Tourists may get 3-day visit window

Download

Beijing is considering allowing foreign tourists a 72-hour window to explore the capital without a visa.

Fu Zhenghua, the city's director of public security, has confirmed that authorities are mulling over the move, saying it would represent a crucial sign that Beijing is open to the world.

Lin Song at the public security bureau's exit-entry administration echoed that view on Sunday. "It's expected that the project will attract more tourists from abroad."

Neither the bureau nor the Beijing Tourism Development Committee, which proposed the policy, would offer more details about the visa window when contacted by China Daily.

However, experts said the policy is expected to be similar to ones already being run in Shanghai (48 hours) and South China's Hainan province (21 days for tour groups).

A tourism analyst, who did not want to be identified, told China Daily that Beijing officials had considered a project last year that would allow visitors to stay in the capital for seven days without a visa. However, the idea was shelved.

Although China has relatively tight visa restrictions, and has few visa exemption agreements with other countries, the country has gradually loosened its visa policy in recent years. Many cities worldwide have come up with visa waiver projects to attract more tourists, including Tokyo and Kuala Lumpur.

Foreigners traveling to China spent 4.7 billion yuan ($743 million) more than Chinese outbound tourists in 2008, he said. However, Chinese tourists spent 4 billion yuan more than them a year later, and the difference exceeded 24.1 billion yuan in 2011.

The proposed visa waiver for Beijing comes almost two weeks after the city's public security bureau launched a 100-day crackdown on illegal immigrants.

Bureau director Fu said the campaign was to make sure each foreigner is aware of China's exit-entry regulations while curbing crimes by visitors who overstay or abuse their welcome.

In response to complaints from some sections of the expatriate community about the policy, the police issued a statement on Friday saying that the crackdown has not changed the city's friendly attitude toward foreigners.

On the same day, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei insisted that there is no "anti-foreigner trend" in China, adding that the country will welcome and protect the legitimate rights and interests of the foreigners coming to China.

Questions:

1. How long is the current visa waiver policy in Shanghai?

2. What happened to the idea of allowing visitors to stay in Beijing for 7 days without a visa?

3. How much did foreigners traveling to China spend in 2008?

Answers:

1. 48 hours.

2. It was shelved.

3. 4.7 billion yuan ($743 million) more than Chinese outbound tourists.

About the broadcaster:

Emily Cheng is an editor at China Daily. She was born in Sydney, Australia and graduated from the University of Sydney with a degree in Media, English Literature and Politics. She has worked in the media industry since starting university and this is the third time she has settled abroad - she interned with a magazine in Hong Kong 2007 and studied at the University of Leeds in 2009.