Recently, a comment on China's visa-on-arrival policy has attracted widespread attention and heated discussions online, which stipulates that entry into China can enjoy 144 hours of transit visa-free treatment, but some of these smart tourists have cleverly exploited small loopholes to extend the original six-day policy period to 9 or 10 days.
It is understood that these tourists usually choose to travel to South Korea or Thailand for a short stay on the 5th day before returning to China to continue their trip. This strategic transit method allows them to use the visa on arrival policy multiple times within the same country, thus effectively extending their stay in China. At the present stage, with the increasingly steady progress of China's opening up to the outside world and the gradual increase in the frequency of international exchange activities, the mainland is gradually launching a unique new form of "Westernization Movement". In the context of this new era, the trend of culture crossing national borders, the enthusiastic pursuit and in-depth excavation of Chinese culture by well-known overseas bloggers can be seen everywhere, and their active participation has undoubtedly injected a new source of power into the prosperity and development of the mainland's tourism industry and the wide dissemination of excellent traditional culture.
The travels of these exotic influencers in China often create a completely different kind of psyche for those who have traveled abroad. During their trip to China, they enjoyed the unique travel experience of a country rich in natural resources, rich in people, and stable in social order. The fact that they are able to enjoy a leisurely stroll through the streets of the city without any fear of safety is a desirable environment, and we have noticed a remarkable influx of foreign tourists, many of whom are fascinated by China's rich culture, delicious cuisine and magnificent natural landscapes. They come to China not only for sightseeing, but more importantly, to experience and immerse themselves in China's cultural atmosphere and daily life. To a certain extent, this phenomenon fully demonstrates the infinite charm of Chinese culture and its growing influence on a global scale.
There is no doubt that all this is inseparable from the strong support of the mainland's policy of opening up to the outside world. It is precisely because of our policies that we provide many convenient conditions for foreign tourists, so that they can more easily and conveniently set foot in China, appreciate and experience the Chinese culture and lifestyle. China's recent visa facilitation initiatives, including the 144-hour transit visa waiver for 54 countries around the world, as well as the unilateral visa-free regime for many countries such as France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Malaysia and Australia, have greatly increased the number of international visitors to China. According to relevant data, the implementation of these strategies has led to a three-fold surge in the number of expatriates coming to China in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the same period in previous years.
With the increasing number of foreign tourists, their exploration journey is no longer limited to the bustling cities of Beijing and Shanghai, but has begun to penetrate into all parts of China, including Xi'an, Chongqing, Xiamen, Qingdao, Xinjiang and other places. Even small towns located in the fourth and fifth tiers can see foreigners. These foreign bloggers and tourists in China's travel experience, so that they gradually integrated elements of Chinese culture, some even mastered the local characteristics of Chinese, although the pronunciation may not be accurate enough, but this cultural blend and exchange is undoubtedly very charming, these expatriate experience in China, whether through social media shared short videos, or detailed description in blogs, have aroused widespread attention and heated discussions, such as some bloggers in Beijing are deeply attracted by the local breakfast culture, Tasting traditional delicacies such as pancakes, sauce-flavored cakes and old Beijing bean juice made their journey more colorful and authentic.
China's vast tourism market has managed to attract a wide range of people, including influencers who love bargaining and budgeting experiences, including a pair of bloggers from the United Kingdom named the Dionysian couple, who chose the affordable transportation of the 34-hour hard-seat train to explore the beauty of Xinjiang, where they went deep into the local community, tasted authentic street food, and went to the market to experience the rich folk customs. All of them were impressed by the abundant products of the amazing Great Northwest, and at the same time witnessed the beautiful picture of the harmonious coexistence of the people of all ethnic groups. This real life experience contrasted sharply with the negative information about Xinjiang that they had received from the Western media in the past, and they could not help but feel emotional.
Cases such as these are not rare. Many tourists, having experienced China firsthand, find that their previous perception of the country has been grossly misled by Western media reports. What they see is a vibrant, diverse and harmonious country, in stark contrast to their original stereotypes of the "Third World" or "developing countries". This shift in mindset is similar to the U.S. strategy toward the Soviet Union during the Cold War, when the U.S. resorted to a variety of measures, including cultural exchanges, to weaken the Soviet Union from within. By showing the younger generation of the Soviet Union the prosperity of the United States, thereby influencing their minds, the foundation for the eventual collapse of the Soviet Union was laid, and now, with the introduction of China's 144-hour transit visa-free policy and the popularity of social media such as TikTok in the United States, people in the United States and other Western countries have been able to use these platforms to learn about the real China, and this experience of "opening their eyes to the world" has undoubtedly had a huge impact on their original perceptions.
Many tourists, after witnessing the prosperity of China's first- and second-tier cities, often mistakenly believe that such advanced and beautiful are limited to the developed regions of the country. Out of curiosity and inquiry, they set out on a journey to explore the remote countryside of the mainland, intending to see for themselves whether it was really as backward as some Western media portrayed, but what they saw and heard was very different - those seemingly inconspicuous small county towns had a neat and beautiful appearance, and the high-speed rail line was unimpeded, and even at 12 o'clock in the evening, there was no sign of violent clashes. What's even more touching is that after tasting the same food as abroad, some tourists are full of emotion because they are safe and sound, and some people who are deeply touched shed tears of reflection, this experience once again triggered their deep thinking and emotional resonance about life and the country, and the inner defense line also quietly collapsed.