The 240-hour visa-free transit, explained

Since December 2024, China's visa-free transit window is 240 hours — ten days — up from the old 144. It's the single biggest opening for Western travelers to China in years: fly into an eligible port, spend up to ten days, fly out to somewhere else. No embassy, no application, no fee.

The catch is in the word "transit": this is not a tourist visa. China lets you in on the logic that you are on your way somewhere else. Understand that logic and the rules make sense; ignore it and you'll get stopped at check-in.

Three tests, all must pass:

1. Passport. You hold an ordinary passport from one of the 55 eligible countries — the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and most of Europe (EU plus Norway, Switzerland and others) are all in. The list grew steadily through 2024–2025 (Indonesia was added in June 2025), so check the current NIA list before booking.
2. Onward ticket. A confirmed ticket out of China to a third country or region within 240 hours of arrival — and "third" means not the country you arrived from. US → Xi'an → Hong Kong works. US → Xi'an → US does not. (Hong Kong and Macao count as third destinations; Taiwan counts too for this purpose.)
3. Route. You must enter and exit through eligible ports. Xi'an Xianyang International (XIY) is one of them, as are Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Guangzhou and dozens of others.

• The onward ticket is checked at check-in, before you board your flight to China. If you can't show it, the airline won't let you board — they pay the fine for carrying you back. Have it printed or on your phone.
• The 240 hours start at 00:00 the day AFTER you arrive. Landing at 23:00 on the 1st means day one is the 2nd. Don't cut your exit flight to the last hour — delays happen.
• Stay inside the permitted area — which is bigger than under the old 144-hour rule. The 240-hour policy lets you travel freely across the 24 participating provinces (Beijing, Shanghai, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Guangdong and more); cross-province trips are explicitly allowed, so arriving in Shanghai and taking the high-speed train to Xi'an is fine. Provinces NOT on the list (e.g. Tibet, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia) are off-limits. All of our Xi'an + day trips sit inside the zone.
• Registration within 24 hours. Any hotel does this automatically at check-in. If you stay with friends or in a rural guesthouse, you must register at the local police station yourself within 24 hours — this is enforced and fines are real.
• One entry per transit. If your itinerary leaves mainland China and comes back, the second leg needs its own eligibility (or a visa).

Xi'an is arguably the best transit city in China for this: the two biggest sights compress beautifully into 48–72 hours, and the visa-free layover itinerary is built exactly for it.

Arrival at XIY: follow the 240-hour transit signs to the special inspection counter, present passport + onward ticket + arrival card. Then metro Line 14 into the city in under an hour.

A realistic split: Day 1 — land, check in near the Bell Tower, City Wall at dusk, Muslim Quarter dinner. Day 2 — the Terracotta Army early, back by mid-afternoon, evening flight out. With 3–4 days, add the Shaanxi History Museum and the pagoda district.

Payments and internet don't wait: set up Alipay or WeChat Pay and your eSIM or VPN before you fly — both are painful to improvise on arrival.

Two neighboring doors:

• Your country might have full 30-day visa-free entry (no transit logic, no onward-ticket rule) — most of the EU, UK, Canada, Australia and more. That's the better deal if you're eligible: the 30-day visa-free package.
• Everyone else applies for a standard tourist visa. The overview router is visas & entry.