Beijing to give travellers 72-hour visa-free stays

China will soon allow travellers a 72-hour visa-free stay while in transit through Beijing. The new policy, approved by the State Council, is designed to attract more tourist dollars to the capital city.  The China National Tourism Office says more information will become available in the weeks ahead.

Currently, Shanghai, another popular transit hub, allows some overseas visitors to stay for up to 48 hours without a visa.  The CNTO reports that more travellers are taking advantage of the service: nearly 3,000 travellers took advantage of the system. The current Shanghai visa-free transit policy is offered to travellers from 32 countries including the US, the UK, Japan, Singapore, Germany, France, Hungary and Switzerland.  The CNTO says the visa-free policy will be extended to railways and ports next year.