In December 2024, China upgraded its visa-free transit policy from 144 hours to 240 hours (10 days) and expanded the program to 55 countries, 60 ports of entry, and 24 provinces. As of November 2025 it was extended through the end of 2026. For the right traveler this turns China from a "we need to start visa paperwork three months out" trip into a "book the flight on Friday, fly Monday" trip.
👉 Not sure if you qualify? Run your nationality through our 30-second Visa Checker →
It also has a stack of small rules that don't survive a quick read of the official page. This article walks through who's eligible, where you can go, the third-country requirement, how the 240 hours are actually counted, and the half-dozen mistakes that get visitors turned around at immigration.
What "240-hour visa-free transit" actually is
The policy is transit, not a tourist visa. The legal premise is that you are passing through China on the way somewhere else. In exchange, you get to leave the airport, travel domestically across 24 provinces for up to 10 days, and re-board for your onward flight — with no visa, no fee, and no advance application.
Three rules anchor everything else:
- You must be a citizen of one of 55 eligible countries.
- You must enter and exit by air, sea, or rail through one of 60 designated ports.
- You must be travelling China → a third country (not back to where you came from). Your inbound flight is from country A, your outbound flight is to country C — never A → China → A.
If those three boxes check, the immigration officer issues a "Temporary Entry Permit" at the border. The 240 hours start at 00:00 the next day after your entry — not at the moment your passport is stamped.
Are you eligible? The 55 countries
Instead of scanning a 55-country list manually, run your nationality through the Visa Checker — it tells you in 5 seconds whether you qualify for 240-hour transit, 30-day visa-free, or need a regular L visa.
As of late 2025, the policy covers:
6 in the Americas: United States, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Chile.
2 in Oceania: Australia, New Zealand.
7 in Asia: Republic of Korea, Japan, Singapore, Brunei, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Indonesia (added June 2025).
25 European Schengen countries: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Monaco.
15 other European countries: Russia, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania, Belarus, Norway.
If your nationality isn't on this list, you need a regular Chinese visa.
A separate policy worth knowing about: 30-day unilateral visa-free entry. As of 2026, 38+ countries (including the UK, Canada, Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, Switzerland, and most of Europe) can enter China visa-free for up to 30 days for tourism — without the third-country requirement. US citizens are not on the 30-day list and must use the 240-hour transit. We compare the two at the end of this article.
The 60 entry/exit ports
You can enter or exit through any of 60 designated ports across 24 provinces.
Tier-1 international airports: Beijing (PEK / PKX), Shanghai (PVG / SHA), Guangzhou (CAN), Shenzhen (SZX), Chengdu (TFU / CTU), Chongqing (CKG), Xi'an (XIY), Hangzhou (HGH), Kunming (KMG), Xiamen (XMN).
Secondary airports added in 2024: Taiyuan, Wuxi, Yangzhou, Wenzhou, Hefei, Fuzhou, Quanzhou, Nanchang, Jinan, Qingdao, Zhengzhou, Changsha, Sanya, Haikou, Ningbo, Nanjing, Tianjin, Dalian, Shenyang, plus selected cruise / sea ports (Shanghai Wusong, Guangzhou Nansha, Shenzhen Shekou) and land ports (Shenzhen West Kowloon for the Hong Kong HSR; Nanning, Pingxiang, Dongxing in Guangxi).
You can enter through one port and exit through a different one. A clean example: USA → Manila → Chongqing (entry) → Xi'an → Fuzhou (exit) → USA — perfectly legal, even with mismatched entry/exit airports.
The 24 provinces you can move within
4 municipalities: Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Chongqing.
20 provinces / regions: Hebei, Liaoning, Shanxi, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Anhui, Jiangxi, Shandong, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, Hainan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Shaanxi, Guangxi.
NOT included: Tibet, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Qinghai, Gansu, Ningxia, Heilongjiang, Jilin. Bucket-list destinations like Tibet, the Silk Road (Gansu/Xinjiang), and the Harbin ice festival all sit outside the zone — they require a regular L tourist visa (and Tibet additionally needs a Tibet Travel Permit). If your itinerary touches any excluded region, the 240-hour transit will not cover it.
The third-country rule
The single biggest gotcha. The policy is "transit" — you must be passing from country A to country C, through China. The rules:
- A → China → C is fine. US → China → Japan ✓. UK → China → Thailand ✓. Australia → China → Korea ✓.
- A → China → A is not fine. US → China → US ✗. You're not transiting, you're round-tripping.
- Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan count as "third countries" for transit purposes. US → China → Hong Kong ✓. This is the foreigner-friendly loophole that makes the policy genuinely useful for many itineraries.
A practical implication: if you want to fly from the US to China and come back to the US, the cheapest legal workaround is to fly into China from the US and out of China to Hong Kong (or Macau, or Tokyo, or Seoul, or Bangkok — anywhere that's not the US). Hong Kong is often the cheapest "third country" out — flights from Beijing or Shanghai to Hong Kong are short, plentiful, and inexpensive.
The onward flight must be confirmed and visible to the immigration officer at entry. A vague "I'll book it later" doesn't work; you need a printed or screenshot itinerary.
How to actually use it: step by step
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Before flying. Book the inbound (A → China) flight and the outbound (China → C) flight. Make sure the China stay is ≤ 240 hours measured by calendar days starting the day after entry (we explain this below). Print or screenshot both itineraries. If staying at a hotel, book that too — they'll handle police registration automatically.
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At immigration. Look for the "Visa-Free Transit (临时入境许可 / Temporary Entry Permit)" or "24/240-Hour Transit" counter. It's separate from the main immigration line — and it's often shorter. Hand the officer your passport, both flight itineraries, and an arrival card filled in.
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The officer reviews. They confirm your nationality is eligible, your onward flight is to a third country, and the stay is within 240 hours. If approved, they issue a temporary entry permit stamp in your passport.
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You're in. Walk through with the stamp and start your trip. The 240 hours begin at 00:00 the next day — that's the legal start of your stay clock.
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Within 24 hours of arrival. If you're staying at a hotel, the hotel automatically registers you with the police at check-in — no action needed. If you're staying at an Airbnb, a friend's apartment, or any non-hotel accommodation, you (or your host) must visit the local police station (Public Security Bureau / PSB) within 24 hours with your passport and the host's ID card. Skipping this is a fineable offense (up to ¥2,000) and can complicate any future visa application. Hotels do this in 60 seconds at check-in; PSB stations do it in 15-20 minutes when you walk in.
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During your stay. Travel within the 24 permitted provinces. Take domestic flights, trains, buses freely. Stay in hotels (every legal hotel automatically re-registers you when you check in). Do not attempt to enter Tibet, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, or any other excluded region.
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Departure. Get to your exit port — it can be a different one from where you entered — and check in for your onward flight to country C. The temporary entry permit is good for a single exit; once you leave, it's done.
How the 240 hours are actually counted
The single most-misunderstood detail.
The 240-hour clock does not start when your passport is stamped. It starts at 00:00 the day after your entry.
Example: you land on May 30 at 11:50 PM and clear immigration at 12:30 AM on May 31. Your 240-hour transit period begins at 00:00 on June 1, not at 12:30 AM on May 31. You must leave China before 23:59 on June 10.
This is the same way regular Chinese visas count duration of stay. The official Chinese visa portal: "Q: I entered China on June 12 with a 30-day visa. Last day to stay? A: July 12. The duration of stay is counted from June 13, the day after entry."
Practical effect: if you land late at night, you effectively get an extra slice of free time before the clock starts. If you land at 1:00 AM, your real time in China is closer to 10 days plus 23 hours.
What you can and can't do during the stay
Yes:
- Travel freely between the 24 permitted provinces (by plane, train, bus, taxi, or car)
- Stay in any legal hotel or registered short-term rental
- Visit any attraction, restaurant, museum, or business
- Take domestic flights or high-speed rail across the eligible provinces
- Conduct business meetings, attend conferences, sign contracts
No:
- Enter Tibet, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Qinghai, Gansu, Ningxia, Heilongjiang, or Jilin
- Stay longer than 240 hours
- Take up paid employment or formal study
- Skip the police registration if you're not staying at a hotel
- Fly back to your country of origin directly (must exit to a third country)
Common mistakes
- Booking a round-trip back to your home country. US → China → US isn't a transit. Route the return via Hong Kong / Tokyo / Seoul, or apply for a regular L visa.
- Miscounting the 240 hours. Starts at midnight the next day, not the moment you land. Don't shave the trip too close.
- Trying to go to Tibet, Xinjiang, or another excluded region. Plan your itinerary entirely inside the 24 covered provinces.
- Forgetting the 24-hour police registration at an Airbnb. Hotels handle this automatically; private rentals don't. ¥2,000 fine and a flagged record otherwise.
- Not having the onward flight booked. A printed itinerary to a third country is required at the border — "I'll buy it later" is rejected.
- Assuming Hong Kong is "still China." For immigration purposes, HK, Macau, and Taiwan all count as third countries. This is the loophole — use it.
240-hour transit vs 30-day visa-free vs L tourist visa
China currently has three main routes for short visits. Which one you should use:
| 240-hour transit | 30-day visa-free | L tourist visa | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who's eligible | 55 countries (incl. US, UK, CA, AU, EU, JP, KR) | ~38 countries (UK, CA, AU, EU, NZ, BR — but not US) | Anyone (with application) |
| Max stay | 10 days (240h) | 30 days | 30-90 days (depending on visa) |
| Onward third country? | Required (A→China→C) | Not required | Not required |
| Application | At border, free | At border, free | Apply at embassy in advance, ~$140 USD |
| Permitted regions | 24 provinces only | All of China | All of China |
| Best for | Short layovers extended to 10 days, business stops, multi-country Asia trips | Up to a month of mainland China tourism (if your country is on the list) | Trips longer than 30 days, or trips that need to visit excluded regions like Tibet |
If you're a UK / Canadian / Australian / EU citizen and want a 2-3 week China-only trip, the 30-day visa-free is the simpler tool. If you're a US citizen, only the 240-hour transit and the L visa exist. If your itinerary includes Tibet or Xinjiang, only the L visa works.
More on the 30-day unilateral visa-free program
The 30-day list grew dramatically in 2024–2025 and is still expanding. As of mid-2026, 50+ countries are included, spanning most of Europe (UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Austria, Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Sweden, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, etc.), much of Asia-Pacific (Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Brunei), and several Latin American countries (Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay).
The authoritative list (updated whenever a country is added or removed): NIA 30-day visa-free policy page.
The biggest country currently NOT on the list is the United States. US passport holders should use either the 240-hour transit (covered above) or a standard L tourist visa — see our dedicated guide: Can Americans Travel to China in 2026?.
For your specific nationality and trip shape, the free Visa Eligibility Checker gives a clear yes/no answer with the official policy URL — much faster than reading the NIA page directly.
Final notes
The 240-hour transit policy is the most travel-friendly thing China has done for foreign visitors in years, and as of late 2025 the government has committed to extending it through the end of 2026. For most visitors from the eligible 55 countries, it removes the single biggest friction point of visiting China.
The two things to actually get right: route your trip so you exit to a third country (Hong Kong counts), and register with the local police within 24 hours if you're not in a hotel. Everything else is mechanics.
👉 Confirm your specific situation: Use the Visa Checker →
For specific city itineraries inside the permitted zones — Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Chongqing, Xi'an, Hangzhou, Guilin, Lijiang, Zhangjiajie, Suzhou — see the linked guides below.
Official sources (National Immigration Administration policy pages): Visa-Free Transit Policies — 24-hour + 240-hour, updated 2025-07-04 · List of Countries Covered by Unilateral Visa Exemption — 30-day, updated 2026-02-17 · China's Entry Facilitation Policies for Foreign Nationals — overview, 2025-12-07.
