simplified procedures, exempted border checks for certain transit passengers and made mobile payment services more convenient for foreigners.

In its latest effort, the NIA announced in July a policy allowing people from countries with diplomatic relations with China to visit the southern island province of Hainan visa-free for 144 hours via tour groups registered in Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions.

Earlier in July, the NIA said the country's 144-hour visa-free transit policy had been expanded to three more entry ports, taking the number of ports covered by the policy to 37.

Thanks to these efforts, China has become a popular destination for overseas tourists. With more people posting their travel experiences in China on social media, "China Travel" has become a top trending search term on multiple global social media platforms.

First-time China visitor, George, 65, from the United States, said he was most impressed by the highly convenient transport, the rich historical heritage and unique sceneries.

Noelia and Max, a young couple from Mexico, even dressed in ethnic Miao costumes to hold a traditional wedding ceremony in Guilin, a scenic city in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region that is famous for its karst hills, rivers and caves. The wedding video they posted online afterward reached 300 million viewers within 48 hours.

Zhou Xiaoguang, general manager of Guilin Tang Dynasty Tours Co Ltd, said the company's business in the first half of this year soared over five times compared with a year ago. "We see more and more foreigners," he said. "In some cases, we are even short of foreign language-speaking tour guides."

Sun Yuehui, a tour guide in Guilin who has worked with foreign tourists for over a decade, said she works with tour groups almost every day. "Around this time last year, I only had two to three foreign tour groups in a month," she said.