Intl. visitor numbers jump in H1 as China widens door

International visitors made 38.05 million cross-border trips to and from China in the first half of 2025, a 30.2% jump year on year, the National Immigration Administration said yesterday. Visa-free arrivals surged even faster, with 13.64 million international visitors entering without a visa, up 53.9 % year on year. China recently expanded its 240-hour visa-free transit scheme to include Indonesia, raising the number of eligible countries to 55. A new regional waiver also lets ASEAN tour groups visit Xishuangbanna, a renowned tourist attraction in Southwest China’s Yunnan Province, visa-free.