【By Observer Net, Wang Yong, Editor: Zhao Qiankun】

After watching many Chinese historical dramas for years, Brisbane resident Elisabeth Kwong finally came to Beijing's Forbidden City this April. This was Elisabeth's first visit to China, and it had been a dream trip she had been longing for since she took Chinese classes in high school.

"I have always had a passion for China and a connection with it, because I have been studying Chinese," Elisabeth said. "I really wanted to travel to China and see for myself what it is like."

Australian SBS radio reported that Elisabeth came to China on a tour group, "The ancient architecture, beautiful natural scenery, and modern convenient transportation in China made her very excited." Elisabeth said, "I think the kindness and generosity of the Chinese people are definitely one of the highlights of this trip. I think I will come to China again for travel." The tourists in this tour group came from various cities in Australia, and they met in Beijing before starting a 10-day journey.

Australian tourists taking a photo in front of the Donghua Gate of the Forbidden City in Beijing. Beijing News

The report mentioned that James Gottschalk, a product manager at a Melbourne travel agency, said, "China is definitely the most popular destination here, and there are a lot of people signing up for trips to China."

Gottschalk said that from last May to July this year, the company has sent about 5,000 travelers to China, and another 8,000 people have already booked trips departing before the end of this year. "So far, we are still selling tour packages to China. We are also adding more departure cities from Australia to meet the demand for travel to China."

International tourism media "Travel and Tourism World" reported that in recent years, the cultural and tourism consumption market in China has shown vigorous vitality. Due to favorable policies such as visa exemptions, departure tax refunds, and innovation in diversified consumption scenarios, "China Travel" continues to be hot. With the continuous expansion of China's "visa exemption circle", the increase in visa exemption ports, and the significant improvement in payment convenience, China has attracted a large number of foreign tourists to travel in China.

Related data shows that during the National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holiday this year, the number of foreign nationals entering and leaving the national border reached 1.434 million, an increase of 21.6% compared to the same period last year; the number of foreign nationals entering China was 751,000, of which 535,000 entered under the visa exemption policy, increasing by 19.8% and 46.8% respectively compared to the same period last year.

According to the Australian website 9Travel, China is becoming a popular destination for international travelers, with a large number of foreign tourists flocking to China for travel exploration. Among them, the number of Australian tourists traveling to China is growing rapidly. Latest data shows that the number of Australian tourists traveling to China this year has increased by about 20%, and the number of travel orders has increased by 70% year-on-year. China has become one of the popular tourist destinations for Australian travelers.

The report cited data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, stating that the number of Australian residents visiting China increased by 85.32% in 2024, reaching 580,500 people. This trend continued into 2025. In February 2025, the number of Australian residents visiting China increased by 73.6% compared to February 2024 (40,670 people), reaching 70,590 people.

The report quoted an economist's words, saying that China's vigorous economic development momentum, rich cultural heritage, developed infrastructure, and diverse tourism resources all help it become a top international tourist destination.

According to the Australian news site, the popularity of China among Australian tourists has risen sharply. In mid-August this year, the Australian Bureau of Statistics released data showing that in the 2024-2025 financial year ending June 30, Australian residents made approximately 12.2611 million short-term overseas trips, of which about 653,000 had traveled to mainland China. In July, 50,810 Australian tourists visited China, an increase of 21% compared to the same period in 2019 and 18% compared to last year.

The report mentioned that the favorite Chinese cities for Australian tourists are Guangzhou, Beijing, Shenzhen, and Shanghai, followed by Changsha, Chongqing, Chengdu, etc. A senior officer of an Australian international travel agency in Asia said, "What really attracts tourists is China's profound cultural heritage, delicious food, historical buildings, and the diversity of tourism resources. No matter what you want, you can find it here."

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Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7561016294208799268/

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