Visa-free visits to Beijing?

Visitors to the Chinese capital may be in luck as Beijing considers waiving visas for visitors staying for three days or less in an attempt to attract more international tourists to visit the city, even if just for a weekend.

Beijing’s city authorities have been mulling over the decision to waive visa requirements for visits to the city that are 3 days or less in length. The Chinese government has done something similar in other places too. Shanghai, for example, where you can stay 48 hours without a visa, and Hainan, where you can stay up to three weeks without out if you belong to a recognized tour group.

Beijing: open to the world

Beijing wants to be a city that is open to the world. Allowing tourists to visit for up to 72 hours is the first step to really prove it. Beijing Tourism hopes that the change will attract more tourists from abroad, or even coaxing some to extend their flight stopovers in the city.

Beijing is a huge transit city for flights to and from all over the world. Being able to stay for a couple days while in transit gives travellers a lot of freedom and will definitely boost tourism to the Chinese capital. This isn’t a new idea, last year the Chinese authorities considered allowing tourists to stay seven days without a visa but it didn’t pass.

China in general is considered to have exceptionally tight visa requirements, not exactly the way to welcome visitors from abroad. That being said, Beijing has been battling with foreigners who have over-stayed their welcome for ages but especially more recently as the city just launched a foreigner “clean-out.” There’s no mercy if you don’t respect the entry/exit requirements so always carry your passport with you when travelling in China with proof of visa.

Would you consider a longer stopover in Beijing if the visa waiver goes through?

Img: Mal B / Flickr cc.