A visa-free transit stopover: 2 to 5 days in Beijing or Shanghai

Open this route in the trip planner to fit it to your dates, with booking reminders.

China’s 240-hour visa-free transit turns a long layover into a real visit: citizens of many countries can spend up to 10 days in China without a visa, as long as they fly on to a third country or region. This route suits travelers stopping over in Beijing or Shanghai with two to five days to spare, with a 2-day and a 4-day plan for each city. Check that your passport and ticket qualify with the visa checker before you plan anything else.

The route at a glance

This is the 4-day Shanghai stopover, the most popular version; the 2-day Shanghai plan and both Beijing plans follow below.

240-hour visa-free transit: the rules this stopover depends on

A visa-free transit stopover in Beijing or Shanghai only works if your trip meets every 240-hour transit condition:

1. A third country or region. You arrive from one country or region and leave for a different one. United States → Shanghai → Seoul qualifies; United States → Shanghai → United States does not. Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan count as separate regions.
2. A confirmed onward ticket departing within 240 hours, saved offline or printed.
3. A designated port. Beijing Capital, Beijing Daxing, Shanghai Pudong and Shanghai Hongqiao are all designated, as are Hangzhou Xiaoshan and Nanjing Lukou, and you may enter at one and leave from another.
4. The permitted area. Stay within the provincial-level areas that allow transit. They include Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei around Beijing, and Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang around Shanghai, so a stopover in Shanghai can take in Suzhou, Nanjing or Hangzhou. Leaving the permitted area breaks the terms of your entry.
5. Passport validity of at least three months.

The 240 hours typically start at 00:00 on the day after you arrive. At check-in, tell the airline you are using visa-free transit to China and show your onward ticket; at immigration, use the transit lane. The full rules are in Visas and entry. If your passport also qualifies for 30-day visa-free entry, the onward-ticket rule doesn’t apply to you; see the visa-free policy tracker for when that policy is set to end.

Check before you go: The transit country list, the designated ports and the permitted areas change from time to time. Confirm them on nia.gov.cn or with the visa checker before you book.

Shanghai in 2 days on a visa-free transit stopover

A 2-day Shanghai stopover on 240-hour visa-free transit covers the riverfront and the old city, and needs few advance bookings, which makes Shanghai the easiest stopover city if your plans are last-minute. Most international flights land at Shanghai Pudong; the maglev runs to Longyang Road, where you change to the metro, and Metro Line 2 runs from the airport into the city. Stay near Line 2 or Line 10. See the Shanghai city guide.

• Day 1: the Bund, East Nanjing Road and a ferry across the Huangpu to Lujiazui for the skyline at night. This works even if you land in the afternoon.
• Day 2: Yu Garden and the Old City in the morning, the former French Concession in the afternoon.

Shanghai in 4 days on a visa-free transit stopover

A 4-day Shanghai stopover on 240-hour visa-free transit adds a museum day and a day trip to the 2-day plan above.

• Day 1: the Bund, East Nanjing Road and a ferry to Lujiazui for the skyline at night.
• Day 2: Yu Garden and the Old City in the morning, the former French Concession in the afternoon.
• Day 3: the Shanghai Museum at People’s Square, Jing’an Temple and an evening walk along Suzhou Creek or the riverside. The Shanghai Museum needs a passport reservation and is closed on Mondays.
• Day 4: a water town, Suzhou or Hangzhou. Zhujiajiao is the easiest water town to reach and lies within Shanghai itself. Suzhou (in Jiangsu) and Hangzhou (in Zhejiang) are short high-speed train rides away; book on 12306.

Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang are all within the permitted area for 240-hour transit, so day trips to Suzhou and Hangzhou are allowed; you can travel between the three freely.

Beijing in 2 days on a visa-free transit stopover

A 2-day Beijing stopover on 240-hour visa-free transit covers the two sights most visitors come for. Check whether you land at Beijing Capital or Beijing Daxing; both have an airport express metro line into the city, but they are far apart. Stay near Metro Line 1, 2 or 5. See the Beijing city guide.

• Day 1: Tiananmen Square, the Palace Museum and Jingshan Park for the view. Both need a reservation under your passport; book the Palace Museum the moment your flights are confirmed. It usually closes on Mondays, so if day 1 is a Monday, swap the two days.
• Day 2: the Great Wall at Badaling or Mutianyu. Both sections lie within the Beijing municipality.

Beijing in 4 days on a visa-free transit stopover

A 4-day Beijing stopover on 240-hour visa-free transit follows the first four days of a full Beijing visit.

• Day 1: Tiananmen Square, the Palace Museum, Jingshan Park for the view.
• Day 2: the Great Wall (Badaling or Mutianyu).
• Day 3: the Temple of Heaven in the morning, hutongs and Shichahai in the afternoon.
• Day 4: the Summer Palace, then the Lama Temple or a museum.

Keep the Palace Museum off a Monday by swapping days. Tianjin and Hebei are in the permitted area too, so high-speed rail day trips to Tianjin or Chengde work; check any other destination on the visa checker before you add it.

Bookings to make before you go

A visa-free transit stopover is short, so make every booking before you land:

1. Your onward ticket to a third country or region, departing within 240 hours.
2. Hotels for every night, at places that accept foreign guests; the hotel registers you with the police at check-in. See Hotels and registration.
3. Beijing: the Palace Museum and Tiananmen Square for the same day, and Badaling if you choose it. Popular Palace Museum days sell out within hours of release.
4. Shanghai: the Shanghai Museum for day 3, and train tickets for Suzhou or Hangzhou. See how to book train tickets.
5. Payments and data. Link your card to Alipay or WeChat Pay at home with the payment setup tool, and pick a data plan with the SIM chooser.

The sight bookings tool lists each sight’s channel and window, and Booking sights explains real-name booking.

Make it your own

A Beijing or Shanghai stopover on 240-hour visa-free transit can stretch or shrink with your flights:

• Five days in Shanghai: add a second day trip, Shanghai Museum East or Shanghai Disneyland.
• Five days in Beijing: add the National Museum or a second Great Wall section.
• Both cities: with five days or more, enter at Beijing and leave from Shanghai, linked by a high-speed train of a few hours, and use the 7-day Beijing, Xi’an and Shanghai route for ideas.

Put your dates into the trip planner for booking reminders, and keep the 240-hour clock in mind when you set your onward flight.