Ambassador Zhang announced the increase of tourist flow from China to Russia after visa abolition

The flow of tourists from China to Russia, against the background of the abolition of visas, increased almost one and a half times in the first quarter of 2026. This was stated by the People's Republic of China ambassador in Moscow, Zhang Hanhui.

"We see that the scale of travel has increased significantly. In 2025, the number of reciprocal tourist trips exceeded 3 million. According to our data, 154,200 Chinese tourists visited Russia in the first quarter of this year alone - a 44% increase on the previous year", - said the diplomat in an interview with "Izvestia."

On 1 December 2025, the President of Russia signed a decree according to which citizens of the PRC, based on the principle of reciprocity until 14 September 2026, will be able to come to Russia for up to 30 days without visas. China introduced a similar visa-free regime for Russians, and both sides mutually extended the right of visa-free entry until the end of 2027.

The ambassador also reported that in the first half of the year, Russia, in turn, ranked second among countries from which tourists come to China. "The intensification of travel has already become a new engine of consumption growth and deepening cooperation. We are ready to continue working together with the Russian side on improving comfort for travelers," - emphasized Zhang Hanhui

The diplomat noted that Moscow and Beijing, among other things, were actively working to improve the ease of border and customs procedures." During peak periods, the requirements for effective border control are increased. In cities where direct flights have recently opened, the tourist infrastructure and multilingual navigation needs to be improved,' he added.

In this context, Zhang Hanhui pointed out that airports and tourist facilities are already implementing navigation: in Russia there are increasingly signs in Chinese, and in China - information services in Russian.

Information source "TASS": https://tass.ru/obschestvo/28051777

Use of photo "Vedomosti": https://www.vedomosti.ru/business/articles/2024/10/02/1065879-vezdnoi-turpotok-v-rossiyu-viros