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The 240-hour visa-free transit, explained without the jargon
This is the most underused rule in China travel and also the most misunderstood.
Short version: if China is a stopover rather than your destination, you can often leave the airport and travel for up to 240 hours (10 days) without a visa.
What you need
- An onward ticket to a third country or region — not back to where you came from
- A passport from one of the 57 eligible countries
- To enter through one of the 65 open ports
Recently expanded: as of 20 August 2026, Kyrgyzstan and Vietnam were added to the list. Eligible countries went from 55 to 57, and open ports from 60 to 65.
The trap everyone falls into
London to Beijing to London does not qualify. London to Beijing to Bangkok does. Hong Kong and Macau usually count as separate regions for this purpose, which opens up a lot of routings.
The sticky part is at check-in — some airline staff are not familiar with the rule. Carry a printout of the official policy.
Last verified: 1 October 2026. Source: National Immigration Administration, Announcement No. 4 of 2026.
Has anyone actually used this? I want to know how it went at check-in, because that is where it usually goes wrong.
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This discussion was modified 13 hours, 47 minutes ago by
iTravelChina.
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