Yangtze River Delta region to launch visa-free transit policy

The country's first cross-region visa-free transit policy will take effect on Jan 30 in the Yangtze River Delta region, according to a statement by the Ministry of Public Security on Tuesday.

据中国公安部星期二发布的一则声明，全国首个跨区域的过境免签政策将于01月30日在长三角地区正式实施。

The policy gives 144 hours－six days－with no visa requirement to foreign tourists or businesspeople from 51 countries who pass through Jiangsu province, Zhejiang province or Shanghai. To qualify, a passenger must hold valid international travel documents and booked tickets with confirmed dates and destinations.

该政策对来自51个国家的，从江苏、浙江或上海过境的外国游客或商务人士实施144小时（六天）免签证。乘客必须持有效的国际旅行证件，并确定好日期和目的地，预订好机票，才能获此资格。

Since 2013, Shanghai, Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang, and Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu, have had a 72-hour visa-free policy to enable tourists to stop and stay without a visa, but only if they entered one of the cities via an airport. Now the entry points have been expanded to include ports and railway stations.

自2013年起，上海，浙江省省会杭州，江苏省省会南京，已经实施了72小时免签政策，使游客能短期停留，但他们还必须是由空港口岸入境才行。而现在的入境口岸则新增了海港和铁路口岸。

Speaking of Shanghai, Lu Hanlong, a professor at the Institute of Sociology under the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, said, "This measure aims to transform the city into a regional leader with global influence, which will attract more foreigners to stop in those places and understand local cultures better."

提及上海，上海社会科学院社会学研究所的刘汉龙教授说："这项措施旨在将上海市打造成为具有全球影响力的区域龙头，这将吸引更多的外国人在那些地方逗留，更好的了解中国的地方文化。"

In addition, cities in the Yangtze River Delta region have created a system of public transportation that allows tourists to travel conveniently between attractions. Also, high-speed trains in the region enable travelers to get from Nanjing to Shanghai in only an hour and to Hangzhou in just two hours.

此外，长三角地区的城市已经建造了公共交通系统，方便游客在旅游景点的出行。另外，区域性高铁的开通使得游客从南京到上海只要半个小时，到杭州只要2个小时。

"I am excited to hear about the extended visa-free transit policy, as it was quite convenient when I tried the 72-hour one previously, entering Shanghai before heading to Chengdu in Sichuan province. I would like to try it later when I travel to China again," said Jennifer Hammond, a public relations officer from the United States.

美国的公共关系官员珍妮弗.哈蒙德说，"听闻过境免签证政策延长，我很开心。因为以前实行72小时过境免签时，我从上海入境后，再去四川成都，非常方便。下一次来中国时我还想试试。"

"It will definitely attract more foreign people who take business trips to China to apply this method to spend a few more days traveling around as a bonus."

"这肯定会吸引更多到中国来出差的商务人士申请此方式，以便能在中国游玩几天，作为对自己的奖励。"