外国人到中国旅游是一种什么样的体验
王月眉 2024年8月1日
北京什刹海的游客，摄于本月。中国一直在采取非同寻常的措施来吸引海外游客。
北京什刹海的游客，摄于本月。中国一直在采取非同寻常的措施来吸引海外游客。 北京单方面提供了免签，这对于一个通常坚持互惠原则的政府来说，是一个罕见的举动，显示出中国的急切态度。
但实际上，前往中国仍然是一个重大挑战。以下是需要知道的内容：
有什么新变化？
中国单方面向来自多个国家的公民提供15天的免签入境待遇，其中大部分是西欧国家，比如法国、德国和西班牙。该计划于去年12月开始，之后不断扩大；澳大利亚、新西兰和波兰上个月被纳入其中。这个政策将持续到2025年。
此外，包括美国在内的50多个国家的公民现在可以免签过境。如果继续前往其他目的地，他们可以在中国停留72小时或144小时，具体取决于入境口岸的不同。
北京大兴国际机场的出租车。据中国政府称，今年上半年，大多数海外入境者使用的都是免签计划。
过境旅客只能在特定区域内停留。例如，飞往上海的旅客只能前往上海以及邻近的江苏、浙江两省。
中国还承诺减少外国游客在旅行安排上的麻烦。微信和支付宝——大多数中国人在日常生活不可缺少的所谓超级应用，涵盖了从电子支付、叫车到餐馆点餐的各种服务——已经可以绑定国际信用卡，而不像过去局限于中国的银行卡。（大多数商家不直接接受信用卡。）而且在5月份，政府要求酒店不得拒绝接待外宾，这曾经是一种普遍做法。
中国为什么要这么做？
简单来说就是——缺钱。
随着中国的经济放缓，消费者变得谨慎，引发了对通缩的担忧。政府还希望重新吸引外国投资，许多外国企业因中国长期的疫情封锁和日益严峻的政治环境而感到不安。为期15天的免签政策不仅可以用于观光旅游，还可以用来做生意。
吸引更多外国游客也有助于政府反驳来自美国和其他西方国家的指责，即中国对外国人越来越不友好。
游客在内蒙古的一片薰衣草田。
中国政府去年修订了《反间谍法》，扩大了间谍活动的定义，国家宣传部门也警告，一些看似无害的外国人可能正试图破坏中国的国家安全。尽管如此，政府坚称，有关仇外心理和民族主义抬头的报道均属捏造，是那些试图阻止中国崛起的国家精心策划的谎言。
会有更多外国游客到来吗？
根据中国的统计数据，今年上半年，全国各口岸入境的外国人为1463.5万人次。其中大部分是免签入境。
这一数字是去年同期的2.5倍，但远低于疫情前2019年上半年2400万人次的水平。
中国在提升游客体验所做的努力取得了好坏参半的结果。
不久前的一个周五，24岁的卢卡·勒费夫尔和21岁的夏洛特·科莱从巴黎到越南，期间在上海停留10个小时，想在这段时间尽可能多跑一些景点。他们参观了豫园，这是一处亭台楼阁建筑群，并在主要的商业街南京东路拍照。
但他们在使用手机支付时遇到了麻烦，只能转而使用现金。他们还对无处不在的监控摄像头感到惊讶。
“对我们来说，这有点太过了，因为我们在法国没有这个，”科莱说。“但我们明白这是为了安全。”
“（在摄像头下）呆10个小时，倒是没问题，”勒费夫尔补充道。即使是那些弄懂了中国应用程序的游客也表示，要上手还是需要点时间。
上海的黄浦区，摄于上个月。
在上海历史悠久的外滩溜达时，瑞士大学生梅琳·拉肖和 纳迪亚·霍夫曼说，她们在西安、重庆和上海旅行时，将信用卡与支付宝做了绑定。她们说，方便程度“令人惊叹”。
但第一次来中国的拉肖说，她主要靠辅修汉学、以前来过中国的霍夫曼。她之前不知道支付宝除了用于支付，还可以用来在餐馆点餐，而应用内的菜单是中文的。
中国许多主要旅游景点，如北京的故宫，也需要通过微信等平台提前预约，这些平台也基本是中文的。（由于超级应用程序无处不在，中国的许多网站维护不善。）
“中国不适合菜鸟，”霍夫曼说。
By some measures, visiting China has never been easier.
China has been making a huge push to attract foreign tourists in recent months. It has rolled out a visa-free program for dozens of countries, with the list still growing. It has pledged to make it easier for visitors to pay for things, book hotels and get around.
The goal is to signal that China is open for business — and fun! — again, after three years of pandemic controls made it literally impossible for most foreigners to enter. The government is especially keen to attract visitors as it tries to rev up growth.
China also wants to show that it is still connected to the world, despite tensions with the West and the growing reach of its security apparatus at home.
In a sign of its eagerness, Beijing has offered the visa waivers to countries that have not done the same in return — a rare move for a government that usually insists on reciprocity.
China has been making a huge push to attract foreign tourists in recent months. It has rolled out a visa-free program for dozens of countries, with the list still growing. It has pledged to make it easier for visitors to pay for things, book hotels and get around.
The goal is to signal that China is open for business — and fun! — again, after three years of pandemic controls made it literally impossible for most foreigners to enter. The government is especially keen to attract visitors as it tries to rev up growth.
China also wants to show that it is still connected to the world, despite tensions with the West and the growing reach of its security apparatus at home.
In a sign of its eagerness, Beijing has offered the visa waivers to countries that have not done the same in return — a rare move for a government that usually insists on reciprocity.
But actually traveling to China can still be a major challenge. Here’s what to know:
In addition, citizens of more than 50 countries, including the United States, are now eligible for visa-free transit. They can enter China for 72 or 144 hours, depending on their port of entry, if they are continuing on to other destinations.
What’s new?
China is unilaterally offering visa-free entry for 15 days to citizens from a slew of countries, mostly Western European ones like France, Germany and Spain. The program began in December and has continued to expand; Australia, New Zealand and Poland were included last month. It is set to run through 2025.In addition, citizens of more than 50 countries, including the United States, are now eligible for visa-free transit. They can enter China for 72 or 144 hours, depending on their port of entry, if they are continuing on to other destinations.
