(Yicai Global) Nov. 16 -- Soon foreigners from over 50 countries, such as Russia, the UK, US, and South Korea, can visit the five Chinese cities of southeastern Xiamen, northeastern Qingdao, central Wuhan, as well as southwest Chengdu and Kunming without a visa for up to 6 days.

The  State Council, the country's supreme organ of state power, has approved a new visa policy which grants citizens from 53 countries a transit visa for up to 144 hours, National Immigration Administration said in a statement yesterday. The new policy will start on Jan. 1, 2019. In order to qualify, passengers need to show an onward ticket and their entry and exit points must be within these five cities' airports or harbors.

The policy shift will double the number of hours these countries' citizens may stay before moving onto their next destination, which aims to provide more convenience for foreigners to enter and leave China for short-term tourism or business visits, according to the immigration admin.

Before this, only the three regions of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai, as well as northeastern China's Liaoning, Shenyang and Dalian, have given 144-hour transit visa waivers to travelers from these 53 countries. The number of foreign visitors to China is over 40 million each year.

Editor: Emmi Laine