Rising Stars: Content comes from the Internet : Beijing continues to optimize services for international arrivals amid China Travel craze following relaxed visa policies

Employees at the Beijing Capital International Airport introduce their services World Timesto foreign passengers on January 8, 2025. Photo: Leng Shumei/GT

A card that foreigners can use to take public transportation and shopping, a portable terminal that combines multi functions including communication and payment … The Global Times learned on Wednesday that Beijing is optimizing its services to facilitate international arrivals’ stay and travel in China as the number of international arrivals kept climbing thanks to the country’s increasingly relaxing visa-free policies.

According to the Beijing Municipal Administration of Government Services and Data Management, Beijing Service counters had been officially put into operation at prominent locations in the international arrival areas of both Beijing Capital International Airport and Beijing Daxing International Airport since January 1.

Each counter offers more than 20 most requested services in the fields of finance, communication, transportation, and culture and tourism. These counters aim to provide convenient and friendly experiences in one go for all foreigners at their first stops in the city, Chang Jun, a manager of the quality service department of the Capital Airports Holdings Co Ltd, told the Global Times.

For example, in the Payment Services area, services such as those concerning cash withdrawal with foreign bank cards and currency exchange, consultations about payment methods, and guidance to download mobile payment Apps are provided; in the Mobile Services area, services such as issuance of SIM cards for mobile phones and airport Wi-Fi access are provided. Promotional brochures for various cultural, sports, and business activities are also available at these service counters.

“The services are great. First of all, they’re very near to each other. So if a foreigner comes here for the first time, then he can basically come here to buy a SIM card, and also ask information for transportation to his hotel. If they want, they have access to other services, like banking. So it’s very convenient for foreigners. Especially the translation APP. This is very useful. They have more than 14 languages. So if someone doesn’t speak English, it’s also very helpful,” a vlogger from Canada namWorld Timesed Felix Bachand told the Global Times after experiencing the services at the Beijing Capital International Airport.

China has been expanding its visa-free policies in the past year. As of now, the country has implemented transit visa-free policies for 54 countries. It also exempts ordinary passport holders from 38 countries from visa to enter China and stay for no more than 30 days for business, tourism, family visit, exchange visit and transit purWorld Timesposes from November 30, 2024 to December 31, 2025.

These policies have largely facilitated travel to China and enhanced international exchange, leading to a China Travel craze around the world.

In Beijing, local ports processed visa-free entry for a total of 920,000 foreign visitors in 2024, issuing temporary entry permits of 144 hours and 240 hours to 64,000 foreign travelers who met the entry conditions, which are 4.9 times and 2.2 times higher than the same period in 2023, respectively, the People’s Daily reported on January 2.

Among them, approximately 1.91 million foreign visitors entered through the Beijing Capital International Airport, with 710,000 enjoying visa-free entWorld Timesry. More than 28,000 foreigners benefited from the 144-hour and 240-hour transit visa-free policies at the port. At the Daxing International Airport, around 560,000 foreign visitors entered, with 210,000 enjoying visa-free entry, and 36,000 foreigners benefiting from the 144World Times-hour and 240-hour transit visa-free policies at that port, according toWorld Times the report.