Foreign Tourists Move Beyond Check-in Travel in China

China's 15th Five-Year Plan for Culture and Tourism aims to launch more culturally rich products for international markets by 2030. Shanghai's inbound tourism is shifting: foreign visitors wear hanfu, learn to make xiaolongbao and ride autonomous vehicles. A Yuyuan photo studio serves up to 100 groups daily at peak, with 60-70% foreign tourists; top five source countries this summer were Russia, South Korea, the US, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia. Shanghai launched the 'Huxiaoyou' service center supporting 10 languages and 120+ currencies for foreign card payments. As of early September, 3.142 million visitors entered under visa-free and 240-hour transit policies, over 66.4% of foreign arrivals.