China’s gamble on an extended 240-hour (10-day) visa-free transit policy is paying dividends, according to data released on 27 October. Since the scheme began in December 2024, 8.89 million foreign nationals have entered the country using the waiver—up 34.9 percent versus the comparable period a year earlier.
Beijing Daxing International Airport alone processed more than one million such passengers, with 211,000 foreign nationals transiting through the capital—a 67.9 percent jump. Airlines have responded by bundling stop-over city-tours into ticket packages, and hotel chains near key hubs report transit-passenger occupancy rates approaching pre-pandemic highs.
The programme allows travellers from 38 countries to enter through 31 designated ports and roam specified regions without a visa, provided they continue to a third destination. The generous window eclipses the 72- or 144-hour arrangements common in other Asian gateways, giving China an edge in attracting high-spending stop-over traffic on Europe–Asia and Oceania–North America routings.
Tour operators say European backpackers are combining the transit waiver with budget rail passes to create 9-day Beijing–Xi’an–Shanghai itineraries, while multinational procurement teams appreciate the flexibility to squeeze factory visits into multi-leg trips without separate visa filings.
Immigration authorities hinted that the waiver could be expanded to 50 countries next year if security assessments remain favourable, signalling China’s intent to entrench itself as a global hub despite geopolitical headwinds.
Beijing Daxing International Airport alone processed more than one million such passengers, with 211,000 foreign nationals transiting through the capital—a 67.9 percent jump. Airlines have responded by bundling stop-over city-tours into ticket packages, and hotel chains near key hubs report transit-passenger occupancy rates approaching pre-pandemic highs.
The programme allows travellers from 38 countries to enter through 31 designated ports and roam specified regions without a visa, provided they continue to a third destination. The generous window eclipses the 72- or 144-hour arrangements common in other Asian gateways, giving China an edge in attracting high-spending stop-over traffic on Europe–Asia and Oceania–North America routings.
Tour operators say European backpackers are combining the transit waiver with budget rail passes to create 9-day Beijing–Xi’an–Shanghai itineraries, while multinational procurement teams appreciate the flexibility to squeeze factory visits into multi-leg trips without separate visa filings.
Immigration authorities hinted that the waiver could be expanded to 50 countries next year if security assessments remain favourable, signalling China’s intent to entrench itself as a global hub despite geopolitical headwinds.
