【Text by Observers Network, Wang Yong, Editor: Zhao Qiankun】

The spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Guo Jia Kun, stated at today's (September 2) regular press conference that in order to further facilitate personnel exchanges between China and foreign countries, China has decided to expand the scope of visa-exempt countries. From September 15, 2025, to September 14, 2026, Russian citizens holding ordinary passports will be allowed to enter China without a visa for business, tourism, sightseeing, visiting relatives and friends, or exchange visits, with a stay not exceeding 30 days.

After this news was released, the search volume for flights from Moscow on online travel platforms increased by nearly 100% year-on-year within half an hour, with the highest instantaneous search volume reaching nearly four times.

Data provided by Ctrip to Observers Network shows that during this summer, Russia ranked among the top five source countries for inbound tourism to China. Since July, the number of orders for Russian tourists traveling to China on Ctrip platform has increased by 150% year-on-year. The top 10 destinations most popular with Russian tourists are Beijing, Shanghai, Sanya, Guangzhou, Harbin, Shenzhen, Xi'an, Zhangjiajie, Chengdu, and Hangzhou.

According to data provided by Qunar to Observers Network, during this summer, Russia entered the top three source countries for inbound tourism to China. With the support of the visa exemption policy, the number of Russian inbound tourists is expected to increase significantly.

A flight from Russia arrives in Sanya. Russia Satellite Communications Agency

On August 30, Russian President Putin said in an interview with Xinhua News Agency that cultural exchanges between Russia and China are continuously thriving, and both sides are steadily implementing the "Roadmap for Humanistic Cooperation between Russia and China by 2030," which includes over 100 major projects.

Putin pointed out that the "Russia-China Cultural Year" activities were successfully held from 2024 to 2025. The launch of the "Cultural Year" was to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Russia and China. In addition, "data in the important field of tourism is encouraging, with bilateral tourist traffic increasing by 1.5 times in 2024, reaching 2.8 million people."

Putin also talked about education and cooperation in the fields of art, education, science, and sports between the two countries, stating, "It is pleasing that bilateral humanistic cooperation is constantly deepening and expanding."

Russia is not only an important source market for inbound tourists to China, but also a friendly neighboring country with a shared border, and a major inbound tourism country among the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Qin Jing, vice president of Ctrip Group, stated that the temporary visa exemption policy introduced by China will not only greatly facilitate personnel exchanges between the two countries, but also strongly promote the deep integration of Sino-Russian exchanges in the fields of cultural communication and mutual learning. At the same time, it will open up a new pattern of bidirectional tourism exchanges between China and Russia, further activating the Chinese inbound tourism market.

Russia Satellite Communications Agency previously reported that according to data released by the Russian Tour Operators Association, in the first half of 2025, more than 660,000 Russian tourists traveled to China by air, with a year-on-year growth of over 70%. In 2024, 1.8 million Russian tourists traveled to China. China ranks third in the number of overseas trips by Russian tourists (including transit).

In the first half of 2025, under the framework of the group visa exemption agreement, two-thirds of the tour groups from China to Russia were heading to the Far East region, while nearly one-third of the tour groups chose Moscow or St. Petersburg as their destination.

According to the forecast data published by the Russian Federal Agency for Economic Development in the first half of the year, the number of tourists traveling between China and Russia is expected to reach 3 million in 2025.

In March this year, Zhang Hanhui, Chinese Ambassador to Russia, published a signed article titled "Sino-Russian Tourism Cooperation Accelerates 'Mutual Pursuit'" in the newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda, stating that Sino-Russian tourism cooperation has become an important part of bilateral humanistic exchanges and practical cooperation, playing an important role in enhancing mutual understanding and traditional friendship between the two peoples, promoting development in various fields of the two countries, and deepening the bilateral relationship.

The article mentioned that Sino-Russian tourism cooperation continues to deepen and solidify. In 2024, with the joint efforts of both sides, a series of achievements have been made in the tourism sector, and the number of bilateral tourists has significantly increased. According to Chinese statistics, in 2024, the number of Chinese mainland residents who first traveled to Russia was 1.0394 million, an increase of 209.3% year-on-year.

The article pointed out that the prospects for Sino-Russian tourism cooperation are broad and the potential is great. With the strong promotion of the tourism authorities of both sides and the active participation of industry professionals, future Sino-Russian tourism cooperation will move towards a higher level and broader fields, opening up a new development situation.

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Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7545447748263264819/

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