1st intl. cruise arrives after 240-hour visa-free policy launch

Shortly after 11 a.m., Mori Hiromi, accompanied by Junko Matsunaga and another friend, walked out of the arrival hall at the Shenzhen Cruise Homeport. The Japanese visitors had arrived on the Pacific World cruise ship, which docked yesterday.

Japanese visitors from the Pacific World cruise ship arrive at the Shenzhen Cruise Homeport in Qianhai yesterday. Photos by Wei Jie  

They were among more than 1,600 international tourists on board the Pacific World, the first international cruise ship to dock in Shenzhen since the 10-day visa-free transit policy came into effect.

On Dec. 17, 2024, China’s National Immigration Administration (NIA) introduced the policy, which allows the visa-free entry of foreign tourists who arrive aboard cruise ships docking in Shenzhen and 12 other port cities on the Chinese mainland. Under the policy, all tourists must continue traveling together on the same cruise ship when exiting China.

“This is very convenient,” said one of Hiromi’s travel companions. “Once we had our passports ready, it took only a few seconds to complete customs clearance by having the passports scanned by a machine.” Previously, all inbound travelers had to manually fill out entry and exit forms and hand them to customs officers.

International volunteer Asuka Suzuki (L) offers assistance to a Japanese couple in the lobby of the Shenzhen Cruise Homeport yesterday. 

The trio, who shared a cabin on the cruise, headed straight to K11 ECOAST, the massive harbor-front, art-themed shopping mall that opened on a trial basis yesterday.

“After that, we want to go explore Nantou Ancient City and Sea World during our stay in Shenzhen today,” said Hiromi. The tourists were instructed to return to the port in Shekou by 8 p.m. to board the ship, which was scheduled to leave for its next destination in Vietnam.

“The moment our cruise docked, I saw so many modern skyscrapers. This is going be an exciting city walk,” Matsunaga remarked. Even though it was their first time visiting Shenzhen, Hiromi and Matsunaga quickly decided on their itinerary thanks to advice they received from international volunteer Sayaka Nakano in the lobby of the homeport.

International volunteer Sayaka Nakano (2nd R) assists visitors with their itinerary in the lobby of the Shenzhen Cruise Homeport.

Nakano and four other Japanese expats living in Shenzhen volunteered at the homeport yesterday and provided essential information and travel tips to arriving tourists. Organized by the Shekou Management and Service Center for Expats, they distributed hand-drawn city maps of Shenzhen, leaflets highlighting main attractions, Nanshan service manuals, and trilingual courtesy service cards.

Nakano, who has resided in Shenzhen for 11 years with her husband, said there are many places that are worth exploring in the city. “Considering their limited time, it’s best they focus on destinations in Nanshan, not too far from Shekou.”

Another volunteer, Ayumi Seki, guided a senior couple to a money exchange point located in the eastern part of the homeport lobby. “They needed some local currency for their visit,” said Seki, a two-year resident of Shenzhen. “The brief training we received about the homeport layout and available services was of great help.”

The Pacific World cruise, operated by the Japan-based nongovernmental organization (NGO) Peace Boat, departed from Kobe, Japan, for Shenzhen. The largest ship in Peace Boat’s fleet made its first-ever visit to Shenzhen on March 25 of last year.