Beijing: Wuying Hall at the Palace Museum is closed from 19 October
Who: Travellers whose Palace Museum visit includes Wuying Hall
What to do: Keep the Palace Museum visit if the courtyards and imperial axis are your main interest. Choose an open gallery for the indoor part; check Wuying Hall again before planning a return.
What changed · full context
The Palace Museum’s 12 October announcement closes Wuying Hall from 19 October 2026 for building repairs, collection care and exhibition upgrades. No reopening date is announced.
Leave Wuying Hall out of the route and use the museum’s current gallery notices to choose another open exhibition.
Shanghai: change your Bund and Yuyuan metro exit after 16:00 through 7 October
Who: Visitors heading to the Bund, Nanjing East Road or Yuyuan on 6–7 October 2026
The announced window ended 7 Oct 2026. This entry describes that past window; check the operator’s current notice before travelling.
For that window: Use Line 10 Yuyuan for the garden area and plan a different station for the Bund after 16:00. Check the actual departure station and stopping pattern if returning late; follow staff directions.
What changed · full context
Shanghai Metro’s National Day notice closes these specific stations each afternoon on 1–7 October. On 6–7 October, Lines 1, 2, 10 and 17 also run selected fixed-stop extra services with final departures extended to 00:00 the following day; this is not an all-station midnight service.
Lines 2 and 10 Nanjing East Road and Line 14 Yuyuan close from 16:00 until service ends. Line 10 Yuyuan remains open, subject to crowd controls.
Shenzhen’s 16 October concert changes conductor; the announced refund window has ended
Who: Ticket holders for Memories of the New World at Shenzhen Concert Hall on 16 October 2026
The announced window ended 16 Oct 2026. This entry describes that past window; check the operator’s current notice before travelling.
For that window: Use your original ticket for the performance. If you already requested a refund, check the seller’s confirmation before attending; do not assume the earlier special refund window is still open.
What changed · full context
The venue announced on 30 September that 金郁矿 replaces Peter Feranec for the 16 October 20:00 concert. The repertoire is unchanged. Refund requests under the notice are limited to tickets purchased before 1 October and must be made before 15 October.
The concert remains on 16 October at 20:00, with the announced replacement conductor and unchanged repertoire. The venue’s refund window was before 15 October; keep your original ticket if you are attending.
Non-hotel accommodation registration is now online nationwide
Who: Foreign visitors staying with friends, relatives or in private homes in mainland China
What to do: Before a private stay, agree with your host who will complete registration. Use the step-by-step FAQ below, keep the completed record, and use 12367 or local police assistance if the online process blocks you.
What changed · full context
From 21 September 2026, NIA offers nationwide online registration through its website, NIA 12367 app and WeChat / Alipay mini-programs. The guest or host must still register within 24 hours of arrival at the accommodation. Online and in-person registration have equal legal effect; the offline route remains available.
A stay with friends no longer needs a police-station visit just to register: use the official NIA online service. Hotels continue to handle registration for their guests.
Refund-upon-purchase gains an agreed cross-region processing route
Who: Visitors using refund-upon-purchase and departing from a different participating region.
What to do: Before accepting an advance refund, confirm that your planned departure port and both refund agents support the arrangement; it is not a guarantee for every shop or port. Online-store tax-refund pilots do not make all e-commerce purchases eligible.
What changed · full context
From 1 September 2026, a participating store can upload the traveller’s valid identity document for online review by its local refund agent; the departure-region agent checks identity and completes the refund. Cross-region service requires compliant processing, controlled risk and agreement between the agencies.
Kyrgyzstan and Vietnam added to transit and Hainan visa-free schemes
Who: Kyrgyz and Vietnamese ordinary-passport holders.
What to do: Choose the correct scheme: third-country onward travel is required for transit; Hainan visa-free admission does not permit a mainland multi-city itinerary. This announcement adds nationalities, not ports.
What changed · full context
From 20 August 2026 both countries join 240-hour visa-free transit (57 nationalities) and Hainan’s 30-day entry scheme (61 nationalities). The transit scheme uses the existing 65 eligible ports, with confirmed onward travel to a third country or region and travel inside designated areas. Hainan stays are limited to Hainan province.
Shenzhen’s 6 November guqin concert loses two guest performers
Who: Travellers considering or holding tickets for Wu Huaichen’s guqin concert at Shenzhen Concert Hall on 6 November 2026 at 19:30
The announced window ended 6 Nov 2026. This entry describes that past window; check the operator’s current notice before travelling.
What to do: Keep this concert if the guqin programme is what you want. If the guest flute or dance appearances were your reason to book, compare another performance before buying; existing ticket holders should ask their seller about current options.
What changed · full context
The venue announced on 27 July that He Xiaoshuai and Sun Jingyang cannot appear. The repertoire is unchanged; original tickets remain valid. The special refund deadline was 3 August at 18:00 and applied only to tickets bought before 27 July.
The guqin programme remains, but guest dizi/xiao and dance appearances are no longer part of the announced line-up.
Departure tax refunds allow paperless processing and smaller claims use random physical checks
Who: Overseas visitors buying eligible goods at designated tax-refund stores.
What to do: Keep your passport, eligible goods and refund documents ready: random physical checks do not remove customs clearance. Ask for electronic documents and confirm your shop’s implementation.
What changed · full context
From 1 July 2026, customs and refund agents may verify refund applications and invoices online. Refund application sales totals below ¥10,000 are selected for physical inspection by sampling; ¥10,000 or more remains physically checked application by application. The same 12 May notice separately extends refund-upon-purchase departure deadlines to 28 days; it does not attach 1 July to that clause.
First-time international-card users get a 90-day Weixin fee-waiver window
Who: First-time users linking an international bank card to Weixin Pay.
What to do: Check the in-app entitlement and the start of your first-transaction window. The RMB1,000 amount is the daily covered spend, not ¥1,000 in fee savings. The announcement describes PayPal support as a phased forthcoming launch; it is not recorded here as universally live.
What changed · full context
Tencent’s 27 May announcement states the international-card processing fee waiver runs for 90 consecutive calendar days from the first transaction, on up to RMB1,000 in payments per day.
Russia's visa-free entry extended to the end of 2027
Who: Russian ordinary-passport holders
What to do: The stale 14 Sep 2026 date still appears on some embassy FAQ pages as of July 2026. Verify against the MFA source below, not secondary summaries.
What changed · full context
China extended 30-day visa-free entry for Russian ordinary-passport holders (business, tourism, family visit, exchange, transit) through 31 Dec 2027, confirmed by MFA spokesperson Guo Jiakun at the 2026-05-20 press briefing.
Some official FAQ pages still show an earlier expiry window of 14 Sep 2026 — this extension supersedes that. If you relied on a stale source, the current rule is more generous.
UK and Canadian ordinary-passport holders gain 30-day visa-free entry
Who: Ordinary-passport holders of the United Kingdom and Canada travelling for the listed short-stay purposes.
The announced window ended 31 Dec 2026. This entry describes that past window; check the operator’s current notice before travelling.
What to do: Check that your passport, purpose and stay length fit this rule; it does not authorize work or study.
What changed · full context
From 17 February through 31 December 2026, ordinary-passport holders may enter visa-free for business, tourism, family/friend visits, exchanges or transit for up to 30 days.
China's foreigner arrival card can be completed online
Who: Foreign travelers entering China, except seven officially exempt categories
What to do: Use only NIA's official channel. Filing is free, and a paid look-alike site is not an official shortcut.
What changed · full context
NIA introduced online arrival-card filing on 20 Nov 2025 through its official website, Government Service Platform, NIA 12367 app, WeChat and Alipay mini-programs, and the official QR code. Seven categories are exempt: foreign permanent-resident ID holders; non-Chinese holders of the Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong and Macao Residents; group-visa or qualifying group visa-free travelers; direct 24-hour transit passengers who remain in the restricted port area; cruise passengers entering and leaving on the same ship; fast-lane entrants; and foreign crew of exit-entry transport vehicles.
You can prepare the card before travel, but advance online filing is not the only route. If you cannot file beforehand, you can use a port QR code or smart device, or complete a paper card at the port.
240-hour visa-free transit expanded to 65 ports
Who: Travelers from 55 eligible countries transiting through China
What to do: Five new entry/exit points — including two Pearl River Delta crossings and Hong Kong rail links — make southern China more accessible for transit without a visa.
What changed · full context
Effective 5 Nov 2025, the 240-hour visa-free transit program expanded from 60 to 65 entry ports. The five added ports are Guangzhou Pazhou Ferry Terminal, Hengqin Port, Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Port, Zhongshan Port (Passenger), and West Kowloon Station Port of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link.
Unilateral visa-free for 45 countries extended to 31 Dec 2026; Sweden added
Who: Ordinary-passport holders from 45 countries including France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, and Australia
What to do: If your country is not on the 45-country list, check the full unilateral list at NIA — it has grown significantly across multiple batches since late 2023.
What changed · full context
China extended 30-day unilateral visa-free entry for 45 countries to 31 Dec 2026 and added Sweden to the scheme from 10 Nov 2025.
Policies that were set to expire end of 2025 now run through 2026, removing a key trip-planning risk for nationals of covered countries.
Visa-free transit extended to 240 hours (10 days) across 24 provinces
Who: Travelers from 54 eligible countries (later expanded to 55) who need to transit through China to a third country
What to do: For eligible travellers, the 240-hour stay is calculated from 00:00 on the day after entry. Check the allowed stay areas for your entry port before booking travel beyond it.
What changed · full context
The National Immigration Administration raised visa-free transit stay from 72/144 hours to 240 hours and expanded eligible ports from 39 to 60 across 24 provincial-level regions, effective 19 Dec 2024. This is the baseline that all current 240-hour transit rules build on.
This was the single largest expansion of China's transit window — tripling the previous 72-hour limit. It created a practical 10-day layover option usable for sightseeing, not just airport transfers.