China's inbound tourism market continues to heat up as transit visa-free and other facilitation policies take effect, making trips more diverse and rewarding, according to a CCTV News report carried by gov.cn.
Bookings and connectivity. Platform data show summer inbound travel bookings grew more than 20% year on year. By June 30, 2026, inbound flights carrying foreign visitors reached 160 Chinese cities.
From box-ticking to living. The report traces a shift in how foreigners travel in China: from "seeing the whole country in one trip" to settling deeply into one destination, and from watching scenery to enjoying daily life. At the Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum in Xi'an, visitors linger over the Terracotta Army; in Guizhou, the Shuanghe Cave ("Asia's longest cave") and the Miao villages of Langde pair geology with intangible heritage; in first-tier cities, repeat visitors increasingly seek niche neighborhoods, industrial heritage and hands-on crafts instead of only the Temple of Heaven and the Great Wall.
The policy engine. National Immigration Administration data cited in the report: 22.914 million foreign entries in the first half of 2026, up 20.4% year on year, with 77.7% of foreign visitors enjoying visa-free entry.
Source: "免签政策持续发力 入境游市场热力攀升", gov.cn / CCTV News, July 21, 2026. Translated from Chinese; all data as reported by the source.