China extends six-day visa-free tourist stopover scheme to 27 ports and cities
- Visa scheme is being extended in effort to increase tourism revenues
- Official figures say visa-free short stays are becoming popular with visitors
From December 1, tourists from 53 countries can gain entry without a visa to 20 cities through the ports for up to 144 hours, the National Immigration Administration said.
China started the scheme to attract more business and holiday travellers and expand visitor numbers from outside Asia, its main source of tourism income.
Visitors need a current passport and tickets to a destination outside China that are valid within the visa-free period to gain entry.
In most cases, visitors will be limited to the city where they arrived, but inbound travellers at Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport in southwestern China will be able to visit 11 cities across Sichuan province.
In January, Qingdao in eastern Shandong province and Wuhan – the capital of central Hubei – were two of four cities that began offering 144-hour stays.
