A foreign traveler goes through entry‑inspection procedures at Hangzhou airport on Aug 14. [Photo/Tide News]

Hangzhou in East China's Zhejiang province is seeing more foreign visitors than ever this summer. Ports in the eastern city have handled over three million inbound and outbound trips so far in 2026. Foreign arrivals are up more than 12 percent.

More than 160,000 foreign visitors entered China through Hangzhou visa-free this year. Most of them came from the Republic of Korea, Vietnam, Singapore and Malaysia. New routes to Busan and Ho Chi Minh City have been added during the summer, and flights to the ROK, Thailand and China's Hong Kong SAR have also been increased. The Hangzhou border inspection station has introduced an electronic arrival card, which allows travelers to fill it out online before landing, cutting waiting time.

Christian Moritz Peter Vollmar, a tourist from Germany, said, "I just arrived to China, so I went to the online website and checked the immigration form, which was very convenient, using the QR code that was provided by the airline. And now I'm looking forward to my first visit to China."

Brandon Scott Mills, a tourist from America, said, "I've traveled from Beijing to Xi'an to Nanning, and now I live here in Hangzhou. The airport here is very clean and efficient. The arrival card can be a bit daunting if you don't know what to do or don't know what some of the information is, so it's very nice to have airport staff come and help foreigners when they don't know what to put down. My experience in China has been a very good one, the people are very nice, and I would recommend any foreigner that wants to come and try."