Long queues outside the Former Site of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea on Madang Road on Saturday.
Strolling along Shanghai's riverside walkways of the North Bund and Tian An 1000 Trees, you will be surrounded by the Thai language; while walking on Nanjing Road and in Tianzifang, it feels as if one is in a sea of Koreans; when you move to the Yuyuan Garden and the Bund, you will encounter many English-speaking travelers taking photos or trying local snacks.
Yes! Many have noticed an influx of foreign tourists in the streets and alleys of Shanghai, especially from neighboring countries. This is not an illusion.
Statistics shows that thanks to the 144-hour visa-free transit policy, which has been extended to 240 hours recently, the number of inbound tourists in the first three quarters of this year had reached about 95 million, recovering to more than 90 percent of the level in 2019.
Two foreign travelers buy shengjian (pan-fried buns) in Tianzifang on Saturday.
According to China's global travel service provider Trip.com, China's inbound tourism has more than doubled that of 2023, with the growth rate from 54 visa-free countries exceeding the overall average, increasing 189 percent compared with 2023.
Since this year, the number of inbound tourism orders in Shanghai has increased by more than 130 percent year on year, making it the most popular inbound tourist destination in China.
Among the top 10 major source countries, in addition to the United States and European countries, neighboring countries such as South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia are also on the list.
South Koreans at the Former Site of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea.
A weekend trip in Shanghai
Working day in South Korea and weekend in China? It may have sounded like something flying in the air in the past but it is now the reality for many youngsters in South Korea.
On Saturday afternoon, Park Ye-Jung from Seoul and her friend was queuing outside the Former Site of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea on Madang Road in Shanghai.
The site has become a popular check-in spot among South Korean travelers in Shanghai.
Their trip in Shanghai started on Friday and will last four days.
"After visa free, many of my friends go China many times," Park Ye-Jung told Shanghai Daily. "It's convenient and the flight only takes two hours.
"It is our first visit to Shanghai and I knew the site from Instagram. We have visited the Bund and Nanjing Rd E. on Friday and tried Haidilao hotpot, which is yummy!"
On Sunday, they will travel to Shanghai Disneyland.
"South Korea and China are very close, and the flight time is only more than an hour; now the procedures and costs of visa processing are also waived, which is too attractive!" Kim Suna from Seoul said.
She shared her tight schedule.
After landing on Saturday, she first tasted a local Shanghai dish, then went shopping on Huaihai Road; in the afternoon, she tasted Kumokumo cake and would look for a hotpot restaurant; after dinner, she would enjoy the night view of the Bund, went to a bar around 8:30pm, and then went to a disco at midnight...
Two foreign travelers visit a shop in Tianzifang on Saturday.
Their experience is not an isolated case. Recently, weekend travel to China has become a new trend for Korean tourists. On social media platforms, many Korean bloggers are keen to show their trips to Shanghai. It is observed that they usually set off after work on Friday and use the 48 hours of the weekend to check in on various beautiful scenery and food in Shanghai, including Nanjing Road, the Bund, Normandie Apartments, Xintiandi and Tianzifang.
The change stems from the implementation of a unilateral visa-free policy for South Korean passport holders since November 8. In just one month, Korean tourists have set off a tourism boom in Shanghai. According to Trip.com, the number of South Korean inbound tourists in Shanghai has increased by more than 180 percent yearon year, and the growth has also exceeded 40 percent compared with a month earlier.
According to a recent report by South Korea's SBS TV station, since China started implementing unilateral visa-free policy for South Korean passport holders, the number of reservations for South Koreans traveling to China has surged dramatically.
Many young people choose to take advantage of the weekend after work on Friday to embark on an impromptu trip to China.
A South Korean traveler poses outside the Former Site of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea.
The flight time from South Korea to China takes only a little over an hour at the shortest, and now with the complex procedures and costs of visa processing eliminated, the demand for travel to China from South Korea has been unleashed, according to the report.
A travel agency in South Korea said that from November 1 to 21, the agency's orders for travel to China soared by 75 percent compared with the previous month, with orders for Shanghai trips surging by 178 percent.
Shanghai has also witnessed an influx of Thai travelers.
Despite the recent winter chill in Shanghai, many tourists were enthusiastically taking photos of the iconic "Tian An 1000 Trees" in Putuo District. With up to 1,000 pillars with a tree on top of each, the structure has a hill-like appearance. It is thus dubbed Shanghai's "Hanging Gardens of Babylon."
Upon closer inspection, these tourists were almost all Thai.
"We saw this attraction on TikTok and thought it was super beautiful, so we came here today to take a photo," said Thai tourist Tanika and her friends, striking various poses under the lit trees.
They said that on Thai social media platforms, the destination has become a must-visit spot.
"Although it was already dark when we arrived, we still felt very shocked to be able to enjoy such a charming night view," she said with a smile.
There are more foreign travelers in Shanghai.
On Changhua Road Bridge, Boonma and her two friends were chatting with a local dog walker in English.
Boonma told the reporter that this was her first time in Shanghai, and thanks to the visa-free policy, the trip was particularly convenient.
"The paths are beautiful, and we call didi or take metro, which are convenient," she said, excitedly showing the photos she had just taken, as well as a cute doll she had bought from a shopping mall.
"And this cup of hot milk tea is very good!" she said.
A clerk at an ice cream shop nearby added: "Sometimes there are tour buses parking outside the mall, sometimes there are individual or small groups of travelers. It is not unusual these days that when I'm working, I suddenly hear a burst of Thai."
In addition to the site, a batch of scenic spots and stores including the North Bund and Pop Mart store have become new must-visit spots for Thai tourists.
Thai tourist Khunnsii said that Pop Mart is very "popular" on their social platform, and the main purpose of her trip to Shanghai is to visit Shanghai Disneyland and Pop Mart.
A Thai traveler poses at Tian An 1000 Trees.
With the continuous relaxation of China's entry and exit policies, "checking in" China has become more convenient.
At Tianzifang, French traveler Lucy was picking through local souvenirs.
"I started with the Bund and the Nanjing Road in my journey, and Shanghai is quite cool and is amazing and impressive," she said.
Zhang Hong, a shop owner at Tianzifang, also said that the number of foreign tourists this year has increased significantly compared with the previous two years.
"Although some foreign tourists just come to take photos and may not necessarily shop, the overall tourism has indeed warmed up," she said.
Among these interviews, international tourists gave near full marks when talking about their trip to Shanghai. They believe that Shanghai is the most suitable "newbie village" for foreigners to travel to, and they are deeply impressed by the clean streets, convenient transportation system, and friendly people in Shanghai.
There are more foreign travelers in Shanghai.
Good news and booming travel business
China announced on Tuesday a relaxation of its visa-free transit policy, extending the permitted stay duration for eligible foreign travelers from the initial 72 hours and subsequent 144 hours to 240 hours, or 10 days.
"Our research has found that safety, cleanliness, rich history, friendly people, delicious food, and so on, are high-frequency words that foreign tourists associate with China," said James Liang, co-founder and executive chairman of Trip.com, this week.
"China's inbound tourism has tremendous potential for development, and various pain points are being gradually addressed," he said.
"We have listed the proportion of inbound tourism in the GDP of major countries around the world. Some countries that perform exceptionally well have a very high proportion of inbound tourism in their GDP. For instance, Spain, which is among the best, has a 5 percent share. China, on the other hand, has a much larger potential in this area, with only 0.3 percent (data from 2019) at present.
"If we were to reach the level of other countries, it would equate to a 1 percent increase in GDP, translating to at least a 1 trillion yuan boost to the overall economy. If we translate this to the tourism industry, it could mean a growth of over 10 percent, which would be a significant push for the entire sector."
The relaxation of cross-border policies, the expansion of the "visa-free circle of friends," and the improvement of infrastructure for inbound tourism have become main drivers for inbound tourism, removing barriers for more foreign tourists to experience the beauty of China, said Qin Jing, vice president of Trip.com.
A foreign tourist poses in Tianzifang.
On Trip.com's overseas platforms, the search volume for "popular Chinese tourist routes" increased by more than 500 percent year on year; in the third quarter of this year, hotel bookings for inbound tourism on Trip.com's platform increased by about 100 percent.
At the same time, these rapidly growing numbers have also brought tangible business growth to domestic scenic spots, hotels, travel agencies, and other partners.
The relaxation of visa-free transit policy will bring more opportunities for various international conferences and exhibitions to be held in China, said Zhou Weihong, deputy general manager of Shanghai Spring Tour.
It also meets the increasing desire of foreign travelers to learn more about China, she added.
China Travel is transforming from a traffic code into a wealth code for inbound tourism operators like Xu Sheng.
After returning to Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province, to focus on inbound tourism for three months, he has successfully earned 450,000 yuan (US$61,658).
"In December, the order volume surged by 60 percent again, and the expected income will reach a new high," he said.
In this wave of enthusiasm, being busy has become the main theme of the industry, and English tour guide Lan He is no exception.
Upon checking her schedule, she carefully counted that there are no more than five free days this month, with the rest of the time fully booked with assignments from travel agencies.
"I originally took up inbound tourism as a side job, but I didn't expect there to be so many orders that it has turned into a full-time job," she said.
Lan has also left herself some breathing space, while her colleague, known as the "workaholic," has a fully packed schedule for the next three months.
She also heard from friends that travel agencies in popular inbound tourism destinations have already booked itineraries until the end of next year.
Starting from November 30, China has added nine countries to the visa-free entry list. Coupled with the continuous optimization of the environment for payment, language, travel, etc, it is believed that in the near future, a global tourism boom in China will be set off, and Shanghai will also receive more foreign tourists enjoying the transit visa-free policy.
