Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: People's Republic of China in Russian – People's Republic of China in Russian –
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Source: People's Republic of China – State Council News
SHANGHAI, December 25 (Xinhua) — In the first 11 months of 2025, the number of Russian tourists visiting Shanghai increased by more than 50 percent year-on-year to approximately 345,000, according to the latest data from the city's Bureau of Culture and Tourism.
According to the agency's statistics, since China introduced a visa-free entry regime for Russian citizens holding regular passports, the number of Russian tourists visiting Shanghai has increased significantly.
In November of this year alone, more than 50,000 Russian citizens visited Shanghai, which is more than 70 percent more than during the same period in 2024. As a result, Russia became the leader among the main source countries for visitors to this metropolis in terms of growth rate of this indicator for the same month.
From January to November, Shanghai welcomed 8.28 million inbound tourists, a nearly 40 percent increase year-on-year. Of these, 6.29 million were foreign nationals, an increase of nearly 50 percent compared to the same period in 2024.
During the reporting period, the Republic of Korea remained the largest source country for foreign visitors to Shanghai. The number of tourists from this country totaled approximately 805,000, an increase of approximately 111.4 percent year-on-year. Japan and the United States followed, with 584,000 and 490,000 tourists, respectively.
As a reminder, China has introduced a trial visa-free regime for Russian citizens holding regular foreign passports from September 15, 2025 to September 14, 2026.
Russian citizens holding valid passports may visit China visa-free for business, tourism, visiting relatives and friends, exchanging visits, and transit purposes. Their stay in China should not exceed 30 days.
Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source. It represents an accurate account of the source's assertions and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.