In January China introduced a 72 hour transit without visa policy for Beijing, matching the policy that was in place for Shanghai. This is a great option for someone looking to visit China without getting a visa, though it’s worth noting that you technically have to be continuing to a third country in order to be considered “in transit” (though there are some creative ways around that using refundable tickets).
Anyway, it was just pointed out to me in the comments section of my post on China Southern’s new A380 service to Sydney that a 72-hour transit without visa policy will also be introduced for Guangzhou.
Per TravelChinaGuide.com:
From June of 2013, Guangzhou will also adopt this new policy for passengers transiting via Guangzhou Baiyun Airport (CAN):
Argentina, Austria, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States.
While I can’t find an official source on this yet, this article also suggests that this new policy will actually be in place. As soon as I find an official source I’ll be sure to post it here. It would be awesome to be able to do a couple of days in Guangzhou without a visa, so I’m very much looking forward to this change.
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