Translation. Region: Russian Federal
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
BEIJING, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) — A total of 126 Russian tourists passed customs inspection at Wuhan Tianhe Airport on Monday morning, becoming the first group of Russian tourists to arrive in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, since China introduced a 30-day visa-free entry regime for Russian citizens with regular passports on Sept. 15.
The Russian passengers arrived from Moscow on China Southern Airlines flight CZ8004, the Hubei Daily news portal reported. “We are very happy that China welcomes us so warmly,” said Russian citizen Sergei Ivanov, who took advantage of the new visa-free policy with his family.
Among those who were among the first to take advantage of the new visa-free policy is Gleb Golev. The young man flew to China for a business trip and plans to visit companies in the cities of Wuhan and Qingdao. The visa-free regime has saved him time and money, and business exchanges will become more convenient in the future.
Let us recall that China is introducing a trial visa-free regime for Russian citizens holding regular foreign passports from September 15, 2025 to September 14, 2026.
Russian citizens holding valid regular foreign passports can visit China under a visa-free regime for the purposes of doing business, making tourist trips, visiting relatives and friends, exchanging visits, and for transit; their stay in China should not exceed 30 days, according to a statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
Since the beginning of this year, the total passenger volume at Wuhan Tianhe International Airport has continued to increase. As of August 26, the total number of passengers entering and leaving China through Tianhe Airport has exceeded 1 million person-times, reaching this mark 49 days earlier than the 2024 target.
On September 9, flights were officially resumed on the direct Wuhan-Moscow flight. According to China Southern Airlines, flights between Wuhan and the Russian capital are operated by Airbus A350-900 aircraft on Tuesdays and Sundays. According to the schedule, the airliner departs from Wuhan at 15:10 Beijing time and arrives at Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport at 19:15 local time. The return flight departs from Moscow at 21:15 local time and arrives in Wuhan at 10:30 the next day Beijing time.
Let us recall that this air route was launched on July 30, 2014, becoming the first direct flight in history connecting central China with Russia.
Wang Gang, general manager of China Southern Airlines Hubei branch, told the media that the market response to the Wuhan-Moscow route has been quite positive, with the occupancy rate of the first flight after the resumption of flights reaching 87 percent. “We believe that the resumption of flights on the Wuhan-Moscow air route will further help free up demand for tourism between China and Russia and open up new opportunities for the development of trade and cultural tourism between the two countries,” he said. -0-
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