en.nia.gov.cn
Foreign nationals made nearly 61.29 million trips across China's borders from January through August
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english.cctv.com
* In the first seven months of 2026, people from overseas spent 263.6 billion yuan (about 39 billion U.S. dollars) in China, an increase of 27.8 percent year on year, according to the Ministry of Commerce.
* Official data showed that foreign nationals made almost 61.29 million border crossings in the January-August period of 2026, up 19.5 percent from a year earlier. Visa-free entries accounted for 23.72 million of the total, an increase of 26.8 percent compared with 2025.
Overseas visitor arrivals rose 27.82% year on year.
www.chinatravelnews.com
Shanghai draws 5.31 million overseas visitors in H1, cementing its role as China’s top inbound gateway
08/10/2026|12:15:24 PM|
ChinaTravelNews
Overseas visitor arrivals rose 27.82% year on year.
In the first half of 2026, Shanghai’s cultural and tourism market maintained solid momentum toward high-quality growth, demonstrating strong resilience.
Inbound tourism sustained robust growth, the consumption mix continued to evovle, and holiday spending provided a notable boost. Shanghai further reinforced its role as an international tourism hub and China’s primary gateway for inbound tourism.
The city’s cultural and tourism market displayed five key trends in the first half of the year.
Shanghai received a total of 5.3149 million overseas visitors, representing a 27.82% year-on-year increase.
Among them, overnight inbound visitors reached 5.0215 million, surging 31.19% year on year.
South Korea, Russia, the United States, Thailand and Malaysia were the top five source markets.
Visitor numbers from Russia jumped 132.05% year on year, while major long-haul markets in Europe and North America generally maintained growth rates above 30%. This points to an increasingly diversified mix of inbound sources.
During the same period, Shanghai welcomed a total of 890,500 visitors from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, up 25.92% year on year.
A total of 1.285 million foreign passport holders used transportation services in Shanghai, an increase of 31.8% year on year, further strengthening the city’s advantages as an international gateway hub.
By consumption categories, spending on tourism services nearly quadrupled, while tourism-, accommodation- and transportation-related consumption all accelerated. The share of service consumption increased significantly, signaling a broader shift from scale-driven expansion to quality-driven growth.