Zhejiang Province—long a magnet for international traders drawn to the Yiwu commodities market and the tech hub of Hangzhou—has quietly become a test-bed for China’s newest visa-free transit experiment. On 6 May the provincial government confirmed that every one of Zhejiang’s six international airports and seaports now participates in the country’s extended 240-hour (10-day) transit-without-visa program, giving passport-holders from 55 nations the ability to enter, travel and depart the province—as well as other permitted regions—without obtaining a consular visa in advance . The expansion adds Wenzhou Longwan, Zhoushan’s deep-water port and the inland trade city of Yiwu to the list, complementing established gateways at Hangzhou Xiaoshan, Ningbo Lishe and Quzhou. Provincial officials said inbound traffic is already growing at “about 20 percent a year,” and forecast a further bump once summer trade shows resume.
![Zhejiang opens all six ports to 240-hour visa-free transit and upgrades services for foreign business travelers]()
Travel planners unsure whether their nationality qualifies or how the 240-hour countdown is calculated can shortcut the process through VisaHQ’s China portal (https://www.visahq.com/china/), where an experienced team tracks the latest airport and seaport rules, pre-screens itineraries and, if needed, arranges same-day visa applications for longer stays. The service gives companies a single dashboard to monitor staff movements and receive alerts if entry requirements shift—particularly useful while Zhejiang’s pilot program evolves.
Crucially for corporate mobility teams, the policy lets executives who first land in other Chinese provinces—Guangdong was singled out—continue on to Zhejiang without invalidating their visa-free status, simplifying multi-city itineraries. Zhejiang has coupled the border-policy upgrade with a raft of practical measures aimed at business visitors. Six new county-level visa service offices bring the provincial total to 25, the highest in China, while 43 immigration service centres now let expatriates extend or replace residence permits without travelling to major cities . Airport “international service centres” in Hangzhou, Ningbo and Wenzhou provide SIM cards, mobile-payment set-up and on-site banking support—a response to lingering complaints that cash-free China remains difficult for newcomers. Hotels have installed passport readers that feed directly into police registration systems, cutting check-in times for foreigners to match those of domestic guests. Meanwhile, Zhejiang’s e-government “Zheliban” super-app has been opened to verified foreign residents, allowing them to pay social-security contributions, register vehicles, file taxes and even buy health insurance online using their passport numbers. For multinationals, the message is twofold: the logistics of getting executives into China’s coastal manufacturing belt have eased, and the infrastructure for keeping them productive once they arrive is catching up fast. Companies planning July trade fairs in Yiwu or September’s Asian Games legacy events in Hangzhou should review internal travel policies to ensure staff can take advantage of the 10-day visa-free window, and confirm that invitation letters are available in case border officials request proof of business purpose.
Travel planners unsure whether their nationality qualifies or how the 240-hour countdown is calculated can shortcut the process through VisaHQ’s China portal (https://www.visahq.com/china/), where an experienced team tracks the latest airport and seaport rules, pre-screens itineraries and, if needed, arranges same-day visa applications for longer stays. The service gives companies a single dashboard to monitor staff movements and receive alerts if entry requirements shift—particularly useful while Zhejiang’s pilot program evolves.
Crucially for corporate mobility teams, the policy lets executives who first land in other Chinese provinces—Guangdong was singled out—continue on to Zhejiang without invalidating their visa-free status, simplifying multi-city itineraries. Zhejiang has coupled the border-policy upgrade with a raft of practical measures aimed at business visitors. Six new county-level visa service offices bring the provincial total to 25, the highest in China, while 43 immigration service centres now let expatriates extend or replace residence permits without travelling to major cities . Airport “international service centres” in Hangzhou, Ningbo and Wenzhou provide SIM cards, mobile-payment set-up and on-site banking support—a response to lingering complaints that cash-free China remains difficult for newcomers. Hotels have installed passport readers that feed directly into police registration systems, cutting check-in times for foreigners to match those of domestic guests. Meanwhile, Zhejiang’s e-government “Zheliban” super-app has been opened to verified foreign residents, allowing them to pay social-security contributions, register vehicles, file taxes and even buy health insurance online using their passport numbers. For multinationals, the message is twofold: the logistics of getting executives into China’s coastal manufacturing belt have eased, and the infrastructure for keeping them productive once they arrive is catching up fast. Companies planning July trade fairs in Yiwu or September’s Asian Games legacy events in Hangzhou should review internal travel policies to ensure staff can take advantage of the 10-day visa-free window, and confirm that invitation letters are available in case border officials request proof of business purpose.
