Is China 240-hour visa-free transit really 10 days?

240 hours from the moment you clear immigration. If you land at 14:00 on Monday, your countdown starts then and ends 14:00 the following Thursday — a full 10 calendar days. The clock does not pause if you change cities inside the eligible region.

Do I need to leave to a different country, or can I return home?

You must depart to a third country or region — not the one you arrived from. Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan count as third regions for this rule. So Tokyo → Shanghai → Hong Kong qualifies; Tokyo → Shanghai → Tokyo does not. The third-country rule is the single most-violated condition in our experience reading immigration FAQs.

Which Chinese ports accept the 240-hour transit?

65 ports across 24 provinces and municipalities after the November 2025 expansion. Major hubs include Beijing Capital (PEK), Beijing Daxing (PKX), Shanghai Pudong (PVG), Shanghai Hongqiao (SHA), Guangzhou Baiyun (CAN), Shenzhen Bao'an (SZX), Chengdu Tianfu (TFU), Xi'an Xianyang (XIY), Hangzhou Xiaoshan (HGH), and the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge land port. Use the per-country pages on our checker for the ports each nationality can use.

Can I travel anywhere in China during the 240 hours?

You can move freely within the 24 provinces and municipalities that participate. That covers most major tourist regions: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Xi'an, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Nanjing, and the rest of the eastern and central seaboard. Tibet, Xinjiang, and a few border regions are NOT in the 240-hour zone — entering them requires a separate permit.

Can I enter at one Chinese city and fly out of a different one to a third country?

Yes. Since December 2024 you can enter at one approved port, move across the 24 eligible provinces, and exit at a different approved port — as long as the whole China stay is under 240 hours and you leave to a third country. Example: an eligible passport (say a US citizen) flying USA → Xiamen (Fujian), staying a week, taking a domestic flight to Guangzhou (Guangdong), then flying onward to Budapest, all qualifies. Both Xiamen (XMN) and Guangzhou (CAN) are approved ports, Fujian and Guangdong are both in the eligible zone, and the USA-to-Hungary routing satisfies the third-country rule. You must be on the transit-eligible list and have the confirmed onward third-country ticket at check-in.

I hold a Nepalese passport (or another nationality not on the transit list) — can I still transit China visa-free?

Partly. The 72/144/240-hour visa-free transit only covers the listed nationalities, and Nepal is not among them — so you cannot use the 10-day scheme. Separately, China's 24-hour direct transit (TWOV) is open to all nationalities, including Nepal, but only for a clean single-airport transit where you stay inside the terminal (airside) and depart within 24 hours to a third country. The catch is routings with two Chinese stops and a domestic leg (e.g. Kathmandu → Chengdu → Beijing → onward): China has no sealed international-to-domestic transfer, so to catch the domestic flight you must clear immigration, which counts as entering China. Since Nepal can't use the 240-hour scheme, that entry needs a G-type transit visa obtained in advance. The clean options are to transit through one Chinese airport only, or get the G visa before you fly — and confirm with your airline, since they enforce this at check-in.

What documents do I show at the gate?

Passport (6+ months validity, 2 blank pages), the boarding pass for your onward flight to a third country/region with a confirmed seat, hotel booking or address for your stay, and a completed Arrival/Departure card. The onward ticket is the one foreigners most often forget — staff will ask for it before stamping you in.

How is 240-hour different from regular visa-free entry?

Regular unilateral visa-free entry (30 days, around 50 nationalities as of 2026) lets you enter, leave, and re-enter freely as long as each stay fits the cap. The 240-hour transit is a one-shot: you enter, stay up to 10 days, then leave to a third country. You cannot use it to enter for "tourism" — you must have an onward third-country ticket. For most foreign tourists whose country now has full 30-day visa-free (most of Europe, plus the UK and Canada from Feb 2026), the transit policy is irrelevant.

What if my plans change and I overstay 240 hours?

Overstaying is a serious violation — fines start at ¥500 per day, escalate to detention beyond 10 days over, and can lead to a 1–5 year re-entry ban. If your situation changes, go to the local Public Security Bureau Exit-Entry office before the 240 hours expire to apply for an extension or convert to a tourist visa.

China 240-Hour Visa-Free Transit: 2026 Rules & Cities

China's 240-hour visa-free transit policy lets eligible passport holders stay up to 10 days across 24 mainland provinces and municipalities, entering and exiting through 65 approved air, sea, land, and HSR ports. The policy expanded from 144 hours in December 2024 (and to 65 ports / cross-province movement in November 2025) — a major upgrade that most online guides still get wrong. 58 nationalities qualify; 54 of those already have full 30-day visa-free entry and rarely need the transit option.

Check your nationality first

The rules differ per country (full visa-free vs transit-only, entry-port list, day cap). Use the visa-checker tool for the policy specific to your passport — then come back here for the shared rules.

Jump to your nationality page: United States · United Kingdom · Canada · Australia · New Zealand · India · Russia · Brazil · Mexico · South Africa · Philippines · Indonesia

What changed (2024 → 2026)

China's prior transit policies — the 72-hour rule from 2013 and the 144-hour rule from 2016 — were narrow: limited to 53 cities, fewer ports, and inconsistent enforcement at smaller airports. In December 2024, China consolidated them into a single 240-hour (10-day) policy, then expanded the footprint in November 2025. The headline changes:

Stay extended to 240 hours (10 days) from 144 hours (6 days). The clock starts at immigration entry, not at landing.
Ports expanded to 65 across 24 provinces and municipalities (up from 39 ports / 19 regions). Beijing Daxing, Chengdu Tianfu, Guangzhou, and the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge are now all included.
Free movement across the eligible zone. You can enter via Shanghai, take a high-speed train to Xi'an, fly to Chengdu, then leave from Beijing — all within the same 240-hour window. Earlier policies forced you to leave from the same province.

Articles dated before December 2024 referencing "144-hour transit" are not necessarily wrong — the policy still exists for some travelers in edge cases — but the 240-hour rule supersedes it for almost every traveler who would have used the old one.

Who qualifies — and who no longer needs this

The transit list covers most of Western Europe, North America, Australia/New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the UAE, Brazil, and several others. Our dataset currently lists 58transit-eligible nationalities, refreshed monthly. Two important nuances decide whether you even need the transit policy:

You may already have full 30-day visa-free. Around 50 nationalities now hold unilateral 30-day visa-free entry — most of Europe (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands…), Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Australia, and — added 17 February 2026 — the United Kingdom and Canada. If that's your passport you just enter and stay up to 30 days, round trips included; don't accidentally request the shorter 240-hour transit stamp at the gate.
The United States is the notable holdout. US passport holders are on the 240-hour transit list but do not have unilateral visa-free entry — for a US citizen the transit policy is the standard short-trip, mixed-itinerary path, and any non-transit or round-trip visit still needs an L-visa. See our China visa guide for US citizens.

The third-country rule

This is the rule that trips up the most travelers. The 240-hour transit requires you to transit through China, which means leaving to a different country or region than the one you arrived from. Same-country round trips do not qualify.

✅ Tokyo → Shanghai → Hong Kong — qualifies. Tokyo is your origin; Hong Kong is the third region.
✅ London → Beijing → Singapore — qualifies (though UK passports now have 30-day visa-free anyway).
❌ New York → Shanghai → New York — does NOT qualify. Same country at both ends. You need an L-visa for this.
✅ Sydney → Beijing → Tokyo — qualifies.

Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan count as third regions for the 240-hour policy. So if your itinerary is New York → Beijing → Hong Kong → New York, the China leg qualifies.

The onward ticket is checked at the immigration counter. Staff want to see a confirmed booking — not just a screenshot of search results — for a flight, train, or ship leaving China within the 240-hour window. Save the PDF or email and have it ready.

Where you can travel during the 240 hours

24 provinces and municipalities participate. Practically, this covers almost everywhere a foreign traveler wants to go: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Chongqing, Xi'an, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Nanjing, Wuhan, Qingdao, Kunming, Guilin, Xiamen, and Tianjin are all inside the zone.

Three regions are NOT in the 240-hour zone:

Tibet (Xizang Autonomous Region) — entering Tibet requires both a Chinese visa and a separate Tibet Travel Permit. 240-hour transit holders cannot enter.
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region — entering some parts of Xinjiang (especially border counties) requires additional permits.
Some border counties in Yunnan and Inner Mongolia — most of these provinces are open, but specific border zones are not.

If your trip needs Tibet or restricted Xinjiang areas, get an L-visa and the relevant permits — don't rely on transit.

The gate procedure, step by step

Arrival card. Pick up an Arrival/Departure card on the plane or at the kiosk near immigration. Fill in your hotel address in the "Address in China" field — staff will ask if it's blank.
Pick the right lane. At immigration, look for the 240-hour transit lane (sometimes labeled 24 / 144 / 240 hours). At major hubs like PVG and PEK, it's a separate counter with shorter lines. If you join the regular visa lane, the officer will redirect you — losing 15–30 minutes.
Documents. Hand over: passport (6+ months validity, 2 blank pages), the Arrival card, your onward ticket out of China to a third country, and the address of where you're staying (hotel booking or written address).
Stamp. The officer stamps a transit notation (24/144/240 hours depending on the policy you qualify for). Verify the stamp before walking away. Mistakes happen — better to fix them at the counter than at exit.
Get connected and set up payments. Once through, switch on a travel eSIM and bind a foreign card to Alipay or WeChat Pay — most foreign cards now work for most things, but cash-only situations still exist in older taxis and small restaurants.

240-hour transit vs full visa-free vs L-visa

	240-hour transit	Full visa-free	L-visa (tourist)
Max stay	10 days (240 hours)	30 days	30, 60, or 90 days
Cost	Free	Free	$30–$185 + agent fee
Onward third-country ticket required	Yes — strict	No	No
Round trip allowed	No	Yes	Yes
Tibet / restricted regions	Not allowed	Permits still required	Permits still required
Application turnaround	Apply at the gate	None	4–10 business days
Best for	Short stopover, mixed-country itineraries (esp. US passports)	Most short tourist trips	Long stays, round trips, restricted areas

Common pitfalls

No onward ticket booked yet. Search results don't count. Book before you fly.
Same-country origin and destination. Already covered — this is the third-country rule.
Wrong port. Some smaller airports (e.g. Lhasa, Ürümqi for most travelers) are not on the eligible list. Verify before booking.
Joining the wrong immigration lane. Free fix, but costs time. Look for the 24/144/240-hour signage.
Counting wrong. 240 hours from clearing immigration, not from landing. If you land at midnight and clear at 02:00, your countdown starts at 02:00.
Using transit when you now qualify for full visa-free. UK, Canadian and most-European passports gained 30-day visa-free — don't hobble yourself with the shorter transit stamp.
Old guides with the 144-hour rule. Most pre-2025 guides still cite 144 hours and an older port list. Cross-check with the current official notice or our dataset.

Once you're in

The most efficient way to cover 2–4 cities in 10 days is by high-speed train. Our interactive HSR map shows the 24 cities foreign travelers actually visit, with prices, durations, and daily train counts. The flagship route, Shanghai to Beijing, takes 4h18m and runs 51 times a day — see our Shanghai to Beijing rail guide for the full breakdown.

For booking the trains, two options: the official 12306 app (free, and now takes a passport + foreign card directly — see our 12306 English walkthrough) or Trip.com (same 12306 fare, no booking fee, smoother for foreign cards — see our Trip.com guide).

Plan the trip

Most foreign visitors connect 2–4 cities by rail in 10 days. Compare station-to-station prices and times on the rail map, or book trains and hotels directly on Trip.com.

Open HSR map →Book on Trip.com ↗

Frequently asked questions

Is China 240-hour visa-free transit really 10 days?: 240 hours from the moment you clear immigration. If you land at 14:00 on Monday, your countdown starts then and ends 14:00 the following Thursday — a full 10 calendar days. The clock does not pause if you change cities inside the eligible region.
Do I need to leave to a different country, or can I return home?: You must depart to a third country or region — not the one you arrived from. Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan count as third regions for this rule. So Tokyo → Shanghai → Hong Kong qualifies; Tokyo → Shanghai → Tokyo does not. The third-country rule is the single most-violated condition in our experience reading immigration FAQs.
Which Chinese ports accept the 240-hour transit?: 65 ports across 24 provinces and municipalities after the November 2025 expansion. Major hubs include Beijing Capital (PEK), Beijing Daxing (PKX), Shanghai Pudong (PVG), Shanghai Hongqiao (SHA), Guangzhou Baiyun (CAN), Shenzhen Bao'an (SZX), Chengdu Tianfu (TFU), Xi'an Xianyang (XIY), Hangzhou Xiaoshan (HGH), and the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge land port. Use the per-country pages on our checker for the ports each nationality can use.
Can I travel anywhere in China during the 240 hours?: You can move freely within the 24 provinces and municipalities that participate. That covers most major tourist regions: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Xi'an, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Nanjing, and the rest of the eastern and central seaboard. Tibet, Xinjiang, and a few border regions are NOT in the 240-hour zone — entering them requires a separate permit.
Can I enter at one Chinese city and fly out of a different one to a third country?: Yes. Since December 2024 you can enter at one approved port, move across the 24 eligible provinces, and exit at a different approved port — as long as the whole China stay is under 240 hours and you leave to a third country. Example: an eligible passport (say a US citizen) flying USA → Xiamen (Fujian), staying a week, taking a domestic flight to Guangzhou (Guangdong), then flying onward to Budapest, all qualifies. Both Xiamen (XMN) and Guangzhou (CAN) are approved ports, Fujian and Guangdong are both in the eligible zone, and the USA-to-Hungary routing satisfies the third-country rule. You must be on the transit-eligible list and have the confirmed onward third-country ticket at check-in.
I hold a Nepalese passport (or another nationality not on the transit list) — can I still transit China visa-free?: Partly. The 72/144/240-hour visa-free transit only covers the listed nationalities, and Nepal is not among them — so you cannot use the 10-day scheme. Separately, China's 24-hour direct transit (TWOV) is open to all nationalities, including Nepal, but only for a clean single-airport transit where you stay inside the terminal (airside) and depart within 24 hours to a third country. The catch is routings with two Chinese stops and a domestic leg (e.g. Kathmandu → Chengdu → Beijing → onward): China has no sealed international-to-domestic transfer, so to catch the domestic flight you must clear immigration, which counts as entering China. Since Nepal can't use the 240-hour scheme, that entry needs a G-type transit visa obtained in advance. The clean options are to transit through one Chinese airport only, or get the G visa before you fly — and confirm with your airline, since they enforce this at check-in.
What documents do I show at the gate?: Passport (6+ months validity, 2 blank pages), the boarding pass for your onward flight to a third country/region with a confirmed seat, hotel booking or address for your stay, and a completed Arrival/Departure card. The onward ticket is the one foreigners most often forget — staff will ask for it before stamping you in.
How is 240-hour different from regular visa-free entry?: Regular unilateral visa-free entry (30 days, around 50 nationalities as of 2026) lets you enter, leave, and re-enter freely as long as each stay fits the cap. The 240-hour transit is a one-shot: you enter, stay up to 10 days, then leave to a third country. You cannot use it to enter for "tourism" — you must have an onward third-country ticket. For most foreign tourists whose country now has full 30-day visa-free (most of Europe, plus the UK and Canada from Feb 2026), the transit policy is irrelevant.
What if my plans change and I overstay 240 hours?: Overstaying is a serious violation — fines start at ¥500 per day, escalate to detention beyond 10 days over, and can lead to a 1–5 year re-entry ban. If your situation changes, go to the local Public Security Bureau Exit-Entry office before the 240 hours expire to apply for an extension or convert to a tourist visa.

Visa requirement checker — your nationality, in one click.
China visa for US citizens — the holdout passport, in detail.
Interactive HSR map — plan the rail leg.
China HSR network overview — train classes, station codes, the whole network.
Book China trains online (Trip.com)

This guide is compiled from China's National Immigration Administration (en.nia.gov.cn) and major embassy notices, cross-checked 2026-07-07. Visa rules change with little notice — verify with the Chinese embassy or consulate of your country before booking. We refresh the visa-checker dataset monthly.

China 240-Hour Visa-Free Transit: Rules & Ports (2026)