We traveled to Singapore from Houston on Air China this week. Our flight itinerary included an 11-hour layover in the Beijing airport, arriving at 3:47 am in the morning.
Rather than sit around an airport after a 15-hour flight, we took advantage of China’s 72-hour visa-free transit stay program that was introduced in 2013.
China’s 72-hour visa-free transit stay program is designed to facilitate brief sightseeing stays for travelers in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Chongqing, Shenyang and Dalian, China when they are connecting on flights through the Beijing Capital International Airport, Shanghai Pudong Airport, Hongqiao Airport, Guangzhou Baiyun Airport, Chengdu Shuangliu Airport, Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport, Shenyang Taoxian International Airport and Dalian International Airport.
Travelers from 51 countries including Argentina, Austria, Australia, Belgium, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Montenegro, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, Ukraine, United Kingdom and the United States may participate in the 72-hour visa-free stay program.
Since we arrived at Beijing in the middle of the night after a long flight, we choose to head to the Hilton Beijing Capital Airport hotel just outside of the airport for a little rest and recovery, rather than taking a sightseeing tour to view attractions such as the Forbidden City or the Great Wall of China.
A hot shower, a warm breakfast, good internet connections, a restful nap and a walk around a few city blocks near the airport were the extent of our visit – but they were wonderful!
We were much more relaxed for our next flight of 8-hours into Singapore.
If you want to take advantage of China’s 72-hour-visa-free-visit policy, you need to follow the following steps:
- Notify you airline staff of your travel plans in China BEFORE you depart on your flight into China. We informed the Air China representative in Houston of our plans in Beijing; she took care of making the necessary entries to our flight record so that we could exit the airport without a visa during our brief stay.
- Be certain to take your airline ticket/boarding pass with a confirmed seat for your departing flight that will take you to another country outside of China.
- Know that visitors are not allowed to leave the transit city to go to other cities during the 72 hours. They can only depart from the same airport where they get their permit issued.
- Visitors are required to register at a police station with their transit permits within 24 hours after entry. (NOTE: this step is only necessary if you stay with a friend or family member. If you check into a hotel, the hotel handles the registration for you.)
- The duration of your stay in one of the approved cities in China starts from the scheduled time of your flight arrival and continues through the time of your scheduled departure flight. This time cannot exceed 72 hours. For example, you cannot have a 76-hour layover, even if you only plan to be outside of the airport for 72 hours.
Have you tried visiting China while in transit without a visa under the 72-hour visa-free stay program? What was your experience? Please share your thoughts in comments below.
Are you planning a visit to China? You may want to check out this post on 12 Fun Facts You May Not Know About the Great Wall of China