New data released today show that Xinjiang’s ports processed 102.9 million cross-border passengers in Q1 2026, up 25 percent on last year. Crucially, 18.1 million of those entries—over 70 percent of all foreign arrivals—were made under visa-free provisions, representing a 34.9 percent year-on-year surge. Officials attribute the boom to two factors: Beijing’s decision to extend 30-day visa-free access to Canadians and Britons from February, and the opening of new direct flights linking Urumqi with Astana, Islamabad and Milan.
![Xinjiang Reports 35 % Jump in Visa-Free Entries in Q1 as Air Links Expand]()
For travelers trying to keep pace with these rapid policy shifts, VisaHQ can simplify the process by providing real-time guidance on China’s visa and permit requirements—including the new electronic border permit for Xinjiang—and streamlined online applications at https://www.visahq.com/china/
Local travel agents report that business-delegation itineraries now routinely include factory visits in the Urumqi Economic & Technological Zone followed by leisure stops in Turpan or Kashgar. To keep pace, border police have installed additional e-gate channels at Urumqi Diwopu and revamped the land checkpoints at Khorgos with facial-recognition kiosks calibrated for winter clothing and headgear. Processing time for coach tours has dropped from 20 to 8 minutes per group, according to pilot-run statistics shared by the NIA’s information-technology bureau. For companies, the takeaway is that China’s northwest is swinging open for both energy and consumer-goods investment scouting trips. Mobility managers should note, however, that travellers who intend to head deeper into the frontier-control belt still need the new electronic border permit launched nationwide today.
For travelers trying to keep pace with these rapid policy shifts, VisaHQ can simplify the process by providing real-time guidance on China’s visa and permit requirements—including the new electronic border permit for Xinjiang—and streamlined online applications at https://www.visahq.com/china/
Local travel agents report that business-delegation itineraries now routinely include factory visits in the Urumqi Economic & Technological Zone followed by leisure stops in Turpan or Kashgar. To keep pace, border police have installed additional e-gate channels at Urumqi Diwopu and revamped the land checkpoints at Khorgos with facial-recognition kiosks calibrated for winter clothing and headgear. Processing time for coach tours has dropped from 20 to 8 minutes per group, according to pilot-run statistics shared by the NIA’s information-technology bureau. For companies, the takeaway is that China’s northwest is swinging open for both energy and consumer-goods investment scouting trips. Mobility managers should note, however, that travellers who intend to head deeper into the frontier-control belt still need the new electronic border permit launched nationwide today.
