From October 1, foreign tourists in groups of two or more people who visit Shanghai by cruise can enjoy 15 days of visa-free travel to Chinese coastal provinces and Beijing.
Provided they enroll in the program using a travel agency registered in China, the participating municipal cities include Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, and the participating provinces include Liaoning, Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, Hainan and Guangxi.
This new policy will facilitate Shanghai's cruise industry while also boosting the development of the city into a center of scientific and technological innovation.
In 2015, 1.62 million passengers entered or exited China via cruise ships in Shanghai, a rise of 35.5 percent from 2014. Only 69,000 were foreigners, equaling 2014 figures.
