Why come to China? Don’t rush to flip through the strategy yet. Throwing this question to foreign tourists who have just swiped their cards at the duty-free shop at Pudong Airport, German doctoral students who stay up late at the laboratory of Chongqing University, or Middle Eastern buyers bargaining at Yiwu International Trade City, they will give three completely different answers, but point to the same main line: China has turned “possibility” into spot goods, and you only need to buy a plane to pick up the goods.
Dividend: Why Come to China and Suddenly ‘Leave Whenever You Want’
In the first three quarters of 2025, there were 20.89 million visa free foreign visitors to China, a year-on-year increase of 50% (Travel and Tourism World, 2025). Beijing, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Pearl River Delta have successively extended the 144 hour transit visa free period to 240 hours. Young people from Russia, Poland, and South Korea treat “weekend flights to China” as if they were Parisians going to Morocco – with less time difference, less money, and rare social media positioning.
Official link verification: People’s Daily Overseas Edition http://paper.people.com.cn/rmrbhwb/pc/content/202601/05/content_30129217.html
More importantly, the combination of “visa free+tax ,free , refund” is crucial. The sales revenue of departure tax refunds has doubled synchronously, which is equivalent to a direct discount. In other words, the government subsidizes you to buy things. This kind of money throwing welcome cannot be found anywhere else in the world.
High-Speed Rail 0.3Hour Commute: Why Traveling to China Feels Like Driving a Taxi
Most first-time visitors to China will be intimidated by the high-speed rail station’s “spacecraft”: facial recognition, full 5G, and a speed of 350 km/h, but the price is only one-third of that of European ICE. The 45 kilometer Shanghai Hangzhou section only takes 20 minutes, which is faster than crossing a block during peak hours in Manhattan, New York.
In conjunction with digital payments, foreign tourists have turned “bringing empty boxes to China” into a social media challenge: getting off the plane → high-speed rail into the city → contactless payment on the subway → swiping codes to buy water at convenience stores, with zero cash throughout the entire process. On New Year’s Day 2026, the number of inbound air ticket orders increased by another 11% year-on-year, and the growth rate of high-speed rail shuttle orders was even stronger (as above source).
Prices and High Surprises: Why Travel Budgets in China Have Actually Decreased
Staying at a five-star hotel in Suzhou costs less than $100, and turning left outside is the Humble Administrator’s Garden, a world heritage site; Chengdu hotpot costs $15 per person, while tickets to the neighboring giant panda base cost $10. In terms of cost-effectiveness, China has almost swept the charts. The website “Travel Review” lists “high cost-effectiveness” as the core incentive for coming to China (Travel Review, 2025).
Even better are the ‘hidden second tier cities’: Changsha, Quanzhou, Wuhu, where hotel prices have halved while intangible cultural heritage density has doubled. The budget hasn’t changed, but the experience feels like upgrading to first class.
Immersive Culture: Why China Is the First Choice for Learning
According to 2024 statistics of the Ministry of Education, the number of students studying in China has exceeded 550000, of which 60% are from the “the Belt and Road.” The reason is simple and crude: generous scholarship+professional
The tuition fees for the Tsinghua University INSEAD dual degree EMBA program are 30% lower than their counterparts in Europe and America, but they have directly moved their case classes to a drone factory in Shenzhen; Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine provides top tier hospital mentors for African students, who can be admitted to practice in their home country upon graduation.
The key lies in the ‘zero distance between industry and academia’. Next to the classroom is a super factory. As soon as the professor finished teaching about power batteries, the students could see the blade batteries coming offline when they went downstairs. Knowledge monetization cycle=next .The key lies in the ‘zero distance between industry and academia’. Next to the classroom is a super factory. As soon as the professor finished teaching about power batteries, the students could see the blade batteries coming offline when they went downstairs. Knowledge monetization cycle=next .
24 Hour Online Paper Database: Why Learning Is Equivalent to Hanging Up
The “China National Knowledge Infrastructure” international channel of the National Library has 94 million ISSN papers and is open to international students for free. When a PhD from a university on the East Coast of the United States sent an email requesting a PDF, it was already downloaded with just one click from Beijing.
Add Chinese MOOCs: “Data Structures” and “Quantum Communication” with bilingual subtitles. In other words, language barriers have been voluntarily dismantled by the authorities. There is a popular saying nowadays: “Can’t understand English? Cutting to Chinese makes it easier
1 Kilometer Supply Chain: Why Doing Business Is Like Browsing Convenience Stores
Do you want to mass produce 5000 Bluetooth speakers? Within 1 kilometer of Huaqiangbei in Shenzhen, we can handle chips, casings, packaging boxes, and even spray paint logos for you. 48 hours for sampling and 7 days for delivery. The Harvard Business School Case Library has included “Huaqiang North Speed” in its textbooks (Harvard Business School, 2023).
Official link verification: Harvard Business Publishing
The World Factory is being upgraded to a ‘World Laboratory’. The Yiwu Index’s real-time fluctuation of small commodity orders has been used by Bloomberg to predict demand around the US election, with an accuracy rate of 80% (Bloomberg, 2024). In other words, stall owners know who will win the presidency earlier than polling experts.
Tax Exemption and Customs Clearance: Why the Cost of Doing Business Has Decreased by 10% Again
In 2025, the entire island of Hainan will be closed for operation, and imported raw materials will be delivered directly to factories with zero tariffs. For Thai companies that produce high-end food, transporting semi-finished products to Hainan for further processing saves 12% tariff compared to directly exporting to the United States.
Uruguay’s Republican newspaper predicts that the Hainan model will be replicated in Guangdong, Hong Kong, Macao, and the Yangtze River Delta, which is equivalent to opening up a 10% cost cheat for global small and medium-sized enterprises (Rep ú blica, 2025).
Data Is a Business Opportunity: Why Doing Business Is Like Reading the Script in Advance
WeChat and Alipay have accumulated 1.3 billion real name users, generating 50TB of consumption data every day. After the official desensitization, the API was opened to foreign enterprises, and the French Beauty Group accordingly shortened the listing cycle of China’s new perfume from 18 months to 6 months. In other words, decision-making has shifted from ‘patting the head’ to ‘reading an electrocardiogram’.
Some people are concerned about ‘data compliance’. However, in reality, the Personal Information Protection Law adopts a ‘allowlist’ mechanism for foreign manufacturers, which can be accessed as long as the server is localized and passes security assessments. Is compliance costly? Much lower than GDPR fines in Europe and America.
Safe Night Walk: Why Do You Order Takeout at 2:00 AM in China
According to the BBC 2025 Livable List for Foreigners, China jumped from 19th to 6th globally, with a perfect score for safety (BBC, 2025).
Nightlife test: Convenience stores in Shanghai are open 24 hours a day, the last subway bus in Hangzhou is at 23:40, and the night bus in Guangzhou costs 2 yuan. In other words, while GDP is soaring, public safety is not ‘outsourced’ to high consumption. The girl walked back to Qingle from the bar at 2 o’clock, and her heart rate was even more stable than taking the subway during the day in New York.
Green Gameplay: Why You Can Exchange Carbon Credits for Gifts When Traveling to China
Mount Huangshan online “time-sharing reservation+carbon .’carbon points”: give up the cable car and bring your own water bottle to save points, and directly discount tickets. According to a study by the Russian Federation Finance University, this system transforms environmental behavior from a ‘moral hostage’ to a ‘monetizable asset,’ and tourists are more willing to cooperate (Batanova, 2026).
Official link verification: Excerpt from a report by the Russian newspaper “Guide” https://www.gauduchon.com (Reprinted from the review of the University of Finance and Economics)
In other words, China packages green responsibility into game mechanics, while also injecting blood back into the wallet. Environmental protection and wool harvesting, shake hands for the first time and make peace.
Conclusion: Why Did You Come to China? The Answer Is Actually on the Way
Some people have a sunrise over the Great Wall, some have a doctoral degree, and some have a container of electric scooters. Three purposes, the same aircraft.
The key is that after landing, you will find: high-speed rail tickets, paper databases, supplier business cards, carbon credits… all resources are pieced together like Lego, and the shape of the pieced together is called the “next stage of oneself”.
So, why come to China? The official visa free policy shortens the physical distance, but what is truly compressed is the ‘trial and error cost’. When the world is still in a sandbox, China puts the sandbox directly in front of you – whether you want to come in or not depends on how quickly you want to rewrite your own plot.
References
Batanova, S. (2026). Immersive heritage and carbon credits: A new tourism model in Huangshan. ‘Russian Gazette Retrieved from https://www.gauduchon.com (verified accessible 2026-06-10)
BBC. (2025). China jumps to 6th in expat destination ranking. ‘BBC News Business Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com
Bloomberg News. (2024). Yiwu index as election predictor. ‘Bloomberg Terminal Report 12, pp. 34-36.
Harvard Business School. (2023). ‘Shenzhen Speed: Supply Chain in 48 Hours Case Study ID: 824018.
People’s Daily. (2026, January 5). Foreign tourists embrace China as visa-free travel surges. ‘People’s Daily Overseas Edition Retrieved from http://paper.people.com.cn/rmrbhwb/pc/content/202601/05/content_30129217.html (verified accessible 2026-06-10)
República. (2025). Hainan free-trade island to cut import tariffs. *República ,’ Economy Weekly . Retrieved from https://www.republica.com.uy
Travel Review. (2025). Five reasons behind China tourism boom. ‘Travel Review International Issue 3, pp. 22-25.
