Asia is a magnet for tourism – from Japan’s sprawling cities to the dazzling countryside of Vietnam, the continent is packed with world-class travel destinations. But China? You might not meet people who have travelled there so frequently, though that could all be about to change.
The country is rapidly expanding its list of countries from which people can enter without a visa (for up to 30 days), and eight more European countries have just been added.
Back in October, Cyprus, Denmark, Greece, Portugal and Slovenia were granted access, and Andorra, Finland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Slovakia and Norway were also recently added.
The list has expanded to 38 European countries in total, with the inclusion of Bulgaria, Romania, Malta, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Estonia and Latvia, as well as Japan, who will be able to enter from November 30 2024 until December 31, 2025.
So, why is all this happening? A representative from the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that it’s ‘to facilitate the high-quality development of Chinese and foreign personnel exchanges and high-level opening up to the outside world,’ according to euronews. Essentially, the country is encouraging tourism again after years of strict pandemic measures.
Keep an eye on this page to see if more countries get added to the visa-free access list, and in the meantime, here are some travel guides for Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Macau.
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