How to Travel to China without a Visa

A full list of the countries:
Europe: Albania, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina (90 days), Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, France, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino (3 months), Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland
Asia: Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, UAE, Maldives, Qatar, Brunei, Kazakhstan, Gerogia, Armenia (90 days), Uzbekistan
Oceania: Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga, the Independent State of Samoa
North America: Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Bahamas, Dominica, Grenada
South America: Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Uruguay, Ecuador, Suriname
Africa: Seychelles, Mauritius
 Tour groups of Russia, Azerbaijan and Moldova are granted 30-day visa-free entry to China.

If passport holders of above countries come to China for tourism, visiting families and friends, doing business, exchange visits or transiting, they can enter without a visa and the duration of stay varies from 30 days to 90 days. If for other purposes, a ready visa will be required. 

See details: China Visa-free Policy 

  
Foreigners who take a cruise to China and leave with the same cruise can enjoy a 15-day visa-free stay in China's coastal regions as well as its capital Beijing, given that they are received by a local travel agency as a tour group and the group should contain at least two members. The 13 eligible cruise ports for arrival and departure are scattered in Dalian, Tianjin, Qingdao, Shanghai, Lianyungang, Wenzhou, Zhoushan, Xiamen, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Beihai, Haikou and Sanya.

 

Under the 24-hour visa-free transit rule, no visa is required for international flight, ship, or train passengers who transit directly through mainland China and will stay for less than 24 hours. This policy is applicable to almost all nationalities.  In theory, there is no limit on which port passengers may use but as a matter of experience, only a few of airports like Urumqi Diwopu International Airport, Huangshan Tunxi Airport, Mudanjiang Hailang Airport, Yanji Chaoyangchuan Airport may refuse to issue the 24h visa-free transit. Passengers should hold tickets to a third country or region and have a confirmed seat.

In case they want to leave the port for city sightseeing or transfer to another port during the 24 hours, they can apply for a Temporary Stay Permit upon arrival. Those who transfer in more than one city of China within 24 hours can also enjoy this policy. For instance, if one's trip is Los Angeles – Beijing – Shanghai – Bangkok and the total time in China is less than 24 hours, the passenger can still enjoy the 24-hour direct transit.
 

Citizens holding the passports of the 59 qualifying countries are exempt from China visas when they travel to Hainan with the purpose of tourism visiting, business activities, medical treatment, exhibition, sports competition, etc (except study and work). The stay is limited to 30 days in general, and the 30 days start from 00:00 the day following the entry date.
 
Citizens holding passports issued by nations with diplomatic relations with China are exempted from China visas if they join a tourist group in Hong Kong or Macao organized by registered travel agencies in HK and Macao to visit the Pearl River Delta region or Hainan for tourism and stay up to 6 days. The Pearl River Delta region includes Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Zhaoqing, Huizhou, Jiangmen and Shantou, while in Hainan, they are allowed to travel around over the whole island. Just remember that all group members need to enter and exit together. 

 Do I Need A Visa for Guangzhou If Traveling from Hong Kong?



Tour groups from ASEAN member countries, including Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Singapore, Myanmar, Brunei, and the Philippines, can visit Guilin for six days free of visa. They should be received at Guilin Liangjiang Airport by local travel agencies in Guilin. During the six days, all members cannot leave Guilin. In addition, tour groups using this visa-free policy shall exit from Liangjiang Airport only.

 
Citizens of ASEAN countries including Singpore, Thailand, Malaysia, Brunei, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines, Laos and Myanmar who hold ordianry passports can join in a tourist group organized by a China travel agency to enter and explore Xishuangbanna of Yunnan for up to 6 days visa-free. The eligible ports to enter is Xishuangbanna Gasa International Airport, Mohan Railway Port and Mohan Road Port. 

 
Foreigners who visit for study on X1 visa or for work on Z visa and resident foreign journalists shall apply for Aliens' Residence Permit at the local public security bureau within 30 days after entry.
Within the period of the validity of the Residence Card, the holder is entitled to enter and exit from China for multiple times without applying for another visa.

 
The APEC Business Travel Card is regarded as a multiple-entry visa valid for five years. With this card and relevant passport, the holder is entitled to enter China many times within its validity. The duration of each stay should be within 2 months.

 
China has mutual visa-exemption agreements with some foreign countries, but they are mainly for diplomatic, service or official passport holders and only allow a stay of less than 30 days.