BEIJING, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- The eastern Chinese megacity of Shanghai received a whopping 4.1 million overseas visitors from January to August this year.
Among that number was German tourist Elke Walther, who spent her time in the city experiencing Chinese culture, visiting the ancient town of Zhujiajiao and sampling local delicacies like Xiaolongbao, which are steamed soup dumplings.
Walther was impressed by the Chinese culture and the new technologies that are now part of daily life in China, and she had a rich and pleasant experience, she told Xinhua.
The latest tourism boom in the city has resulted from a series of policies that provide greater convenience for international tourists entering China. As one of the country's most famous tourist cities, Shanghai is usually among the first places affected by new policies for the sector.
A surging number of tourists from the Republic of Korea (ROK) have entered the city amid this boom. After China granted ROK citizens visa-free entry in November 2024, tourists from the country took immediate advantage of both the new policy and the relatively short distance to travel to China, making weekend trips to Shanghai a new trendy activity -- especially among young people.
From January to August this year, the ROK was Shanghai's top source of international visitors, with the number of trips to the city reaching 547,000, an increase of 123.9 percent year on year.
Just as Shanghai's appeal has risen among tourists from the ROK, China as a whole is becoming a more popular tourist destination thanks to its various policies that improve the entry and travel experience for international arrivals.
According to China's National Immigration Administration (NIA), foreign nationals made a total of 38.05 million trips to or from China in the first six months of 2025, which was an increase of 30.2 percent year on year. Of these trips, 13.64 million were visa-free entries -- an increase of 53.9 percent from the same period last year.
According to the NIA, tourists of 76 countries now enjoy unilateral or mutual visa-free entry, with transit exemptions expanded to 55 countries. Citizens of 55 countries, including the United States and Canada, can visit China visa-free for up to 10 days in transit, before traveling to a third destination.
Most recently, starting from Sept. 15, China began piloting a visa-free travel policy for Russian citizens holding ordinary passports. Data from Russian travel platform OneTwoTrip showed that between Sept. 15 and 21, flight bookings from Russia to China rose 70 percent from the same period last year.
In addition to the expansion of its visa-free travel policies, China has in recent years introduced and improved policies that streamline entry, consumption and tax-refund processes, Sun Yeli, China's minister of culture and tourism, said at a press conference on Monday.
"Today, sightseeing and shopping in China have become trends for global tourists," Sun said.
From the latest fashions to cutting-edge electronics, the China shopping craze is gaining momentum alongside the China travel trend.
The State Taxation Administration reported that this year's nationwide rollout of instant tax-refund services has improved efficiency by over 40 percent, with more than 7,200 tax refund stores operational across the country in the first six months of the year. And the number of travelers benefiting from these services has risen 186 percent year on year.
China is also removing payment and language barriers for international visitors. The country's mobile payment systems, Alipay and WeChat Pay, now support direct linkage with international credit cards. And AI-powered translation tools are being rolled out at airports and tourist attractions nationwide to facilitate inbound tourism. ■
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