China is building a more positive tourism image globally, with more foreign visitors sharing their good travel experiences online and not unfairly stereotyping the country.
中国正在全球范围内建立更加积极的旅游形象,越来越多的外国游客在网上分享他们美好的旅行经历,而非不公正的刻板印象。
Two Mad Explorers from Ireland, a video blog channel on YouTube with more than 160,000 subscribers,
来自爱尔兰的两位疯狂探险者是油管上一个拥有超过16万订阅者的视频博客频道,
has recorded the experiences of two travelers from the European country who started their trip to China two weeks ago from Chengdu, the capital of Southwest China's Sichuan province.
这两位旅行者记录了两位来自欧洲国家的旅行者在中国之行的经历,他们于两周前从中国西南部四川省的首府成都开始他们的旅程。
They describe Chengdu as "clean, beautiful, very modern and an affordable place to visit".
他们描述成都为“干净、美丽、非常现代化,而且是一个价格实惠的地方”。
Two visitors from Italy, Sydia and Mica, told Douyin blogger Broke Laowai, who has over 600 followers, that they have traveled to Beijing, Pingyao in Shanxi province and Xi'an in Shaanxi province.
来自意大利的西迪亚和米卡在抖音上拥有600多粉丝的博主“破产老外”的直播中表示,他们已经前往北京、山西平遥和陕西西安等地旅游。
Sydia said she found the people in China to be very kind and thoughtful. They try to help foreigners even if the latter don't speak Chinese and they themselves don't speak fluent English, she said.
西迪亚表示,她发现中国人非常善良体贴。即使外国人不会说中文,中国人也会尽力帮助他们,即使他们自己的英语说得并不流利。
The two visitors from Italy also praised mobile phone applications such as Alipay and WeChat, calling these "very cool" apps for ordering coffee, hailing rides and making payments.
来自意大利的两位游客还称赞了支付宝和微信等移动应用,称这些应用是“非常酷”的应用,可以用来点咖啡、叫车和付款。
China's inbound tourism recorded a good performance after the nation announced its visa-waiver policies for residents of some European and Asian countries and regions in late 2023.
2023年底,中国宣布对部分欧洲和亚洲国家和地区的居民实行免签政策后,中国入境旅游表现良好。
Starting in December, China offered visa-free entry to ordinary passport holders of six countries: France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia,
从12月开始,中国向法国、德国、意大利、荷兰、西班牙和马来西亚等六个国家的普通护照持有者提供免签入境,
allowing them to stay on the Chinese mainland for up to 15 days for tourism, business and family visit purposes, and also allowing them to transit without a visa.
允许他们在中国大陆停留最多15天,用于旅游、商务和探亲,也可以无需签证过境。
The policy was extended to another six countries, including Switzerland and Ireland, in March, with its expiration date extended to Dec 31.
该政策在3月份又扩展至包括瑞士和爱尔兰在内的六个国家,有效期延长至12月31日。
The National Immigration Administration issued 466,000 visas to international travelers in the first quarter of 2024, up nearly 120 percent year-on-year, data from the administration showed.
国家移民管理局数据显示,2024年第一季度共向国际旅客发放了46.6万份签证,同比增长近120%。
Nearly 2 million visits were made to the mainland by visa-exempt foreign nationals in the first quarter, up 266 percent year-on-year.
第一季度免签外国国民来大陆的次数接近200万次,同比增长266%。
The boom in inbound tourism continued during the May Day holiday. Around 1.76 million inbound trips were made to the mainland over the five-day break, which started on May 1, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism said.
文化和旅游部表示,五一假期期间,入境旅游继续保持繁荣态势。从5月1日开始的五天假期内,约有176万外国游客来大陆旅游。
Travel portal Trip.com Group said that inbound travel bookings grew 130 percent year-on-year on the platform, while airport pickup services surged 342 percent year-on-year during the holiday.
在线旅游平台同程旅行集团表示,该平台上的入境旅游预订量同比增长130%。同时,五一假期期间机场接送服务同比增长342%。
Zhang Jinshan, a researcher on tourism planning and development at Beijing Union University, said that China's visa "openness and accessibility" was key to its inbound tourism growth.
北京联合大学旅游规划与发展研究所研究员张金珊表示,中国签证的“开放性和便利性”是入境旅游增长的关键。
"China has made efforts to optimize its visa issuing procedures and made some groundbreaking changes in its visa policies starting in 2023. "
“中国一直在努力优化签证发放程序,从2023年开始在签证政策方面做出了一些突破性的改变。”
"The inbound tourism market has embraced rapid recovery since earlier this year, with the growth of international travelers from some countries exceeding our expectations," he said.
“自今年年初以来,入境旅游市场已经实现了快速复苏,一些国家的国际游客数量增长速度超出了我们的预期。”
Zhao Jing, director of customized tours at travel portal Tuniu, said that international travelers like planning their trips in advance,
途牛定制游总监赵京表示,国际游客通常喜欢提前规划行程,
and China's optimized entry policies will give them more time to prepare for their trips as well as boost their confidence in getting to know the country better.
中国优化的入境政策将给他们更多时间准备行程,并增强他们更好地了解中国的信心。
The relaxed entry policies have also cheered up domestic tourism companies, prompting them to channel more resources into launching new products and improving services, Zhao said.
赵京表示,宽松的入境政策也提振了国内旅游企业,促使他们将更多资源投入到推出新产品和提升服务中。
"The inbound tourism (market) has great potential yet to be tapped. I think the optimized policies will also attract more people to work in the sector," she added.
“入境旅游市场还有巨大的潜力有待挖掘。我认为优化的政策也将吸引更多人投身这一行业。”
Zhang, the tourism researcher, suggested that China expand its visa-free policy to some neighboring countries, and also to countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative, in order to gain a larger share in inbound tourism.
旅游研究员张先生建议,中国可以扩大免签政策,向一些邻国以及“一带一路”参与国家和地区开放,以在入境旅游市场中占据更大的份额。
In addition to improving payment, network and accommodations services for international travelers, China can channel more resources to deepen reform, enhance openness and improve the nation's image to secure the stable and sustainable development of inbound tourism, he added.
他补充说,除了改善国际游客的支付、网络和住宿服务外,中国还可以将更多资源用于深化改革、扩大开放和提升国家形象,以确保入境旅游的稳定和可持续发展。