上海花千坊爱上海

From the "crazy Fridays" of Koreans crowding the streets of Shanghai to "Thai tourists flooding the magical city of Chongqing," over the past year, China's expanding visa-free policy has fueled a surge in foreign travels to the country, making "China travel" a new global trend. As the Global Times learned on Sunday from Qunar, a major Chinese online travel agency, the number of domestic flight bookings made by foreign travelers has nearly tripled compared with 2023, with those from the US, Russia, Canada, South Korea and Australia ranking in the top five.

With the further relaxation of the visa-free transit policy announced on December 17, it is expected that foreign visitors will be able to have a more fulfilling experience in China, as lesser-known small and medium-sized cities - particularly those rich in culture - will become the prioritized choice for many, predicted Trip.com Group, one of the largest travel agencies in the country.

China announced a significant expansion of its visa-free transit policy, extending the permitted stay for eligible foreign travelers from the original 72 and 144 hours to 240 hours, or 10 days, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Effective immediately, 21 additional ports have been designated for visa-free entry and exit, and the areas in which transit travelers can stay have been expanded. Under the updated policies, eligible citizens from 54 countries can enter China visa-free when transiting to a third country or region, according to a statement from the National Immigration Administration.

Compared with the previous 72/144-hour visa-free transit policies, a most significant feature of this policy adjustment is the extension of the stay duration, allowing more cross-regional and in-depth travel. Additionally, five inland provinces - Shanxi, Anhui, Jiangxi, Guizhou, and Hainan - have been added as visa-free transit destinations. And the eligible areas for stay in Fujian, Hubei, and Shaanxi provinces have been expanded to cover the entire province, while the stay area in Guangxi has been extended to 12 administrative cities.

Half an hour after the announcement, the search interest for Chinese destinations on Trip.com Group's overseas platforms surged by 85 percent in Europe, 163 percent in the Americas, and 116 percent in the Asia-Pacific region. France, Canada and Russia topped the list with the highest increases in search interest, the agency told the Global Times.

It added that the growth rate of inbound tourism to China has more than doubled compared to 2023, with a staggering 189 percent increase from the 54 visa-free countries, outpacing the overall market. This year, Italy, Spain, Russia, Iceland and Singapore have emerged as the top five countries with the fastest growth in inbound travels among the 54 nations. Additionally, one in four foreign travelers has previously visited China.

On the Qunar platform, among travelers using non-Chinese passports to book domestic flights, those from the US, Russia, Canada, South Korea and Australia rank as the top five in terms of booking volume. Notably, there has been a significant increase in bookings from travelers holding passports from Malaysia, Japan and Kazakhstan, with growth rates exceeding 200 percent.

The visa policy relaxation has also brought about new changes as for destination choices. The tag "Heading for China after work on Friday" has seen more than 518,000 notes posted on Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu, as people upload videos and photos of Korean visitors taking selfies in front of the gate of Korean Provisional Government, tasting local cuisines, and strolling through the Yuyuan Garden while putting on hanfu - the traditional styles of clothing in ancient China.

In addition to major cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, more second-tier cities including Chengdu, Chongqing, Hangzhou and Xi'an have recently become favorites for foreign tourists. According to the Pheonix Weekly, the mountainous city of Chongqing has recently become the "secret code" for gaining online traffic, as young Thais "punch in" every single scenic spot of this city.

Moreover, destinations with unique cultural and natural beauties like Zhangjiajie, Lijiang and Shangri-La are also attracting more foreign visitors. 

"Cultural tours and ancient architecture tours will be more popular. With the game 'Black Myth: Wukong' gaining international attention, attractions like Xiaoxitian shown in the game will also become a big hit," said Sun Bowen, executive secretary-general of the Trip.com Research Institute and General Manager of Inbound Tourism.

Sun predicted that cross-regional deep travel by foreigners in China will become the next trend following the updated policy. 

The National Immigration Administration announced on Saturday that with the optimization of visa policies for foreigners and the convenience policies for mainland residents traveling to Hong Kong and Macao, ports across the nation are expected to experience a peak in inbound and outbound passenger flow during the upcoming New Year's Day holidays, China News Service reported.

The peak period is anticipated to be concentrated on the evening of December 31, 2024, and January 1, 2025, with an average of 2.05 million travelers entering and exiting daily, representing an 18.8 percent increase compared to the same period last year, according to the administration.

Spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs  Lin Jian on Friday slammed Western media saying that chili pepper products sold in UK and US supermarkets contain ingredients from Xinjiang are probably produced using "forced labor" by citing a report by an anti-China academic Adrian Zenz, noting that the so-called report mentioned by certain media outlets is deeply flawed, and it pretentiously quotes some vague accounts by so-called anonymous witnesses, but does not provide any factual basis, and even lacks the most basic field investigation.

Lin said that, the fact is, the farming process of chili peppers in Xinjiang has largely been mechanized already in some major production areas, 100 percent of the chili peppers are now harvested by machines. "Is the report suggesting that there is 'forced machine labor?'" he asked.

Earlier this week, an international symposium on employment and social security was held in Urumqi, said Lin, noting that more than 200 participants from over 40 countries, regions and international organizations attended the event, and many said the Xinjiang they saw is very much different from the false propaganda they had seen from sources outside China.

"They condemned the 'forced labor' narrative, calling it a lie that deprives people in Xinjiang of their right to work, subsistence and development," Lin said. 

Lin stated that from cotton to tomato and now to chili pepper, a handful of Western media and long-time disinformation manufacturers have concocted one lie after another about Xinjiang. 

"But what's made up will not hide the truth; and a lie is still a lie even if it's told a thousand times. For those behind these same old clumsy theatrics, it is high time they quit this 'creative' business for good," Lin said. 

One year on, Ma Zhongli still has nightmares about the day his tile-roofed house collapsed.

At 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 18, 2023, a 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck the Bonan-Dongxiang-Salar Autonomous County of Jishishan in northwest China's Gansu Province.

The quake flattened Ma's home, taking with it not only his belongings but also his beloved wife. Across Gansu and neighboring Qinghai Province, over 150 lives were lost in the disaster.

"Even now, the day of the quake remains very clear," said 68-year-old Ma. "But I began to feel that the home I lost in my heart is slowly being rebuilt, piece by piece. Life has to go on."

In just five months, Ma's destroyed property was replaced with a newly built two-story house, complete with modern amenities, including running water, flush toilets, and air-source heat pumps. The cost of rebuilding -- about 200,000 yuan (27,800 U.S. dollars) -- was met thanks to a government subsidy of 75,000 yuan and a 50,000 yuan low-interest loan.

Ma is a perfect example of the county's residents, who are leaving behind their tragic past and starting new lives.
QUICK RECONSTRUCTION

Located at the crossroads of Gansu and Qinghai provinces, Jishishan is home to 280,000 people. It was hit hardest by the December quake, with more than 240,000 people directly affected and over 230,000 houses damaged.

China is among those countries most impacted by natural disasters, and has greatly improved its ability to deal with such crises and the post-disaster reconstruction.

In Jishishan, water, power, transportation and communication services were restored within 18 hours following the quake, while temporary prefab housing for affected residents was largely set up in just 8 days.

The local government launched more than 180 recovery projects in March. "Priority was given to those addressing housing, education and healthcare needs," said Ma Xiaolu, Party chief of the county.

The rebuilding process was anything but easy. Jishishan is nestled among the mountains at a maximum altitude of over 4,000 meters. The area is extremely cold, and since January, the county has seen 129 days of rainfall, including 25 wet days in September alone.
Despite these challenges, the speed of recovery has amazed many.

In some eight months, more than 17,000 workers labored around the clock, completing repairs on 28,927 households, rebuilding homes for 10,080 families on their original sites, and building 10,015 new houses in 13 resettlement areas.

Within 70-plus days, the county completed repairs on 209 schools, while 21 new schools were built in five months.

Relocation is more than just moving into a new home. It's a shift in lifestyle and mindset for residents who once lived in the mountains.

When Xinhua reporters visited the home of 73-year-old Chen Yulan, a resident of Dahe Village, the living room was bathed in sunlight streaming through large windows. It was furnished with a television, refrigerator and other essentials.

"My life has changed so much, and I've been doing my best to adapt, like learning to use a flush toilet and a gas stove," Chen said. "My grandson's school is much closer, and my son found better-paying work nearby."

"Wherever we are together as a family, that's home," Chen said.
"The efficient post-disaster reconstruction shows China's people-centered governance philosophy and institutional advantage of pooling resources to accomplish major undertakings," said Mao Jinhuang, a professor at the School of Economics under Lanzhou University.

Central to this recovery were the efforts of Communist Party of China members, who are often on the front lines during crises. In Jishishan, their active involvement was no exception, Ma Xiaolu said.

From the moment the quake struck, Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture, which administers Jishishan, activated its emergency response mechanism without delay. More than 2,600 county and township-level cadres were mobilized to spearhead rescue and reconstruction efforts.

NEW LIVES DESPITE CHALLENGES

Two months ago, Chai Yongzhong, a resident of Shiyuan Village, moved into his new house. Yet uncertainty lingered. What would the source of his income be in the future?

At 49, Chai was once one of the largest sheep farmers in the village. But the earthquake changed everything. His house and mud-brick sheep pen were reduced to rubble, forcing him to sell nearly all his flock.

Jishishan was once considered one of China's most impoverished regions. The local economy has long been fragile, and the earthquake further compounded the difficulties for farmers like Chai.

In response, the county has prioritized industrial transformation in its recovery efforts, focusing on modern agriculture, livestock breeding, and the development of greenhouses.

Next to his new home, Chai built a 95-square-meter modernized sheep pen. With policy subsidies, he received 33,000 yuan to help with the construction, and further support is available to help him restock his herd.

"We'll take it step by step," Chai said with a smile. "Soon, things will get back on track."

A 196-mu (13.07-hectare) cattle-and-sheep breeding center was established in Chenjia Village. The center currently houses 4,250 breeding ewes and 800 cows. It will benefit over 700 relocated families and provide quality livestock to farmers at prices below market rates.
Meanwhile, in Hejia Village, more than 70 steel-framed greenhouses are scattered around. Inside, relocated villagers tend rows of zucchini, cucumbers and melons, many of which have already hit the market.

"Over 30 nearby residents come to work here every day, each earning 100 yuan per day. Once they master the farming techniques, they can apply to lease a greenhouse," said Zhang Tongbiao, who manages the greenhouses.

Ma Zhongli's son now takes on odd jobs nearby, and Ma lives with her daughter-in-law, Ma Gashe, and three grandchildren in their new home. By the window, pots of hydrangeas bloom in vibrant red clusters, while two trees in the yard, pruned and wrapped in insulation strips, stand ready for the arrival of spring.

On her phone, Ma Gashe keeps photos of their old home, with its lush garden that her late mother-in-law lovingly cared for. "I hope this home will also become a place of beauty and life, just like the old one," she said.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Friday China supports the early realization of peace in Syria, and supports the country in finding a rebuilding plan that meets the wishes of the people through inclusive dialogue.

Wang made the remarks when asked about China's views on the current situation in Syria during a joint press conference with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty after the China-Egypt foreign ministers' strategic dialogue in Beijing.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said China is highly concerned about the situation in Syria, which has been volatile recently.

China has long pursued a policy of friendship and cooperation with Syria, never interfered in Syria's internal affairs, and respected the choice of the Syrian people, he said.

"We support Syria in realizing peace at the earliest, implementing Security Council resolution 2254, advancing the domestic political process in accordance with the principle of 'Syrian-led, Syrian-owned', and finding a rebuilding plan that meets the wishes of the people through inclusive dialogue," said the minister.

Wang added that the future Syria should firmly oppose all forms of terrorism and extremist forces. Meanwhile, the international community should earnestly safeguard Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity, respect Syria's ethnic and religious traditions, and allow the Syrian people to make independent decisions.

All countries should work together to extend a helping hand to Syria, push for the lifting of the illegal unilateral sanctions imposed on the country over the years, and ease its grave humanitarian situation, Wang said.

The Global Times Annual Conference 2025, themed "Moving forward in Partnership: Resonance of Values between China and the World," is held in Beijing on Saturday. In the first session, experts and scholars engaged in discussions on the topic "Exploring the path of great power relations: differences and consensus."

Wu Xinbo, director of the Center for American Studies at Fudan University, said that there are three key points to watch in major power relations next year. First, China and the US will enter a new round of competition. While the strategic challenges are severe, there are some tactical opportunities. Second, in terms of ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict, US-Russia relations will undergo some loosening and adjustments. Third, China's relations with other major powers will face new opportunities, and the overall diplomatic environment facing China will see significant improvements.

Regarding China-US relations, Wu emphasized that the development of the relationship follows its own historical logic. At certain stages, cooperation between the two countries was more prominent, driven by the balance of power and mutual interests. Currently, China and the US have entered what the US terms a "strategic competition" phase, which, in reality, is a period of US' efforts to contain and suppress China. While this phase is not what we hope for, it is, in some sense, consistent with the logic of great power relations.

In Wu's view, whether under a Democratic or Republican administration, US' basic positioning toward China and the fundamental design of its China policy will not change in the short term. However, from a longer-term perspective, the strategic competition between China and the US shows periodical characteristics. Wu noted that in the future, the US may realize that its efforts to contain and suppress China have not been effective, and that the cost to its own interests is too high and unsustainable, stressing that in that case, the US policy toward China will likely be adjusted.

"Taiwan independence" is a dead end, and the US' insistence to support it by force will inevitably inflict harm to itself and suffer the consequences of its actions, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Monday, after the White House announced that it has approved a military package of $567 million in defense support to Taiwan region. 

US President Joe Biden on Sunday approved $567 million in defense support for Taiwan, the White House said, according to Reuters.

In response to US' latest move, Lin Jian, a spokesperson of Chinese Foreign Ministry, said at a Monday press briefing that the US' latest arms supply to China's Taiwan region, severely violates the one China principle and the stipulations of the three China-US Joint Communiques.

The US move is in fact to support and encourage Lai Ching-te and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities in their stubborn pursuit of "Taiwan independence" and their provocation against the one China principle, Lin stressed.

This once again proves that the greatest threat to peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits and the most significant damage to the cross-Straits status quo come from the secessionist activities of Taiwan independence forces and the connivance and support they receive from external forces led by the US, Lin stated. 

"Taiwan independence" is a dead end, and the US' insistence on "supporting it with force" will inevitably harm itself and face the consequences of its actions, Lin said on Monday. 

"We urge the US side to abide by the one China principle and the three China-US Joint Communiques, and to stop arming Taiwan in any way," Lin said, "No matter how many weapons the US provides to Taiwan, it will not shake our firm determination to oppose 'Taiwan independence' and safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity."

Residents and holders of residence permits in East China's Fujian Province have been able to apply for travel endorsements to Kinmen, an island located off the coast of Fujian, administered by the island of Taiwan, according to the Exit-Entry Administration Bureau under Fujian Provincial Department of Public Security on Friday.

Eligible individuals can apply to the department for an individual or a group tourist endorsement valid for six months. Travelers can depart from the Wutong and Shijing ports via the "mini three links" maritime route and return through the same ports within the allowed duration of stay.

According to the Xinhua News Agency, the maritime safety administration in Quanzhou has established a dedicated window for the ship traffic management system to strengthen dynamic monitoring of passenger ships, and ensure shipping companies comply with baggage and safety requirements, while strictly enforcing regular maintenance and overhaul systems.

The maritime sector will also strengthen the coordination with the meteorological department, urging ships to strictly adhere to sail bans.

A Fujian resident surnamed Chen told the Global Times on Saturday that he has always wanted to travel to the Taiwan region but didn't have the chance in recent years due to previous policy restrictions and his schedule. He said this is a good opportunity for him to visit Kinmen, noting that "both sides of the Taiwan Straits are one family."

On August 30, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced the resumption of allowing  residents in Fujian to travel to Kinmen. The local government of Kinmen also organized a warm welcome ceremony for the first tour group from the mainland since the pandemic on September 22.

The group of over 20 tourists arrived in Kinmen from Xiamen, Fujian and were on a two-day sightseeing tour that ended on September 23.

The recent resumption of travel endorsements signals goodwill from the mainland, Zhang Wensheng, deputy dean of the Graduate Institute for Taiwan Studies at Xiamen University, told the Global Times on Saturday. He noted that the local residents of Kinmen are also eager for mainland visitors, as their presence would benefit tourism and contribute to local economic development.

Chen Yu-jen, a legislator from Kinmen, described the move as a positive start and expressed hope for more frequent progress between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits. 

She added that the relationship between Kinmen and Xiamen would grow closer, according to the United Daily News, a media outlet from Taiwan.

China's central bank on Friday announced a cut in the reserve requirement ratio by 0.5 percentage points for financial institutions.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has extended congratulations to the faculty, students and alumni of the Communication University of China on its 70th founding anniversary.

In a reply letter to its faculty and students, Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, called on the university to cultivate more high-caliber journalism and communication professionals.

In one of the northern exhibition halls of the National Museum of China, a sculpture of a gargoyle, which was originally designed as a foremost part of the rainwater drainage system of Paris' famed Notre Dame cathedral, sits silently among orderly arranged devices, ready to accompany visitors on a journey between the past and the present, the virtual and the real.

With Notre Dame cathedral about to complete its restoration and reopen to the public in December after a massive fire, an immersive augmented reality (AR) exhibition depicting the cathedral's history of construction, destruction and reconstruction will kick off at the National Museum of China on Thursday.

The exhibition, jointly held by the museum and the Public Establishment in Charge of the Conservation and Restoration of Notre Dame de Paris and sponsored by the L'oreal Group, is also part of celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of China-France diplomatic ties and the China-France Year of Culture and Tourism.

Although this is a touring exhibition, the unique part of the stop at the National Museum of China is four original sculptures embellishing the cathedral and reflecting the mid-19th century taste for symbols and a fantasy Middle Ages, including a gargoyle, a chimera and a plant-covered human figure. The Chinese curatorial team of the National Museum put forward the idea of adding real cultural relics to the AR exhibition to enhance immersion and successfully reached an agreement with the French side.

"We would like to relate the history of the Notre Dame de Paris, a shared cultural legacy of the whole world with a novel digital method that has been approved and appreciated by younger generations," Zhu Xiaoyun, director of the Department of International Cooperation of the National Museum of China and the Chinese curator of the exhibition, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Zhu noted that the exhibition, a result of China-France cultural cooperation, interprets the meaning of exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations very well. 

"Mutual learning refers to learning from each other's advantages. What the exhibition showcases regarding how a cultural legacy with a history of more than 800 years has been revived from fatal destruction provide us new insight into the museum's duty to conserve immovable cultural legacies," Zhu noted.

Stepping into the exhibition hall, visitors can use a provided tablet computer to travel across the ocean and through time to see the world of Notre Dame. There are over 20 cylinder-shaped tables set in the hall with a QR code pasted on each one. When scanning these codes with a tablet, a portion of a painting depicting the cathedral at different eras unfolds so that visitors can see the many details of its history, such as how its Gothic ceiling was built.

Building a private conversation with the cathedral throughout the exhibition, visitors can explore the secrets of its Gothic architecture, including its religious background and historical changes, in the virtual world by clicking the buttons on the screen. According to the curator, the information about the cathedral is so vast that it would take at least four hours to finish scrolling through the entire content on the tablet.

Four original fragments of the building are arranged among these devices, allowing visitors to shuttle between the virtual and real worlds and get closer to the essence of French culture.

"This was just a digital exhibition at the beginning in which we used new technology to introduce something that the public doesn't know very well. Now we also have real artifacts. This is important because we are using all these elements to recreate reality and to provide more information," Gergely László, director of operations and quality of French tech company Histovery and also the French curator of the exhibition, told the Global Times on Wednesday. 

Zhu said that cultural institutions in China and France have jointly launched a series of events to celebrate 2024's special anniversary and promote people-to-people exchanges. This year, the cultural symbol that is Notre Dame will be a messenger for this celebration.

The exhibition will travel to Hong Kong after the Beijing leg.