A major land port on the China-Russia border welcomed the arrival of Russian travelers without a visa after China started to extend visa-free travel to ordinary passport holders from Russia on Monday.

To further facilitate cross-border travel for Chinese and foreign nationals, China has decided to expand its list of visa-free countries. From September 15, 2025, to September 14, 2026, ordinary passport holders from Russia will be allowed to enter China without a visa for business, tourism, family visits, exchanges, and transit stays of up to 30 days.
On early Monday morning at the Manzhouli port in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, the first batch of Russian tourists arriving in China simply presented their ordinary passports, then quickly completed entry procedures after border inspection officers verified their passports and biometric information.
"Customs clearance was very fast and the entry procedures were very convenient. We completed it very quickly," said a Russian traveler who planned to visit the Hulun Buir grasslands with her two friends.
To ensure the smooth implementation of the visa-free policy, the Manzhouli border inspection station formulated customs clearance plans and optimized the customs clearance process.
"We have launched a group reservation customs clearance model, kept in touch with travel companies in advance to gain information of people entering and leaving China and their itineraries, and provided passengers with efficient and convenient customs clearance services," said Yang Xu, a customs officer.
As of 12:00 on Monday, the Manzhouli port had handled more than 300 visa-free entries by Russian passengers.