If your passport isn't on China's 30-day visa-free list — most notably the United States — the 240-hour transit policy is the workaround almost every traveler qualifies for. Ten full days, no visa, no fee. The single rule that trips people up: you must be transiting, i.e. arriving from country A and departing to country B.
The three rules that matter
- Third-country routing. Home → China → home does NOT qualify. Home → China → any other country or region does. A cheap Shanghai→Seoul or Chengdu→Bangkok hop on the way back is the classic move.
- 240 hours = 10 days, counted from 00:00 the day after entry — so in practice you get a bit more.
- Stay within the permitted provinces. The policy covers the regions nearly every itinerary uses — Beijing, Shanghai, Xi'an, Chengdu/Sichuan, Guangdong, Yunnan and more — and you can move between them.
What to show at check-in and the border
Airlines are the strictest checkpoint: have your confirmed onward ticket to the third country ready before check-in, plus first-night hotel details. At immigration, ask for the transit stamp (a dedicated counter at major airports) — do not walk through the normal visa lane.
A 10-day route that fits the policy perfectly
Day 1–4 Beijing (Great Wall, Forbidden City) → high-speed rail to Xi'an, day 5–7 (Terracotta Warriors, city wall) → fly to Chengdu, day 8–10 (pandas, Sichuan food) → exit to Bangkok/Singapore/Seoul. We can build and fact-check this exact plan for you, free.