China Visa-Free Statistics 2026: Entries, Countries and Ports

The short answer

Roughly three in four foreign visitors now enter China without a visa: visa-free entries were 77.5% of foreign entries in the third quarter of 2026. Foreign nationals made 30.08 million visa-free entries in 2025, up 49.5%, and about 26.8 million in the first nine months of 2026. The 240-hour transit policy covers 57 countries through 65 ports in 24 provinces, and the 30-day visa-free entry list covers 50 countries.

Every figure on this page comes from the National Immigration Administration (NIA) or another government source, listed at the foot of the page. We update it after each quarterly NIA release.

Visa-free entries by foreign nationals

Period	Visa-free entries	Share of foreign entries	Change, year on year	NIA release
2025, full year	30.08 million	73.1%	+49.5%	30 January 2026
Q1 2026	8.315 million	77.9%	+29.3%	13 April 2026
First half of 2026	17.82 million	77.7%	+30.6%	13 July 2026
Q3 2026	8.99 million	77.5%	+24.1%	20 October 2026
January–September 2026	about 26.8 million	—	—	Our sum of the first-half and Q3 figures

The wider picture from the same releases:

• 2025: 697 million border crossings in total, a record and up 14.2%, including 82.04 million by foreign nationals, up 26.4%.
• First half of 2026: 369 million crossings, up 10.8% and another record. Foreign entries reached 22.91 million, up 20.4%.
• Q3 2026: 192 million crossings, up 7.9%. Foreign entries reached 11.60 million, up 15.6%.

These releases count all visa-free entries together. They do not break out the 240-hour transit policy separately from 30-day visa-free entry and the other schemes.

Where foreign visitors come from

The NIA’s top 10 source countries, for all foreign entries rather than visa-free entries only:

Period	Top 10, in order	Share of foreign entries
First half of 2026	South Korea, Russia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, the United States, Japan, Mongolia, Australia	62%
Q3 2026	Russia, South Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, the United States, Mongolia, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Australia	63.9%

Visa-free transit (240-hour)

Fact	Figure
Eligible countries	57
Maximum stay	240 hours (10 days)
Designated ports	65
Provinces / regions covered	24
Clock starts	00:00 the day after entry
Passport	Ordinary passport, valid for at least 3 months
Onward ticket	Confirmed seat and date to a third country or region

How it works in practice is in the 240-hour visa-free transit guide, and the full port list in ports and permitted areas.

Visa-free entry (30-day)

Fact	Figure
Countries	50 (35 in Europe, 2 in Oceania, 7 in Asia, 6 in the Americas)
Maximum stay	30 days, counted from 00:00 the day after entry
Purposes	Business, tourism, visiting relatives and friends, exchange visits, transit
Third-country requirement	None
Recent additions	The United Kingdom and Canada are on the list as of 17 February 2026
Notable absence	The United States is not on the 30-day list; US citizens can use the 240-hour transit

24-hour transit

Fact	Figure
Available to	Nationals of all countries
Maximum stay	Under 24 hours
Airside transit	No permit needed
Leaving the port area	Requires a temporary entry permit

Policy timeline

Date	Change
1 December 2023	Unilateral visa-free trial for France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia: stays of up to 15 days
30 November 2024	Visa-free stays extended from 15 to 30 days, exchange visits added as a purpose; 38 countries covered
December 2024	240-hour visa-free transit replaces the 72- and 144-hour rules: 54 countries, ports up from 39 to 60 in 24 provinces
June 2025	Indonesia added to the transit list (55 countries)
2025	Five more Guangdong ports bring the transit total to 65
End of 2025	Unilateral visa-free entry covers 48 countries
17 February 2026	The NIA’s list shows 50 countries for 30-day visa-free entry, including the UK and Canada
20 August 2026	Kyrgyzstan and Vietnam added to the transit list (57 countries)

Airport transfer times (indicative)

Route	Time	Cost
Shanghai PVG → city (Maglev + Metro)	~40–55 min	¥54 (¥44 with a same-day air ticket)
Shanghai PVG → city (Metro Line 2)	60–90 min	¥7–9
Shanghai PVG ↔ SHA (Airport Link Line)	~40 min	¥26
Shanghai SHA → city (Metro)	30–50 min	¥3–7
Beijing PEK → city (Airport Express)	25–35 min	¥25
Beijing PKX → Caoqiao (Daxing Airport Express), then Metro	~20 min to Caoqiao	¥35
Guangzhou CAN → city (Metro Line 3)	~45–55 min	~¥8
Chengdu TFU → city (Metro Line 18)	35–40 min	¥7–10

Fares and times change, so check the operator before relying on them. The Shanghai Pudong and Beijing Daxing guides have the timetables, and the airport-to-city transfer guide compares every hub.

Key figures to quote

• Foreign nationals made 30.08 million visa-free entries into China in 2025, 73.1% of all foreign entries and up 49.5% on 2024 (NIA, January 2026).
• In the first half of 2026, visa-free entries reached 17.82 million, 77.7% of foreign entries, up 30.6% year on year (NIA, July 2026).
• In the third quarter of 2026, 8.99 million foreign entries were visa-free, 77.5% of the total, up 24.1% (NIA, October 2026).
• China’s 240-hour visa-free transit covers 57 countries through 65 ports in 24 provinces (NIA, revised August 2026).
• Ordinary passport holders from 50 countries can enter China visa-free for up to 30 days (NIA list, February 2026).

How to cite this page

Copy this, with the last-updated date shown at the top of the page:

China Layover Guide, "China Visa-Free Statistics 2026: Entries, Countries and Ports"
https://chinalayoverguide.com/guides/china-layover-statistics-and-facts/

Where you can, link to the NIA release behind the figure too; the sources below list each one.

Update schedule: we refresh this page after each NIA quarterly release. The full-year 2026 figures usually come at the end of January.

For what the rules mean for a trip, start with 30-day visa-free entry vs 240-hour transit or China visa-free countries.