Daniel Rolston, from New Zealand, embarked on his long-held dream of exploring China with his family July 2 when they entered through the Huanggang Checkpoint in Shenzhen.
Since it was his first visit to China, Rolston received assistance from officers at the checkpoint, which expedited entry procedures. He expressed his admiration for the checkpoint's efficiency.
Sharing his family's enthusiasm for the trip, Rolston said, "My son is a fan of China and he is very passionate about Chinese culture. He is eager to taste Chinese cuisine as well."
The family's decision to travel was greatly influenced by China's visa-free policy, which not only made their dream trip possible but also hassle-free. "It's so convenient now with the 15-day visa-free entry, which allows us enough time to travel across the vast lands of China and experience Chinese culture and cuisine," said Rolston.
Starting from July 1, citizens from New Zealand, Australia, and Poland can enter China for up to 15 days without a visa for business, tourism, visiting relatives, or transit. As of now, nationals from 54 countries are eligible for the 72/144-hour visa-free transit policy, which was introduced in January 2013.
Data show that 500,000 foreigners entered China through the Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport in the first half of the year, marking a 212% year-on-year increase. Among them, almost 90,000 individuals utilized visa-free access, accounting for 34% of foreign entries.
At a press conference Friday, the National Immigration Administration (NIA) announced that the number of visa-free entries made by foreigners exceeded 8.54 million from January to June, which accounted for 52% of inbound trips, representing a year-on-year increase of 190.1%.
This strong growth follows the introduction of measures intended to facilitate the entry of foreign nationals into China for business, education, and tourism, according to the press conference.
In the first half of the year, 14.635 million foreigners visited China, an increase of 152.7% year on year.
The NIA said that the number of foreigners visiting China is expected to continue growing in the second half of this year.
According to a recent report released by the China Tourism Academy (CTA), the inbound tourism market for foreigners is expected to recover to around 80% of 2019 levels.
From a survey, the CTA found that over 60% of interviewed inbound travelers primarily came to China to experience its culture. Food and shopping were highly ranked on the list of reasons to visit.