MK sport 2025. Photo: VCG" src="https://www.globaltimes.cn/Portals/0/attachment/2025/2025-01-22/f39af37d-5d0a-448c-a68f-f853f163476e.jpeg" />

Foreign tourists visit Tian 'anmen Square in Beijing on January 22, 2025. Photo: VCG

As the Chinese New Year is approaching, the buzz around "China Travel" continues to dominate social media, with foreign tourists showing growing enthusiasm to visit China. Inbound tourism is expected to see a significant growth, hopefully to become a major highlight of the 2025 Spring Festival tourism market, reported the China Central Television (CCTV) on Tuesday.

With the implementation of the newly introduced "240-hour visa-free policy," which allows citizens in 38 countries to enter China without applying for a visa for the purposes of business, tourism, family visits, exchanges and visits and transit, inbound tourism has been experiencing a rapid growth since 2024. 

Latest data from relevant platforms indicates that inbound travel bookings during the Year of the Snake Spring Festival period have increased by 203 percent year-on-year, CCTV reported. During this year's Spring Festival holidays, the number of foreign visitors is likely to reach a record high, said the report.

There has been a recent increase in tourists applying for visas, with the US, Indonesia and Canada among the countries showing the most significant growth in applications for visas to China, a visa agency told the Global Times on Monday. According to relevant policies, these three countries are not included in the list of 38 nations eligible for the 30-day visa exemption.

According to data provided by travel platform Ctrip to the Global Times, in January 2025 (as of January 19), ticket bookings for flights from the US to China increased 130 percent, hotel bookings grew by 55 percent, ticketing services rose by 36 percent, and bookings for leisure activities surged 44 times.

It is not just travelers from the US - visitors from around the world are immersing themselves in Chinese culture during the holidays leading up to the Spring Festival, a tour guide told the Global Times.

At the Temple of Heaven on Tuesday, Juergen and his wife, a German couple, were listening to a guide explaining the history of the temple and sharing knowledge related to Chinese culture. 

Juergen told the Global Times that the visa-free policy was extremely convenient. He shared how he had initially planned to travel to Southeast Asia but made a last-minute decision to visit China for the Spring Festival.

The couple described their travelling experiences over the past two days as "amazing." As an architect, Juergen mentioned that he had visited grand architectural sites like the Great Wall and the Summer Palace, which he found to be far larger and more beautiful than he had imagined.

Dylan, a 24-year-old from Ireland, said he benefited from the visa-free policy, which allows him to embark on a spontaneous 20-day trip to China to meet his girlfriend's family and spend the Spring Festival with them. 

Dylan said that China is bigger, more technologically advanced, and busier than he had imagined, with crowds of people everywhere. He's looking forward to watching this year's Spring Festival Gala and making dumplings with his girlfriend's family. He shared his love for Chinese dumplings, noting that before coming to China, he had only tried fruit and cream-filled dumplings, and was surprised to discover that dumplings here are typically filled with meat.

According to the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism, Shanghai welcomed over 6 million international tourists in 2024. Preparations for the bustling Yuyuan Garden Lantern Festival and various performances are well underway.

A Japanese netizen, Imukenbb, introduced Shanghai on TikTok, sharing his experience of visiting the Yuyuan Garden Lantern Festival, themed around moon appreciation. He entered the enchanting garden after 6 pm, enjoying the beautiful combination of traditional Chinese gardens and modern lighting.

A university student from Brazil told the Global Times that he, along with his mother and girlfriend, planned to travel in China for 18 days. They had already visited places such as Shanghai and Chongqing, with Beijing being the last stop on their trip.

He said the most unforgettable part of his experience was the food, particularly hotpot, which he really enjoys, although his girlfriend cannot eat spicy food. While Brazil also has many spicy dishes, he noted that Chinese food has a unique "numbing" flavor, which is very different. Just like Chinese culture, which has many differences compared to Brazil, he added.

"The Chinese dream of national rejuvenation and people's happiness have a huge attraction for foreigners. Many people are eager to experience Chinese cuisine and participate in daily life with younger Chinese people," said Dai Bin, the director of the China Tourism Academy.