The major regional visa-free entry policies for foreign nationals in China are as follows.

I. 144-Hour Visa-Free Entry Policy for Foreign Tourist Groups Traveling from Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions (SARs) to Guangdong Province. 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 organized by the travel agencies registered in any of the two SARs. The permitted stay areas for these tourists include Dongguan, Foshan, Guangzhou, Huizhou, Jiangmen, Shantou, Shenzhen, Zhaoqing, Zhongshan and Zhuhai. 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.

II. Visa-Free Entry Policy for Tourist Groups Entering Guilin, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region from ASEAN Member States. Any tourist group consisting of two or more persons from any of the member states (i.e. Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam) of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) may enter and exit China through the airport in Guilin without a visa, provided that the tourist group is organized and received by a local travel agency in China and all the members of the tourist group hold ordinary passports. The tourists concerned shall enter and leave China with their tour groups, and can stay within the administrative region of Guilin, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region for a maximum of 144 hours.

III. Visa-Free Entry Policy for Foreign Tourist Groups Traveling 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.

IV. 30-Day Visa-Free Entry Policy for Hainan Province for Foreign Citizens of 59 Countries. Citizens holding ordinary passports from 59 countries may enter and stay within the administrative region of Hainan Province for a 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 are Albania, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Montenegro, the Netherlands, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, the Republic of Korea, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States.

V. 144-Hour Visa-Free Entry Policy for Foreign Tourist Groups Entering Hainan Province from Hong Kong and Macao SARs. 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 nationals 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.

The stay period specified in any of the aforementioned policies begins at 0:00 on the day after the day of entry. For the individuals who meet the requirements specified in the bilateral visa exemption agreements with China and those covered by the unilateral visa exemption policies of China, the relevant regulations shall prevail.