Chongqing - From July 1, 2024, to December 31, 2025, China implements a visa-free policy on a trial basis for ordinary passport holders from New Zealand, Australia, and Poland. Ordinary passport holders from these three countries can enter China without a visa for business, tourism, visiting relatives and friends, and transit, provided their stay does not exceed 15 days.

In the early morning of July 2, Tianjin Airlines flight GS7944 took off from Sydney, Australia, and arrived in Chongqing. Chongqing Jiangbei Airport ushered in the first batch of foreign travelers to enjoy this policy, and Chongqing Border Police completed the entry formalities for 175 travelers.

Travelers at the international flight counter at Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport. (Photo/Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport)

"I'm glad that this visa-free policy is in effect. I'm planning to visit China, so that's why it's so perfect for me." Australian traveler Tare Makarand said. 

At present, Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport is flying 39 international (regional) passenger and cargo routes, with more than 170 flights per week, and will continue to increase the number of international routes this year.

Chongqing Border Inspection Terminal duty second team leader Lin Sen introduced the expansion of the visa-free scope further to enhance the enthusiasm of foreign tourists to China; in the first half of this year, nearly 40,000 foreigners entry through the Chongqing Jiangbei Airport port under the visa-free policy.

With the expanding scope of visa-free entry, Chongqing summer inbound tour bookings are hot. With the arrival of the tourism season in July and August, the overall inbound tour orders have increased by three times compared to last year.

Zheng Lidong, head of the southwest region of a travel agency, said that in July and August, the summer tourism season, plans to come to Chongqing tours have been more than 500, of which New Zealand and Australia orders have grown faster, there are more than 50 tour groups, which is also the visa-free entry policy to bring the market effect. Tourists from New Zealand and Australia, as well as Europe and the United States, are more inclined to experiential tourism, so they have designed Chongqing cuisine such as hot pots, Chongqing noodles, and Sichuan dishes among the tourist routes for foreign tourists, and also added new cultural performances of Sichuan and Chongqing specialties such as Sichuan Opera's Face-Changing and the Chuanjiang Haozi.

Chongqing hotpot. (iChongqing File Photo)

The Three Gorges, Fairy Mountain, Hongyadong, and Dazu Rock Carvings are popular tourist destinations in Chongqing and are renowned overseas. As the visa-free policy provides more travel time for overseas tourists, more and more tourists no longer watch at random and begin to experience Chongqing's local folk culture in depth.

The Three Gorges, Fairy Mountain, Hongyadong, and Dazu Rock Carvings are popular tourist destinations in Chongqing and are renowned overseas. (Photo/ Mikkel Larsen)

(Wang Haibo, as an intern, also contributed to this report)