英语新闻丨中国免签政策吸引外国旅客入境游

China's optimized visa-free policy, together with several other measures aimed at enhancing international exchanges, has substantially increased the number of foreign travelers arriving in Beijing.

中国新增的免签政策，以及其他加强国际交流的措施使得外国旅客前往北京旅游数量大幅增长。

In the first half of the year, the number of foreign visitors entering the Chinese capital reached 1.02 million, a year-on-year increase of 257 percent, according to data from the Beijing General Station of Exit and Entry Frontier Inspection.

北京出入境边防检查总站获悉，今年上半年，北京口岸共办理免签入境外籍旅客达到102万人次，同比增长257%。

By last month, China had reached agreements or made arrangements to simplify visa procedures with over 40 countries and achieved comprehensive mutual visa exemption with more than 20.Travelers with ordinary passports from New Zealand, Australia and Poland are among the latest beneficiaries of China's optimized visa-free policy.

截至6月，中国已与同44个国家达成简化签证手续协定或安排，已有23个国家同中国实现全面互免签证安排。其中新西兰、澳大利亚和波兰持普通护照的旅客是中国最新免签政策的受益者。

In an arrangement that took effect on Monday and will continue till the end of next year, people from the three countries can enjoy visa-free stays of up to 15 days in China for business, tourism, family visits or transit purposes.

7月1日是中国对新西兰、澳大利亚、波兰3个国家持普通护照人员试行免签政策首日，根据规定，2024年7月1日至2025年12月31日期间，新西兰、澳大利亚、波兰3国持普通护照人员来华经商、旅游、探亲和过境不超过15天。

Previously, China had extended visa exemptions to 12 countries in two rounds — first to ordinary passport holders in France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia in December, and then to those in Switzerland, Ireland, Hungary, Austria, Belgium and Luxembourg in March.

此前，中国已向12个国家提供免签服务——分别对应2023年12月对法国、德国、意大利、荷兰、西班牙和马来西亚的普通护照持有人，以及3月对应瑞士、爱尔兰、匈牙利、奥地利、比利时和卢森堡的普通护照持有人。

A Dutch traveler in Beijing, who only gave his name as Teun, said the new policy had made visiting China very convenient for foreigners.

"The visa-free policy is just great! It makes one's trip nice in many ways," he said, adding that one of the many things he loves about Beijing is its public transportation system. "It is so easy to get anywhere you want."

一位在北京旅游的荷兰游客Teun说，新的免签政策使外国旅客来华旅游变得更加方便。他评价：“免签证政策太棒了！这使得旅行在各个方面都变得更好。”他说最喜欢北京的一点是这里的交通系统，“我可以轻而易举地去任何我想去的地方。”

Lyu Naipeng, deputy director of the border inspection office of the Beijing General Station of Exit and Entry Frontier Inspection, said China is making concerted efforts to attract more foreigners for the purposes of business, education and tourism.

北京出入境边防检查总站边检处副处长吕乃鹏表示，中国将助力打通外籍人员来华经商、学习、旅游堵点。

"We have helped 14 airlines implement the usage of electronic boarding passes, allowing travelers to go paperless," Lyu said. "We expect the total number of inbound and outbound travelers passing through Beijing's ports to increase."

他表示：“我们积极推动14家航司使用电子登机牌通关，逐步实现旅客无纸化通关，试行外国人入境卡自助打印。预计通过北京口岸的出入境旅客总数将会增加。”

Over 159,000 foreign nationals from the 12 visa-exempt countries have entered the city under China's visa-free policy this year, according to the Beijing exit and entry authority.

根据北京市出入境管理局数据，今年有来自12个免签证国家的超过15.9万名外国公民根据中国的免签证政策入境北京。

The border inspection office is helping local travel agencies organize international group tours more efficiently. In the first half of the year, over 30,000 foreign visitors came to Beijing as part of such tours, a 30-fold increase compared with the same period last year.

边防检查总站正帮助北京旅行社高效组织国际团体游。今年上半年，有3万多名外国旅客来京旅游，比去年同期增长了30倍。

Also during that period, 33,700 eligible foreign inbound travelers capitalized on China's 144-hour visa-free transit policy, a sevenfold increase year-on-year, according to the Beijing exit and entry authority.

根据北京市出入境管理局数据，今年上半年，有3.37万名符合条件的外国旅客受益于中国的144小时免签证过境政策，同比增长了7倍。

A British tourist identifying herself as Daisy, who is traveling with Teun, said she took advantage of the 144-hour policy for their trip to Beijing.

She said she hopes China's visa-free policy will be extended to visitors from the United Kingdom.

"It would allow me to visit more cities in China," she added, as the 144-hour policy restricts travelers to specific areas in the country.

名为Daisy的英国旅客与Teun一起旅游，她来京也是受益于144小时免签过境政策。由于目前的144小时免签过境政策仅适用于中国部分城市逗留，Daisy希望中国的免签证政策能够包括英国，她说：“免签政策将使我能够参观更多中国城市。”

Kelvin Ramirez, a professor in his 40s from Florida in the United States, who visited the Forbidden City on Wednesday during his first trip to China, described his experiences in Beijing as "amazing".

"I used Alipay … China's mobile and online payment service during my trip, and it is so convenient," he said.

来自美国佛罗里达州的40多岁的教授凯尔文·拉米雷斯（Kelvin Ramirez，音译）在7月3日第一次参观中国的紫禁城。他描述自己在北京的经历“令人惊叹”，他说：“（旅游期间）我用的是支付宝……中国的移动支付真的太方便了。”

Visa-free policy

n.免签政策

Beijing exit and entry authority

n.北京出入境管理局

Beijing General Station of Exit and Entry Frontier Inspection

n.北京出入境边防检查总站