During the "May Day" period, the inbound tourism market continued to heat up. In the peak passenger flow of railways around the country, it is common to see foreign passengers carrying large bags and small bags, and they sigh "Chinese speed" and "Chinese service" while enjoying the scenery along the way.
On the D7975 train from Harbin to Mudanjiang, 180 Russian tourists crowded three carriages. In order to cope with the gradually heating up of inbound tourism, Harbin Station launched the "one car, one case" for foreign tourists during the peak period, and sent special personnel to guide and provide services to improve the efficiency of security checks and station entry.
Russian passengers: Looking out the window, the train is moving, but the carriage is so stable that you don't feel the car moving at all.
Looking out of the car window, you can see mountains and valleys, green mountains and green waters. Since its opening in November 2023, the Sichuan-Qingdao Railway has attracted a large number of Chinese and foreign tourists, who can take the bullet train from Chengdu East Railway Station to northwest Sichuan, with the fastest 18 minutes to Sanxingdui Station, 55 minutes to Maoxian Station, and 86 minutes to Zhenjiangguan Station. For the convenience of foreign tourists, bilingual conductors are constantly moving through the carriages, guiding them on the train, helping them book attractions, and so on.
Foreign "residents" become tourism "promotion officers"
Since the resumption of tourism, foreigners living in China for a long time have also become tourism promotion officers, calling friends and attracting more and more foreign tourists to visit China.
Namida, an Indian who lives in Yiwu, Zhejiang, took advantage of the May Day holiday, his good friend Farida came from Nigeria to meet him, and the first stop was of course Namida's second hometown - Yiwu.
Nigerian tourist Falida: Fotang Old Street, as well as the heart of Yiwu and other places, I think it's very interesting.
Farida always hears Namida say that Yiwu is the "supermarket of the world", and often sees Namida sharing her life and stories in China on social media.
Indian student Namida: I see foreigners everywhere in Yiwu, which makes me feel like my home.
Namida is well aware of the way young people play now, and in the past two days, she has taken Farida to wear Hanfu to visit ancient streets, eat delicious food, and do tie-dye.
Nigerian tourist Falida: After seeing the scenery of Yiwu, I still want to go to Disneyland in Shanghai, West Lake in Hangzhou, and Harbin.
And at a language school in Yangshuo, Guangxi, there is also a group of foreign friends who love China and spare no effort to promote China.
Nana, Brazilian student: My photos, my friends love them, and there are a lot of people who want to come to China because they don't know it's so beautiful.
American student Sunshine: I showed them the scenery of Guilin, and they said, oops, it's so beautiful, I want to play it too. So there are some friends who are planning to come to China to play.
The new visa policy "half-day tour" project realizes the dream of traveling to China
Thanks to the "144-hour transit visa-free" policy and the continuous expansion of the visa-free "circle of friends", Shanghai has recently launched the "free half-day tour for entry" project, which has achieved the journey of many foreign tourists.
A German tourist who was transiting through Shanghai on his way to New Zealand signed up for a "half-day tour of Shanghai" while waiting for his connecting flight for 10 hours. After landing at Pudong Airport, inbound tourists will depart at 9 a.m., 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. every day, and then return to Pudong Airport by car after visiting Shanghai Yu Garden, the Bund, Huangpu River and other scenic spots for free for half a day.
German tourists: I think it's a great opportunity for tourists to visit Shanghai in transit before they arrive at their destination.
Since the launch of the first "Shanghai Free Half-day Tour" on April 15, more than 100 tourists have signed up.
Russian tourists: I didn't expect the free tour to be such a surprise. The city is very beautiful and I would stay here again.
Shopping is also an indispensable part of the itinerary for foreign tourists. The latest departure tax refund "buy and refund" policy has facilitated the efficiency of tourists' shopping and play. Mohanad al-Amutawa from Kuwait bought more than 10,000 yuan of goods at a shopping mall in Jiangbei District, Chongqing, and then came to the mall counter to pay and apply for a tax refund for departure.
Kuwaiti businessman Mohannad al-Mutawa: The whole process was very simple, very friendly and didn't take much time at all.
According to statistics, nearly 40,000 foreigners have entered Chongqing since the beginning of this year, seven times that of the same period last year. The total amount of departure tax refund goods sold has been 6.26 million yuan, and the tax refund amount has been 690,000 yuan, which has exceeded the total amount of departure tax refund last year.
Lan Tingyi, Director of the Second Taxation Branch of Chongqing Municipal Taxation Bureau: At present, we have 74 departure tax refund stores, and we are continuing to promote the expansion of both the region and scale of departure tax refund, so as to achieve full coverage of key business districts in Chongqing.
(Source: CCTV News)