Translation. Region: Russian Federal
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
BEIJING, May 22 (Xinhua) — China and Russia have declared 2024-2025 as the Years of Culture. Diverse humanitarian exchanges between the two countries have become an important bridge for deepening bilateral relations and strengthening friendship between the peoples of both countries. The growing flow of tourists from Russia to China has become a bright stroke in the picture of humanitarian interaction between the two countries.
As reported by the newspaper “Kitayskaya Kultura”, at a recent presentation of tourism resources in the Beidaihe district of Qinhuangdao City (Hebei Province, Northern China), a representative of the Russian side noted that the golden beaches and warm sun of this region are very popular with Russian tourists, expressing hope for even closer cooperation in the future.
By the end of 2024, Beidaihe’s foreign tourist flow was 30.9 thousand people-times, of which 24.5 thousand people-times were Russian citizens. Since the beginning of 2025, friendly artistic competitions and other events aimed at attracting even more Russian tourists have been held here.
“We will definitely bring more Russians to Weihai!” said representatives of 31 Russian tour operators during a familiarization tour of the Huancui District of Weihai City in Shandong Province /East China/, during which they visited the local iconic structure – the “Gate of Happiness”. Charter flights from Vladivostok and Khabarovsk to Shandong are expected to launch in July this year, and the current tour operators’ visit is aimed at developing new tourist routes.
As of October 2024, China and Russia have established 167 pairs of sister city relations between cities and provinces, which has contributed to the rapid development of tourism.
According to the Chinese travel platform Ctrip, during the May holidays of this year, bookings of tours to China for tourists from Russia increased by 213 percent year-on-year.
The number of Russian tourists on Hainan Island /South China/ is also growing rapidly. Factors such as affordable prices, quality service, developed resort infrastructure and a variety of tourist programs contribute to the active growth of sales of relevant tourist products.
A large number of Russians arrive in the city of Heihe in Heilongjiang Province /Northeast China/ every day. They visit local restaurants and intangible cultural heritage workshops. A regular visitor to the city, Natalia, noted that she likes traditional Chinese medicine methods – acupuncture and massage. “I have even mastered some techniques and now give massages to my family members.”
The growing tourist flow is stimulating the modernization of services. “In April, we received 36 groups of 258 Russian tourists, and in May we expect 19 groups of 184 people,” said Li Fan, head of the international department of Tianma International Travel Service in Zhangjiajie, Hunan Province, Central China. Since the beginning of the year, the number of Russian tourists in this company has increased by 50 percent compared to the same period last year. -0-