China 240-Hour Visa-Free Transit 2026: Rules, Ports & How to Use It2026 中国 240 小时过境免签：规则、口岸与使用攻略

1 What the 240-hour visa-free transit is and how it changed 什么是 240 小时过境免签，以及它经历了哪些变化

On 17 December 2024 the National Immigration Administration (NIA) merged China's regional transit arrangements into one nationwide policy: instead of 72 hours in some cities and 144 hours in others, eligible travelers on their way to a third country or region could stay for 240 hours, which is 10 days, and could roam far beyond the old city clusters. The old 144-hour scheme tied each entry port to a fixed area, so a traveler who landed in Shanghai was normally confined to the Shanghai-Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Anhui group, and a Beijing arrival to Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei. That territorial limit is gone.2024 年 12 月 17 日，国家移民管理局（NIA）将中国各地的过境免签安排统一为一项全国政策：符合条件的过境旅客不再是某些城市 72 小时、另一些城市 144 小时，而是可以停留 240 小时（即 10 天），活动范围也远超过去的城市群。旧的 144 小时政策把每个入境口岸限定在固定区域内，比如从上海入境通常只能在沪苏浙皖范围活动，从北京入境只能在京津冀活动。现在这项地域限制已经取消。

Two later rounds made the policy bigger. From 5 November 2025, five Guangdong ports were added (bringing the entry-port count to 65) and Indonesia joined the eligible list. From 20 August 2026, Vietnam and Kyrgyzstan were added, bringing the number of eligible countries to 57. Each change was announced by the NIA as a numbered public notice, so the figures in this guide can be checked against the originals, linked in the sources below.此后又有两轮扩容。2025 年 11 月 5 日起新增 5 个广东口岸（入境口岸总数增至 65 个），印度尼西亚加入适用名单。2026 年 8 月 20 日起越南、吉尔吉斯斯坦加入，适用国家增至 57 国。每次调整都以编号公告的形式由国家移民管理局发布，本指南中的数字都可在文末来源中查到原始公告。

The short version for planning: if your passport is from one of the 57 eligible countries and you hold a confirmed onward ticket to a different country or region, you can treat China as a 10-day stopover rather than a transit lounge. For the full menu of entry options, including longer stays, see our China visa guide中国签证指南, which also has a free checker for your nationality.简单来说：如果你的护照属于 57 个适用国家之一，并持有前往另一国家或地区的已确认续程机票，你就可以把中国当作一个 10 天的中途停留地，而不是只能待在转机区。想了解更长停留的完整入境方案，请看我们的「中国签证指南」，里面还有针对你国籍的免费资格查询。

2 Who qualifies: the 57 eligible countries 谁符合条件：57 个适用国家

The policy is passport-based and applies to holders of ordinary passports from 57 countries. This is the current list as of the NIA announcement of 20 August 2026, which added Vietnam and Kyrgyzstan to the earlier list. Grouped by region:这项政策以护照为准，适用于 57 个国家持普通护照的人员。以下是截至 2026 年 8 月 20 日国家移民管理局公告的最新名单，该公告在原有名单上新增了越南和吉尔吉斯斯坦。按地区分组如下：

If your country is not on this list, you cannot use the transit channel and should instead check whether you qualify for another arrangement, such as a visa or entry permit签证或入境许可. Note that several countries on this list, such as France, Australia, South Korea and Japan, also have China's 30-day unilateral visa-free entry. For those passports the unilateral route is usually the better choice, because it has no onward-ticket requirement; more on that comparison in section 10第 10 节.如果你的国家不在名单上，就不能走过境通道，应另查自己是否符合其他安排，例如办理签证或入境许可。注意：名单中有多个国家（如法国、澳大利亚、韩国、日本）同时享有中国 30 天单方面免签。对持这些护照的人来说，单免路线通常更好，因为它没有续程机票的要求；更多对比见下文第 10 节。

Nationality lists change faster than guidebooks, so treat any third-party article as indicative only. Before booking, confirm your passport against the current NIA announcement of 20 August 2026国家移民管理局 2026 年 8 月 20 日公告 or call the NIA 12367 hotline, which has English-speaking staff.适用国家名单比攻略更新得快，所以任何第三方文章仅供参考。订票前，请以国家移民管理局 2026 年 8 月 20 日公告为准核对你的护照，或拨打有英文客服的 NIA 12367 热线。

3 Ports, provinces and where you can roam 口岸、省份与可活动范围

You may enter through any of the 65 ports covered by the policy, spread across 24 provincial regions. For most visitors that means an international airport: Beijing Capital and Beijing Daxing, Shanghai Pudong and Shanghai Hongqiao, Guangzhou Baiyun, Shenzhen Bao'an, Chengdu Tianfu and Shuangliu, Chongqing Jiangbei, Hangzhou Xiaoshan, Xi'an Xianyang and Kunming Changshui are all on the list, along with smaller gateways such as Guilin and Zhangjiajie. You can also arrive by land, rail or sea at designated ports, including the West Kowloon Station of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and the Mohan railway port in Yunnan.你可以从政策覆盖的 24 个省级区域中的 65 个口岸任选其一入境。对多数游客来说，这通常意味着国际机场：北京首都、北京大兴、上海浦东、上海虹桥、广州白云、深圳宝安、成都天府与双流、重庆江北、杭州萧山、西安咸阳、昆明长水都在名单上，还包括桂林、张家界等较小门户。你也可以从指定口岸经陆路、铁路或海路入境，例如广深港高铁西九龙站、港珠澳大桥，以及云南磨憨铁路口岸。

Once inside, you can move across the whole eligible territory. The 24 regions are: Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi, Liaoning, Heilongjiang, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian, Jiangxi, Shandong, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Chongqing, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan and Shaanxi. Most of these apply province-wide, but a few do not. In Shanxi the stay area is limited to Taiyuan and Datong; in Heilongjiang to Harbin; in Jiangxi to Nanchang and Jingdezhen; in Guangxi to 12 designated cities (including Nanning, Guilin, Liuzhou and Beihai); in Sichuan to 11 cities (including Chengdu, Leshan and Yibin); and in Yunnan to 9 prefectures and cities (including Kunming, Dali, Lijiang and Xishuangbanna). Provinces outside the 24, such as Inner Mongolia, Jilin, Xinjiang or Tibet, are not part of the transit area.入境后，你可以在整个适用区域内跨省活动。24 个区域为：北京、天津、河北、山西、辽宁、黑龙江、上海、江苏、浙江、安徽、福建、江西、山东、河南、湖北、湖南、广东、广西、海南、重庆、四川、贵州、云南、陕西。大多数省份全省开放，但少数例外：山西仅限太原和大同两市；黑龙江仅限哈尔滨；江西仅限南昌和景德镇两市；广西限 12 个指定城市（含南宁、桂林、柳州、北海）；四川限 11 个城市（含成都、乐山、宜宾）；云南限 9 个州（市）（含昆明、大理、丽江、西双版纳）。24 省之外的地区（如内蒙古、吉林、新疆、西藏）不属于过境活动区域。

For departure the rules are wide open. You can exit through any of the 65 applicable ports wherever you end up, and from Guangdong you may additionally use any open port in the whole province. There is no requirement to leave through the same airport or even the same city where you entered, so flying into Beijing and flying out of Shanghai is perfectly fine. This cross-region freedom is exactly what makes a two-city route practical.出境方面规定相当宽松。你可以从 65 个适用口岸中的任意一个出境，无论你最后身处何地；在广东还可额外使用全省所有对外开放口岸。没有要求必须从入境时的同一机场甚至同一城市出境，所以从北京进、从上海出完全可行。正是这种跨区域自由，让「两城联游」的路线变得现实。

For ground logistics across cities, our high-speed rail guide高铁指南 and domestic flights guide国内航班指南 explain how to move between regions quickly.关于跨城市的地面交通，我们的「高铁指南」和「国内航班指南」会说明如何在城市间快速移动。

4 The third-country rule: what counts as genuine transit 第三国规则：怎样才算真正的过境

The core rule is simple: the country or region you fly in from must be different from the country or region you fly out to. You are 'transiting' China, so you cannot use the policy to visit China and then return to the same place you came from. If you fly New York-Shanghai-New York, neither leg is transit, because the origin and destination are the same country, and border officers will refuse the 240-hour arrangement.核心规则很简单：你飞入中国的国家或地区，必须与你飞往的国家或地区不同。你是在「过境」中国，所以不能利用该政策入境中国后又回到同一个出发地。如果你飞纽约-上海-纽约，两段都不是过境，因为始发国和目的地国相同，边检会拒绝办理 240 小时过境手续。

A round trip that is genuinely transit in both directions does work. Consider London-Beijing-Bangkok: you fly from the UK to Thailand via China, two different countries, so the outbound leg qualifies. On the way home, Bangkok-Shanghai-London is again transit between two different countries, so the inbound leg qualifies as well. Each entry into China is assessed on its own merits, and you need a valid onward itinerary for each one. What officers look for is a real itinerary, not a ticket bought just to satisfy a rule, so repeated back-to-back 'transits' between the same two cities can draw questions.只要往返两程都是真正的过境，环线旅行是可行的。以伦敦-北京-曼谷为例：你从英国经中国飞往泰国，两国不同，出境段符合条件。返程时，曼谷-上海-伦敦同样是两个不同国家之间的过境，因此回程段也符合条件。每次进入中国都单独审核，每段都需要有效的续程行程。边检看的是真实的行程安排，而不是为应付规则临时买的票，所以在同样的两个城市之间反复「过境」会引起质疑。

Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan are treated as separate 'regions' for this purpose, so they count as a valid third destination. Flying London-Beijing-Hong Kong qualifies, and many travelers deliberately book a route that ends in Hong Kong to combine a mainland stopover with a city break. The reverse also works: arrive in mainland China from Hong Kong and fly out to a third country. For the practical details of mainland-Hong Kong routings, see our Hong Kong and Macau entry guide经香港澳门入境指南.香港、澳门和台湾在此政策下被视为单独的「地区」，可以作为有效的第三目的地。伦敦-北京-香港即符合条件，很多游客会特意预订以香港为终点的航线，把内地停留和香港城市假期结合起来。反向也成立：从香港进入内地，再飞往第三国。关于内地-香港航线的实操细节，请看我们的「经香港澳门入境指南」。

5 Before you fly: the checklist that keeps you out of trouble 出发前：避免麻烦的清单

Most transit refusals happen before the plane even lands, because the traveler did not have the right documents or the right ticket. Work through this checklist before you book:多数过境被拒发生在飞机落地之前，因为旅客没有备齐证件或买对机票。订票前请逐项核对这份清单：

• Passport.护照。 You need an ordinary passport valid for at least 3 months from the day you enter, with no Chinese visa refusal stamp in it.你需要一本自入境之日起有效期不少于 3 个月的普通护照，且上面没有中国签证机关的拒签章。
• Onward ticket.续程机票。 You must already hold a ticket with a fixed date and seat to a third country or region, departing within your 240-hour window. Buying it after you arrive is not allowed. Show it at check-in, because the airline will also verify it.你必须已持有前往第三国或地区、日期和座位确定的机票，并在 240 小时窗口内离境。入境后再买是不行的。办理值机时也要出示，因为航空公司同样会核验。
• Admission to the next country.前往下一国的入境资格。 You must be admissible to the destination of the onward ticket. If that country needs a visa for your passport, carry it.你必须具备续程票目的地的入境资格。如果该国对你的护照要求签证，请随身携带。
• Accommodation.住宿。 Have your hotel bookings ready to show. Officers may ask where you will stay, and every night must be registered, either by the hotel or at a police station.准备好酒店订单以备查验。边检可能询问你住在哪里，每一晚都必须登记，由酒店办理或去派出所办理。
• Onward flight booking.预订续程航班。 You can compare prices and book the onward flight before you travel through Trip.comTrip.com, which shows the full routing you need to verify.出发前可以用 Trip.com 比价并预订续程航班，它能清楚显示你需要核对的完整航线。

Since 20 November 2025 foreigners can also complete their arrival information online入境信息网上填报 before landing through the NIA website, the 12367 app, or its WeChat and Alipay mini programs. Doing it early saves time at the counter. Our arrival card guide入境卡指南 walks through the fields step by step.自 2025 年 11 月 20 日起，外国人还可以在落地前通过国家移民管理局网站、12367 App 或其微信、支付宝小程序，提前在网上填报入境信息。提前填写能省下柜台前的时间。我们的「入境卡指南」会一步步讲解各项如何填写。

Finally, sort out the everyday basics before you land: how you will pay and how you will stay online. Both matter from the moment you walk out of the terminal.最后，请在落地前解决日常基本问题：你如何支付、如何保持联网。两者都从你走出航站楼那一刻起就起作用。

• Visa.签证。 Many nationalities can now visit visa-free for short stays, and there is a 240-hour (10-day) transit-without-visa rule if you have an onward ticket to a third country or region. Eligibility depends on your passport and route, so confirm the current rules with official sources before you book. Our 目前许多国家公民可免签短期停留，且如果你持有前往第三国或地区的续程机票，还能享受 240 小时（10 天）过境免签政策。是否符合资格取决于你的护照和航线，因此在预订前请向官方渠道确认最新规定。我们的China visa guide中国签证指南 walks through it with a free checker.附带免费资格查询工具，为你一步步讲清楚。
• Payments.支付。 Set up Alipay and/or WeChat Pay with a linked international card before you land. Once that is done, you can pay for almost everything by scanning a QR code. Our 在落地之前，先绑定国际银行卡，开通 Alipay（支付宝）和/或 WeChat Pay（微信支付）。完成之后，你几乎可以扫码支付一切。我们的how-to-pay guide支付操作指南 has the step-by-step.有详细的分步讲解。
• Connectivity.联网。 Airports and eSIM apps make getting online simple, but doing it in advance means you land with maps and translation already working. Our 机场和 eSIM 应用让联网变简单，但提前办好意味着你落地时地图和翻译已经可用。我们的eSIM vs SIM vs roaming guideeSIM、SIM 与漫游对比指南 helps you pick.帮你选。

6 At the border: the 240-hour entry process 抵达边检：240 小时过境免签办理流程

At the airport, follow the signs for visa-free transit or the 240-hour counters. In busy hubs such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou there are dedicated lanes, and ground staff usually point transit passengers in the right direction. You will complete a temporary-entry arrival card, either on paper or on a machine, and hand over your passport and onward ticket. Expect a few questions: where you are going, why you chose this routing, where you will stay, and how you will support yourself. Answer simply and consistently with the documents you show.在机场，请跟随「免签过境」或「240 小时」指示牌前往柜台。在北京、上海、广州等繁忙枢纽有专用通道，地勤通常会引导过境旅客前往正确方向。你需要填写临时入境卡（纸质或在机器上填写），并出示护照和续程机票。预计会有几个问题：你去哪里、为什么选这条航线、住哪里、如何支付开销。回答要简洁，并与你出示的文件保持一致。

If the officer approves, you receive an entry stamp and a note of your permitted stay. From that moment you are inside China on the same footing as any short-term visitor: you must register your accommodation and may travel within the 24 eligible regions until your clock expires. For everything that happens right after you clear the gate, our first 24 hours in China guide抵达中国最初 24 小时指南 is worth reading on the plane.如果边检批准，你会获得入境章和允许停留时间的备注。从这一刻起，你与任何短期访客享有同等地位：必须登记住宿，并可在 24 个适用区域内旅行，直到停留时限到期。关于通关后要做的一切，我们的「抵达中国最初 24 小时指南」值得在飞机上读一遍。

Every night needs a registered bed. Hotels register you automatically at check-in, which is why carrying your passport matters. If you stay in a private apartment or a guesthouse that does not register guests, you or your host must report your stay to the local police station within 24 hours of checking in. Our hotel check-in guide酒店入住指南 explains what hotels need from you, and the arrival card and registration guide入境卡与住宿登记指南 covers the police-station step.每一晚都要有登记过的住处。酒店在办理入住时会自动为你登记，这正是随身携带护照的原因。如果你住在不登记客人的私人公寓或民宿，你或房东必须在入住后 24 小时内向当地派出所申报住宿。我们的「酒店入住指南」说明酒店需要你提供什么，「入境卡与住宿登记指南」则覆盖去派出所登记的步骤。

7 Making the most of your 10 days: routes and ground travel 用好你的 10 天：路线与地面交通

With 10 days and a territory of 24 provinces, you can plan a real route instead of a one-city dash. The freedom to enter in one region and leave from another makes natural arcs possible. Three tested shapes:拥有 10 天时间和 24 个省份的活动范围，你可以规划一条真正的路线，而不是单城打卡。允许从一地进、另一地出，让许多自然弧线行程成为可能。三种经过验证的行程形态：

• Beijing + Xi'an.北京 + 西安。 Fly into Beijing, spend four days on the Great Wall, the Forbidden City and the hutongs, take the high-speed train to Xi'an for three days around the Terracotta Army, then fly out of Xi'an. Both provinces are fully open.飞入北京，用四天走长城、故宫和胡同，乘高铁到西安，用三天看兵马俑，然后从西安飞离。两省均全省开放。
• Shanghai + Hangzhou + Suzhou.上海 + 杭州 + 苏州。 A relaxed Yangtze delta loop that suits first-time visitors who like canals, gardens and tea hills. Trains between the three cities run every few minutes.一条悠闲的长三角环线，适合喜欢运河、园林和茶山、初次到访的游客。三座城市之间高铁几分钟一班。
• Guangdong gateway to Hong Kong.广东门户到香港。 Fly into Guangzhou or Shenzhen, explore the Pearl River Delta, then finish in Hong Kong by train or across the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge. Guangdong's extra exit flexibility makes the border crossing painless.飞入广州或深圳，畅游珠三角，最后乘高铁或经港珠澳大桥进入香港收尾。广东额外的出境灵活性让过关非常顺畅。

Between cities, high-speed rail is the default for journeys under about four hours, and domestic flights take over for longer hauls such as Beijing to Kunming. Trains are bookable online in English, and airports and stations are well signposted in English too. Our high-speed rail guide高铁指南 covers booking and boarding, and domestic flights guide国内航班指南 covers air travel between provinces.城市之间，4 小时以内的高铁是默认选择，更长的路程（如北京到昆明）则由国内航班接棒。火车可以在线英文购票，机场和车站的英文标识也很完善。我们的「高铁指南」覆盖购票与乘车，「国内航班指南」覆盖跨省飞行。

Season matters more than people expect. Summer is hot and crowded in Beijing and Shanghai, spring and autumn are the sweet spots for most routes, and winter suits the south. To match your 10-day window to the right season, see our best time to visit guide最佳旅行时间指南. If you would rather stitch several cities into one arc, the golden route guide黄金路线指南 and China trip planner中国行程规划指南 are built for exactly this.季节比你想象的更重要。夏季北京上海又热又挤，春秋季对多数路线是最佳窗口，冬季则适合南方。要把 10 天窗口对准合适的季节，请看我们的「最佳旅行时间指南」。如果你想一次串起多个城市，我们的「黄金路线指南」和「中国行程规划指南」正是为此而生。

• Book rail tickets.预订火车票。 You can reserve China's high-speed rail seats online in English through Trip.comTrip.com, or book at the station with your passport.你可以通过 Trip.com 在线用英文预订中国高铁座位，或持护照在车站购买。
• Pack light for city hops.转城时轻装。 Keep one bag you can carry onto a train; checked-luggage rules and wait times eat into a short itinerary.准备一件能带上火车的行李；托运行李的规定和等待时间会侵蚀本就紧凑的行程。
• Leave an exit buffer.离境留出余量。 Book your outbound flight so that you clear immigration a few hours before your 240 hours end, not minutes.预订离境航班时，确保你能在 240 小时到期前几小时就完成出境，而不是卡着几分钟。

8 Counting the clock: how the 240 hours really work 计算时间：240 小时到底怎么算

The single most misunderstood rule is the clock. The 240 hours do not start when you land. They start at 00:00 on the day after you enter, so the calendar day of arrival does not consume a full day of your allowance. NIA gives a worked example in its official notices: arrive on 1 March, whenever you land, and your stay is counted from 00:00 on 2 March, giving you 10 full days, meaning you must clear exit formalities before 24:00 on 11 March.最容易被误解的规则是计时。240 小时不是从你落地那一刻开始计算，而是从入境次日零时开始。也就是说，入境当天不算消耗一整天额度。国家移民管理局在官方公告里给出过示例：无论你 3 月 1 日几点落地，停留期都从 3 月 2 日零时起算，共 10 个整天，即最晚需在 3 月 11 日 24 时前办妥出境手续。

The practical takeaway: arrive any time on day one, and you can spend the next ten calendar days inside China. A traveler who lands in Shanghai at midnight on the 1st still has until the end of the 11th to leave, roughly eleven days of real time. Do not book your outbound flight for the stroke of the deadline. Border officers enforce the exact hour, and airport queues have ended many carefully planned itineraries.实际要点是：第一天任何时候到达，你都能在中国度过接下来的十个自然日。比如 1 日深夜落地上海，最晚可在 11 日结束前离开，实际接近十一天。不要把离境航班订在截止的那一刻。边检按精确到小时执行，而机场排队的队伍曾终结过许多精心计划的行程。

If a genuine emergency such as illness or a cancelled flight would push you past the limit, go to the exit-entry administration of the local public security bureau before your time runs out and apply for a stay permit. Overstaying even by hours is treated as illegal residence: it carries fines, and it can hurt your future visa applications for years. This is one rule where the cost of a small mistake is out of proportion to the mistake.如果确实因生病、航班取消等紧急情况可能超期，请在时限到期前前往当地公安机关出入境管理部门申请停留证件。哪怕超期几个小时，也会被认定为非法居留：面临罚款，并可能在未来数年影响你的签证申请。这是一条小失误代价与失误本身不成比例的规则。

Finally, do not confuse this policy with the separate 24-hour direct-transit exemption. If you stay airside and catch an international connection within 24 hours at a participating airport, you may not need to clear immigration at all. The 240-hour route is for travelers who do clear immigration and spend days inside China, which is the situation this guide covers.最后，不要把本政策与另一项 24 小时直接过境免办边检手续混淆。如果你不离开口岸限定区域，并在参与机场 24 小时内转乘国际航班，可能根本不需要办理入境边检。240 小时路线针对的是确实入境、在中国境内停留数日的旅客，即本指南所覆盖的情形。

9 Common mistakes that get travelers refused 常见的被拒原因

Almost every refusal this policy sees is one of a handful of predictable errors. Avoid these and the process is routine:这项政策下几乎每一次被拒，都是少数几个可预见的错误之一。避开这些，流程就只是例行公事：

• Onward ticket to the same country.续程票回同一国家。 Flying in from country A and out to country A is not transit, and the officer will decline the arrangement.从 A 国飞入又飞回 A 国不叫过境，边检会拒绝办理。
• No confirmed outbound ticket.没有已确认的离境机票。 You need the third-country ticket in hand before you board. 'I will buy it once I am inside' is not an option under this policy.登机前你就必须持有第三国机票。「入境后再买」在这项政策下行不通。
• Passport too short.护照有效期不足。 Validity must reach at least three months from entry. A refusal stamp from a past Chinese visa application is also a bar.护照有效期须自入境起不少于三个月。过去申请中国签证留下的拒签章同样会导致无法办理。
• Misreading the clock.算错时间。 The count starts at 00:00 the day after arrival, not at your landing time. Plan the outbound flight against the official formula.计时从入境次日零时开始，而不是你落地那一刻。请按官方公式规划离境航班。
• Leaving the allowed area.超出允许区域。 Stay inside the 24 regions and respect the sub-province limits in Shanxi, Heilongjiang, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan and Yunnan.请在 24 个区域内活动，并遵守山西、黑龙江、江西、广西、四川、云南的省内限制。
• Working or studying.工作或学习。 Tourism, business talks, visiting and family trips are fine. Work, study and news reporting need a proper visa obtained before arrival.旅游、商务会谈、探访亲友都可以。工作、学习和新闻采访需要在出发前办妥相应签证。

If you do not qualify for any visa-free route, the fallback is a standard tourist visa applied for in advance at a Chinese embassy or visa center; the process is covered in our China visa guide中国签证指南 and entry guide入境指南. Allow several weeks, because visa centers are busy in peak season.如果任何免签路线都不适用于你，退路是提前在中国驻外使领馆或签证中心申请普通旅游签证；流程见我们的「中国签证指南」和「入境指南」。请预留数周时间，因为旺季签证中心很繁忙。

10 240-hour transit vs 30-day visa-free vs an L visa 240 小时过境 vs 30 天免签 vs L 签证

If your passport has more than one option, pick deliberately. The table below compares the three main routes for 2026 travel: the 240-hour transit covered in this guide, China's 30-day unilateral visa-free scheme (currently valid for around 45 countries until 24:00 on 31 December 2026), and the ordinary L tourist visa.如果你的护照有多条路径可选，请认真选择。下表比较 2026 年旅行的三条主要路径：本指南的 240 小时过境免签、中国 30 天单方面免签（目前约 45 国适用，有效期至 2026 年 12 月 31 日 24 时），以及普通 L 旅游签证。

The unilateral 30-day route is strictly more convenient for those who have it: no onward ticket, no third-country rule, twice the days. The transit route exists for everyone else who is simply passing through, especially US, UK and Canadian passport holders, who are on the transit list but not on the unilateral one. Group travel has its own channels, such as the 15-day visa-free cruise policy for tour groups and the Guangdong 144-hour group scheme from Hong Kong or Macau, which are separate from everything above.30 天单方面免签对适用者来说严格更省事：无续程机票、无第三国规则、天数还翻倍。过境路线是为其他单纯路过的人准备的，尤其是美、英、加护照持有者，他们在过境名单上但不在单免名单上。跟团游另有通道，如邮轮旅游团 15 天免签、经香港澳门入粤的 144 小时团签，它们与上述方式互相独立。

For a decision tree that factors in your exact passport and trip length, start from our China visa guide中国签证指南, which includes the free eligibility checker.需要结合你的具体护照和行程长度做判断，可以从我们的「中国签证指南」入手，它内置了免费资格查询。

Which one we'd pick我们会怎么选

If you are a US, UK or Canadian passport holder just passing through, the 240-hour transit is almost always the right call — it needs no advance application and turns a boring layover into real days in China. If you want to stay longer than 10 days, return more than once, or travel to places outside the 24 regions, skip transit and get an L visa or use the 30-day unilateral route where you qualify. Don't try to stretch the transit clock; a same-two-cities loop looks like visa running and officers do question it.如果你是美、英、加护照持有者只是路过，240 小时过境几乎总是正确选择——无需提前申请，还能把无聊的转机变成在中国真正的几天。如果你想停留超过 10 天、多次往返，或去 24 个区域之外的地方，就别用过境，直接办 L 签证，或在符合条件的国家用 30 天单免。别想着钻过境时差的空子：在两城之间反复循环会被视为规避签证，边检确实会盘问。

Frequently asked questions常见问题