Foreign tourists enjoy tour in Beijing during Spring Festival

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(Xinhua) 09:27, February 01, 2025

Italian tourists Piero (R) and Margherita pose for a selfie at Tiantan (Temple of Heaven) Park in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 30, 2025. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong) 

As the Chinese people are celebrating the Spring Festival, or the Chinese New Year, they have been joined this year by an increased number of foreign tourists, who have come to experience Chinese culture following the implementation of a new visa-free transit policy.

China continued easing its visa policies in 2024 to boost openness and people-to-people exchange, allowing more foreign travelers and businesspeople to visit the country visa-free. Its latest move was an extension of its visa-free transit policy, which has permitted eligible foreign travelers to stay in the country for 240 hours without a visa.

Spring Festival, social practices of the Chinese people in celebration of the traditional new year, was added by UNESCO into its list of intangible cultural heritage in December last year.

Spanish tourists are pictured at a Spring Festival temple fair in Ditan Park in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 29, 2025. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)

A family from Malaysia poses for photos with Gulou and Zhonglou, historic drum and bell towers, in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 31, 2025. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)

Maxime (1st L) and Liza, tourists from Switzerland, show a piece of souvenir they purchased at a Spring Festival temple fair in Ditan Park in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 29, 2025. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)

Tour guide Zhang Sai (C) introduces Chinese Spring Festival customs to foreign tourists at Tiantan (Temple of Heaven) Park in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 30, 2025. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)

Sam (2nd R) and Zach, tourists from the United States, watch a performance of Sichuan opera "Bianlian," also known as face-changing, at Jingshan Park in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 31, 2025. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Sheng Chuyi)