China’s annual May Day Golden Week is less than two weeks away, but have you planned your itinerary yet?
This year’s “May Day Golden Week” is expected to see a significant increase in inbound tourists, so it may look different than previous years!
According to data released on April 16 by Ctrip (or Trip.com for those living outside of China), one of China’s largest online travel agencies, bookings by tourists visiting Japan have increased by 30% compared to the same period last year. This recorded an astonishing growth.
The top 10 departure countries for tourists visiting China during the “May Day” holiday are as follows.
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Japan
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America
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South Korea
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Canada
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Malaysia
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Thailand
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England
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Australia
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Russia
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France
The top 10 domestic destinations popular among foreign tourists are as follows:
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Shanghai
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Beijing
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Guangzhou
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Chengdu
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Qingdao
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Hangzhou
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Chongqing
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shenzhen
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Xi’an
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Kunming
The increase in overseas tourists during this year’s May Day Golden Week is undoubtedly due to China’s recent efforts to introduce a visa-free policy.
These policies include a unilateral visa-free policy, reciprocal visa waivers with more countries, and 72/144-hour visa-free transit convenience.
To help our readers better understand these visa-free policies, it is has put together a comprehensive China visa-free entry guide.
Read more: How to attend Canton Fair without a Chinese visa
Have you made your May Day/Golden Week plans yet? Please share.
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[Cover image by Billy Jiang/That’s]