You need to apply for a visa unless you meet the following visa exemption requirements:

1. Bilateral agreement

According to the bilateral agreements between China and foreign countries, citizens of some countries who meet requirements set out in the bilateral agreements may enter China without a visa. For specific information, please refer to the List of Agreement on Mutual Visa Exemption Between China and Foreign Countries(ordinary passport).

2. Visa-Free Entry Policy up to 30-day (2024.11.30 - 2025.12.31)

To further facilitate travel and exchanges between China and other countries, China has decided to grant visa-free entry for up to 30 days to ordinary passport holders from 38 countries, including Brunei, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Malaysia, Switzerland, Ireland, Hungary, Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Australia, Poland, Portugal, Greece, Cyprus, Slovenia, Slovakia, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Andorra, Monaco, Liechtenstein, the Republic of Korea, Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Malta, Estonia, Latvia, Japan, for purpose such as business, tourism, family visits, visit or transit. Those who do not meet the visa exemption criteria will still need to obtain a Chinese visa prior to entry.

3. Transit

Foreigners who hold connected passenger tickets and are in transit to a third country or region by an international aircraft, ship or train via China, will stay for no more than 24 hours in China without leaving the restricted area of the port of entry, maybe exempted from visas.

4. 72/144-hour transit visa free policies

Foreign nationals from 54 countries are currently eligible for 72/144-hour transit visa free policies which effective at 31 ports in 23 cities of 18 provinces in China. These countries include Albania, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Syprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Lativia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Montenegro, the Netherlands, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, the Republic of Korea, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Passengers from these countries holding valid international travel documents and interline tickets with confirmed dates and seats, who are going to transit to third countries(or regions) via China within specific time frames, can apply for visa-free transit at the entry/exit border inspection authorities in the designated visa-free transit city ports. The authorities will handle all temporary entry procedures, with the duration of stay of each passenger to be calculated from 00:00 on the day following entry.

Below is a list of China's city ports implementing in the 72/144-hour transit visa-free policies:

72-hour visa-free transit policy: Changsha Huanghua International Airport, Harbin Taiping International Airport, Guilin Liangjiang International Airport

144-hour visa-free transit policy: Beijing Capital International Airport, Beijing Daxing International Airport, Tianjin Binhai International Airport, Tianjin International Cruise Home Port, Shijiazhuang Zhengding International airport, Qinhuangdao Port, Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport, Shanghai Pudong International Airport, Shanghai Port, Nanjing Lukou International Airport, Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport, Ningbo Lishe International Airport, Guangzhou Baiyun International Airpot, Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport, Jieyang Chaoshan International Airport, Shenyang Taoxian International Airport, Dalian Zhoushuizi International Airport, Qingdao Jiaodong International Airport, Qingdao Port, Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport, Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport, Xi'an Xianyang International Airport, Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport, Xiamen Port, Wuhan Tianhe International Airport, Kunming Changshui International Airport.

** Reminder: The above information is for reference only, and cannot be used as the legal basis for the applicants to apply for visa exemption to the border inspection authorities. Please refer to the latest news from the related website of Chinese Consular Service Network http://cs.mfa.gov.cn/wgrlh, the Bureau of Immigration https://en.nia.gov.cn, and the relevant airports.

5. Group tour to the Zhujiang River Delta, Hainan Island, and Guilin

(1) Citizens holding ordinary passports from countries with diplomatic relations with China may enter nine mainland cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, along with Shantou, without a visa, provided that they will enter Hong Kong or Macao SAR first and then enter Guangdong Province as part of their tourist groups orgnized by the travel agencies registered in any of the two SARs. The permitted stay areas for these tourists include Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen, Zhaoqing, Huizhou and Shantou. The tourists concerned shall enter and exit the Chinese mainland with their tourist groups via the exit-entry ports in these ten cities, and can stay for a maximum of 144 hours.

(2) Citizens of the following 59 countries holding ordinary passports may enter and stay within the administrative region of Hainan Province for maximum of 30 days without a visa for short-term stays for tourism, business, visits, family visits, medical treatment, conferences and exhibitions, sports competitions, etc. The policy does not apply to those who intend to enter for working or studying. The exit-entry ports for the foreign nationals concerned include all the open ports in Hainan.  The 59 countries include: Russia, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Norway, Ukraine, Italy, Austria, Finland, Netherlands, Denmark, Switzerland, Sweden, Spain, Belgium, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ireland, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia, Albania, the United States, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Australia, New Zealand, DPRK, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Kazakhstan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Brunei, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Monaco, Belarus.

(3) Citizens holding ordinary passports from countries with diplomatic relations with China can enter Hainan Province from Hong Kong or Macao SAR and stay for no more than 144 hours within the administrative region of the province for tourism purposes in a tourist group without a visa, provided that the tourist group consist of at least two persons and is organized by a travel agency legally registered in Hong Kong or Macao SAR. The foreign national covered by this policy must enter and exit with their tourist groups, while the exit-entry ports for them include all the open ports in Hainan. 

(4) Tourist groups of 10 ASEAN countries (Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Singapore, Brunei, Philippines) to Guilin for a stay of no more than 144 hours organized by the travel services approved by the Guilin Municipal Tourism Administration shall not need to apply for a visa, providing direct enter/exit from the Guilin Airport.

6. Visa-Free Entry Policy for Forign Tourist Group Travelling by Cruise Ships

Any foreign tourist group consisting of two or more individuals, which is organized and received by a Chinese travel agency, may enter China without a visa by a cruise ship via one of the cruise ports in the following 13 cities: Beihai (Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region), Dalian (Liaoning Province), Guangzhou (Guangdong Province), Haikou (Hainan Province), Lianyungang (Jiangsu Province), Qingdao (Shandong Province), Sanya (Hainan Province), Shanghai, Shenzhen (Guangdong Province), Tianjin, Wenzhou (Zhejiang Province), Xiamen (Fujian Province) and Zhoushan (Zhejiang Province). Foreign tourist groups shall continue their journey to the next scheduled ports and depart China with the same cruise ship as scheduled. The tourists concerned are permitted to travel within Beijing and 11 coastal provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government, namely Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Hebei, Jiangsu, Liaoning, Shandong, Shanghai, Tianjin, and Zhejiang. Additionally, tourists covered by this policy may stay in China for a maximum of 15 days.

7. Holding a valid APEC Business Travel Card

The APEC Business Travel Card is equivalent to a multiple visa for 5 years. The cardholder may enter China within the validity period of the travel card together with a valid passport consistent with the card. The duration of each stay is up to 60 days or 90days.

8. Holding a valid Residence Permit for Foreigner in the People's Republic of China issued by the Public Security organs in China

Foreigners who have entered China with the D, J1, Q1, S1, X1, or Z visas and have applied to the public security organs for the residence permit for foreigners may stay in China, and enjoy multiple entries and exits without a separate visa during the validity period of the residence permit.

9. Holding a valid Permanent Residence Card for Aliens of the People's Republic of China

Those who hold a valid Permanent Residence Card for Aliens of the People's Republic of China may stay in China, and enjoy multiple entries and exits without a separate visa.