BEIJING, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Two years after China substantially expanded its visa-free entry policies, "China travel" remains a powerful draw for global explorers. And during the country's most important traditional holiday, the Spring Festival, that appeal deepens.
For many visitors, the celebration offers not just a trip, but an intimate encounter with an ancient civilization in its most festive and heartfelt moment.
In the early hours of Chinese New Year's Eve, three flights from Russia touched down in Sanya, south China's Hainan Province, bringing over 570 international visitors to the tropical coastal resort.
At the immigration checkpoint, queues moved fast as officers processed travelers efficiently. "It's such a delight to travel here visa-free and relax. Everything is so efficient and everyone is smiling," said Tamara, one of the travelers.
From the southern island province of Hainan to the northernmost province of Heilongjiang, a growing number of foreign tourists are choosing to visit China during the Spring Festival -- not only to sightsee but also to join in the festivities.
In Shanghai, foreign visitors can join specially designed Spring Festival citywalks in the downtown area. Along the way, they can try their hand at calligraphy by writing spring couplets, dress in traditional Chinese attire, and learn to make local-style wontons.
"My grandpa is from Shanghai, and I'm very excited to kind of get back to my roots a little bit," said Grace Schenkel from the United States. "I am excited to make my own dumplings, and I can't wait to show the videos to him."
Further south, in Foshan, a city renowned for its martial arts legacy and Cantonese cuisine, international tourists arrived in impressive numbers.
"This year, foreign visitors and tour groups booked our New Year's Eve dinner well in advance to experience the traditional, lively holiday atmosphere," said Liang Weimian, a restaurant manager, noting that reservations for dinner tables were fully booked nearly a month earlier than in previous years.
In the eastern city of Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province, travel agencies reported a 20 percent increase in bookings for foreign-language guides compared with last year.
Local authorities also introduced new routes linking major attractions, allowing visitors to experience the festive charm in the water town, where they can participate in making intangible cultural heritage handicrafts and savor local traditional delicacies.
In late 2024, UNESCO inscribed "Spring Festival, social practices of the Chinese people in celebration of the traditional New Year" on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
The National Immigration Administration earlier projected that daily inbound and outbound traveler numbers will average 2.05 million throughout the holiday period, a 14.1 percent increase from last year.
Bookings from international travelers on Ctrip, one of China's leading online travel platforms, rose significantly during the festival, with visitors from Malaysia, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Japan, and Russia leading the surge. In particular, Russian bookings alone jumped 471 percent from a year earlier.
According to Qunar, another major online travel platform, domestic flight bookings made by non-Chinese passport holders rose 20 percent year-on-year during the festival period, with trips spanning 102 cities nationwide.
Welcoming more international visitors is also part of China's broader, long-term strategy to strengthen its tourism sector. Under the country's 2026-2030 development blueprint, improving accessibility and convenience for overseas travelers is a key priority.
Chen Ye, a tourism expert at Nankai University, said China needs to expand visitor-friendly policies to help overseas visitors navigate daily life more easily.
To address relevant concerns, 11 Chinese authorities issued guidelines earlier this month to enhance the convenience of digital services for foreigners and people from outside the Chinese mainland, including measures to improve basic digital services and digital payment systems.
It defines 14 measures, including enhancing the convenience of digital payments by better supporting overseas e-wallet services in mainland China, promoting digital services in foreign languages, and improving related services to enhance the tourism, shopping and dining experiences for overseas visitors.
With these efforts, global travelers' experience of the Spring Festival in China will become not only more memorable but also smoother. ■
