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Two cruise ships dock at the Shanghai Wusongkou International Cruise Terminal on January 16, 2025. Photo: VCG

About 4,800 inbound foreign tourists arrived at the Shanghai Wusongkou International Cruise Terminal on Sunday, setting a new single-day record since the port started operation in 2011.

German cruise line AIDA Cruises' AIDAstellamade its stop at the terminal, carrying about 2,200 foreign visitors, while Royal Caribbean's Spectrum of the Seasfollowed, bringing more than 2,600 foreign travelers, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

With China's visa policies continuously easing, the 240-hour visa-free transit and unilateral visa waivers are drawing more foreign cruise tourists. According to data from Shanghai's Pujiang Station of Immigration Inspection, 28.2 percent of the visitors on the two cruises applied for the 240-hour visa-free transit, while 60.9 percent benefited from the unilateral visa waiver, underscoring the policy's effectiveness, according to a CCTV News report.

Zhi Jian Tiow, a Malaysian white-collar worker based in the UK, told the Global Times that he visited China for the first time in January, and explored Shanghai and South China's Guangdong Province. "Shanghai's vibrant and futuristic skyline amazed me, while Guangdong felt surprisingly familiar. The food and the New Year atmosphere reminded me of home in Malaysia, with similar flavors and culinary styles, giving me a sense of warmth and connection," he said.

He shared his travel experiences with his friends, who were so captivated by his stories that they immediately expressed a strong desire to visit China themselves. "This trip deepened my appreciation for Chinese New Year and the cultural ties we share. It was an unforgettable experience that brought me closer to my roots," he said.

On March 12, Royal Caribbean announced its layout in the China market for 2026-27, saying that Spectrum of the Seaswill continue to deepen its presence in the Chinese market with Shanghai and Hong Kong as its home ports.

"Since entering the Chinese market in 2009, Royal Caribbean has been the only international cruise company that continuously invested in China. This commitment stems from our long-term confidence in the Chinese market, as well as the strong support from consumers and travel agency partners," said Ben Bouldin, Royal Caribbean China president, according to a press release on the company's official WeChat account.

China has granted unilateral visa-free entry to 38 countries and extended the transit visa-free period to 240 hours for 54 countries. In 2024, more than 20 million foreign travelers entered China visa-free, up 112 percent year-on-year. Among them, more than 3.39 million came to China under the unilateral visa-free policy, up by 1,200 percent year-on-year, according to data from the Foreign Ministry.

Having been to China, many foreigners who thought of China as mysterious now find the country fascinating, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a regular press briefing on Thursday.

"We will take more steps to make it easier to visit China and make foreign visitors feel more at home during their stay here," Mao said, noting policies that have already been put in place. For example, Chinese embassies and consulates worldwide no longer require online appointment for visa application and now provide walk-in visa application services instead, the spokesperson said. 

In addition, many Chinese cities are ramping up efforts to provide rich and convenient travel experiences for inbound tourists, and thus inbound tourism is expected to further increase in 2025, especially the number of tourists from far-away countries and regions, Jiang Yiyi, an expert on leisure sports and tourism at the Beijing Sport University, told the Global Times on Sunday.

"Significant improvements have been made in payment convenience for inbound tourism, including credit cards and QR code payments, addressing a critical bottleneck in the development of inbound tourism. With the expansion of unilateral visa-free entry policies and the 240-hour transit visa-free policy, inbound tourists now find it easier to visit and spend more comfortably in China," Jiang said.

Last year, Shanghai Wusongkou International Cruise Terminal handled 208 cruises and 1.34 million travelers. This year, it is expected to process 206 cruises and welcome 1.53 million passengers, according to official data.