Cross-border travel between China’s Heilongjiang Province and Russia’s Primorsky Krai is enjoying an unprecedented boom just four months after Beijing and Moscow introduced reciprocal 30-day visa-free entry for ordinary passport holders. Suifenhe Port logged 10,007 foreign tourist crossings during 1–7 January—an 83 percent year-on-year increase, according to Xinhua’s on-site report.([english.news.cn](https://english.news.cn/20260108/27e02a79ed0242f383f1b462302b9ecb/c.html))
Tour operators on both sides have quickly rolled out weekend shopping charters, timber-industry inspection tours and even Chinese-language ski packages to Russia’s Krasnaya Sopka resort. For manufacturers, the relaxed paperwork simplifies factory-acceptance trips for imported machine tools shipped via Vladivostok.
Whether you’re hopping on a shopping charter or handling factory-acceptance tests, VisaHQ can streamline the formalities that still apply under the waiver. Its China portal (https://www.visahq.com/china/) offers up-to-date guidance on required medical insurance, accommodation proofs and can secure longer-term business or work visas if your stays exceed the 30-day limit—saving travellers and companies valuable time.
![Mutual Visa-Free Deal Spurs 83 % Surge in Tourism Across China–Russia Suifenhe Border]()
Local authorities have expanded e-Channel lanes and introduced joint customs/immigration counters that stamp travellers out of one country and into the other in under 90 seconds. The upgrade is critical for freight forwarders using the Trans-Siberian land bridge, where drivers now spend less time idling at checkpoints, cutting transit times for e-commerce parcels bound for EU markets.
Yet compliance remains crucial. Travellers must still carry proof of onward accommodation and medical insurance, and Chinese citizens entering Russia for business cannot exceed 30 consecutive days per visit. Corporates with rotational staff should rotate personnel or apply for separate work visas once the cumulative 90-day threshold is reached.
The pilot runs until 14 September 2026; both governments will review flows and security data before deciding on permanence or expansion to additional ports such as Heihe–Blagoveshchensk. Early numbers suggest strong economic incentives to make the waiver permanent.
Tour operators on both sides have quickly rolled out weekend shopping charters, timber-industry inspection tours and even Chinese-language ski packages to Russia’s Krasnaya Sopka resort. For manufacturers, the relaxed paperwork simplifies factory-acceptance trips for imported machine tools shipped via Vladivostok.
Whether you’re hopping on a shopping charter or handling factory-acceptance tests, VisaHQ can streamline the formalities that still apply under the waiver. Its China portal (https://www.visahq.com/china/) offers up-to-date guidance on required medical insurance, accommodation proofs and can secure longer-term business or work visas if your stays exceed the 30-day limit—saving travellers and companies valuable time.
Local authorities have expanded e-Channel lanes and introduced joint customs/immigration counters that stamp travellers out of one country and into the other in under 90 seconds. The upgrade is critical for freight forwarders using the Trans-Siberian land bridge, where drivers now spend less time idling at checkpoints, cutting transit times for e-commerce parcels bound for EU markets.
Yet compliance remains crucial. Travellers must still carry proof of onward accommodation and medical insurance, and Chinese citizens entering Russia for business cannot exceed 30 consecutive days per visit. Corporates with rotational staff should rotate personnel or apply for separate work visas once the cumulative 90-day threshold is reached.
The pilot runs until 14 September 2026; both governments will review flows and security data before deciding on permanence or expansion to additional ports such as Heihe–Blagoveshchensk. Early numbers suggest strong economic incentives to make the waiver permanent.
