China 240-Hour Visa-Free Transit: Rules, Countries and Ports

The short version

China’s 240-hour visa-free transit lets citizens of 57 countries spend up to 10 days in China without a visa, if China is a stop between two different places.

You qualify if all of these are true:

• You hold an ordinary passport from one of the 57 eligible countries.
• You have a confirmed onward ticket with a date and seat, leaving China for a third country or region. That means somewhere other than the place you flew in from.
• You enter through one of 65 designated ports (airports, seaports and rail ports) in 24 provinces.
• You stay inside the permitted areas and leave within 240 hours, counted from 00:00 on the day after you arrive.

There is no online application. You ask for visa-free transit at immigration on arrival, and your airline checks your eligibility at check-in.

This summary is based on the National Immigration Administration (NIA) rules updated on 20 August 2026. Always check the current NIA page before booking tickets you cannot cancel.

Which countries are eligible?

The NIA lists 57 countries:

Your nationality is what counts, not where you live. A French citizen living in India qualifies. An Indian citizen living in France does not.

240-hour transit or 30-day visa-free entry?

Many travelers who search for transit rules can use a simpler option. China also lets citizens of some countries enter for up to 30 days without a visa, with no onward-ticket rule. As of the NIA list dated 17 February 2026, this includes the UK, most EU countries, Switzerland, Norway, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Chile and several Gulf states. The United States is not on that list, so for Americans the 240-hour transit rule is the main way to visit without a visa.

If you qualify for 30-day visa-free entry, it usually makes more sense for a normal holiday. You can fly home from the same city, and you are not limited to the transit areas. For the wider picture, see China entry planning.

What counts as a “third country or region”

This is the rule that catches most travelers. You must arrive from one place and leave for a different place. Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan count as separate regions under this policy.

Your onward ticket must show a confirmed date and seat. Open or undated tickets are not enough. A cheap, refundable onward flight booked only to show the officer is risky if you do not intend to use it. Book the real trip.

How the 240 hours are counted

The stay period starts at 00:00 on the day after you enter, not at the moment you land.

Example: you land in Shanghai at 18:00 on 1 October. The clock starts at 00:00 on 2 October, and 240 hours later is 00:00 on 12 October. Your onward flight must leave by 23:59 on 11 October.

Leave some margin. If your flight is late in the evening on your final day and it is cancelled, you could overstay. A departure on day 9 or earlier gives you room for delays.

Where you can enter and travel

You must enter through one of the 65 designated ports below. Once in China, you can travel between provinces, as long as every place you go is inside the permitted areas.

Popular places that are outside the permitted areas

Check your whole route, not just the arrival city. These well-known destinations are not inside the 240-hour permitted areas:

• Jiuzhaigou and the Aba area of Sichuan (only the 11 listed Sichuan cities are allowed)
• Shangri-La (Diqing, Yunnan), which is not among the 9 Yunnan areas
• Tibet, Xinjiang, Gansu (including Dunhuang), Qinghai, Inner Mongolia, Jilin and Ningxia
• Pingyao in Shanxi, where only Taiyuan and Datong are allowed

If one of these is a must-see, apply for a tourist visa or use 30-day visa-free entry if your nationality allows it. Tibet also needs extra permits whatever visa you hold.

Popular routes that work

• Beijing, Xi’an, Shanghai: enter at Beijing, take trains, leave from Shanghai.
• Shanghai, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Huangshan: all inside Shanghai, Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Anhui.
• Chengdu, Chongqing: enter at Chengdu Tianfu, leave from Chongqing Jiangbei.
• Guilin, Yangshuo, Guangzhou, Hong Kong: enter at Guilin, then leave from Guangdong or cross to Hong Kong.
• Zhangjiajie: Hunan is fully included, and Zhangjiajie Hehua Airport is itself an entry port.

Where you must leave from

Plan to leave China through one of the eligible ports in the permitted areas. Guangdong is more flexible: you may leave through any open port in the province, including the land crossings to Hong Kong. You do not have to leave from the port where you arrived.

Step by step: what happens at the airport

Before you fly

1. Check that your passport has at least six months’ validity and a blank page. (This is a common general guideline; your airline may require it even where the policy text does not.)
2. Book the onward ticket to a third country or region and keep the e-ticket, with its booking reference, printed or offline on your phone.
3. At check-in, tell the agent you are using China’s 240-hour visa-free transit. Airlines check eligibility before boarding and can refuse to carry you if something does not match.
4. Fill in the arrival card online. It is free. Use only official channels: the NIA website at s.nia.gov.cn, the “NIA 12367” app, or the WeChat and Alipay mini-programs. Fake websites charge fees for this. Paper cards and on-site kiosks are still available at ports.

On arrival

1. Follow signs for foreigners’ immigration. Many large airports have a counter marked for 24/240-hour visa-free transit.
2. Give the officer your passport, onward ticket and arrival card details. Be ready to explain your plan, including which cities you will visit and where you will stay.
3. The officer decides whether to grant entry and stamps your passport with the permitted stay. Check the date on the stamp before you leave the counter.

Documents checklist

• Ordinary passport from an eligible country
• Confirmed onward ticket (date and seat) to a third country or region
• Arrival card (online or paper)
• Hotel bookings or an address for your first night
• Travel insurance details (not always checked, but useful)

Rules while you are in China

• What you can do: tourism, business meetings, visiting friends and family, and similar short visits. Work, study and news reporting need the proper visa and approvals.
• Accommodation registration: hotels register you automatically when you check in with your passport. If you stay in a private home, you or your host must register within 24 hours of arrival. Since September 2026 this can be done online nationwide through the NIA 12367 app, its WeChat mini-program or the Alipay mini-program.
• Carry your passport: trains, hotels, some attractions and random police checks need the original passport, not a copy.
• Stay within the areas: train and flight bookings will not stop you from buying a ticket to a place outside the permitted areas. Checking your route is up to you.

Common mistakes that get travelers refused or fined

1. Booking a round trip. Arriving from and returning to the same country does not qualify.
2. Entering through a port that is not on the list, such as a land border that is not designated, or an airport in a province outside the 24.
3. Traveling outside the permitted areas, for example Beijing to Dunhuang, or Chengdu to Jiuzhaigou.
4. Miscounting the days. Count from 00:00 the day after arrival, and leave margin.
5. Relying on an undated or unconfirmed ticket.
6. Not telling the airline. Check-in staff may otherwise assume you need a visa and deny boarding.

Overstaying or leaving the permitted areas can lead to fines, detention and being refused entry on future trips. It is not worth the risk.

Can you use 240-hour transit more than once?

The policy does not set a fixed limit on how often it can be used. But every entry is decided by the border officer. Very frequent back-to-back transits, for example leaving for Hong Kong and coming straight back, may be questioned. If you want a longer stay, use a visa or a visa-free option that fits your nationality.

Need help with the route?

The hardest part of a 240-hour trip is fitting good sightseeing into the permitted areas and the ten-day window, with a flight out that really qualifies. If you share your dates and cities, our free trip planning service can check the route with you. The final decision always rests with Chinese border officers and your airline, so check the current NIA rules before you travel.