China Sees Surge in Cross-Border Travel in First Half of 2025

In the first half of 2025, foreign nationals made a significant number of cross-border trips to and from China. The National Immigration Administration (NIA) reported 38.05 million trips, reflecting a 30.2 percent increase compared to the same period the previous year.

A notable trend was the continued rise in visa-free entries. During the first six months, 13.64 million foreigners entered China without a visa. This group constituted 71.2 percent of all foreign entries and showed a substantial 53.9 percent increase year-on-year.

Overall, Chinese immigration authorities processed a total of 333 million inbound and outbound trips between January and June. This figure represents a 15.8 percent increase compared to the previous year. This total includes 159 million trips by mainland residents and 136 million trips by residents of Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan, which saw increases of 15.9 percent and 12.2 percent, respectively.

The NIA highlighted ongoing efforts to enhance openness and improve service efficiency. China has been expanding its visa-free policies to facilitate travel.

Recent policy changes include the addition of Indonesia to the 240-hour visa-free transit policy, bringing the total number of eligible countries to 55. Additionally, a new regional visa-free policy allows tourist groups from ASEAN countries to enter Xishuangbanna in Yunnan province without a visa.

Furthermore, China has expanded its visa exemption agreements, signing new mutual agreements with Uzbekistan, Malaysia, and Azerbaijan. Unilateral visa-free entry has also been extended to nine additional countries.