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
GUANGZHOU, June 18 (Xinhua) — With the deepening of trade and economic cooperation between China and Central Asia, travel to the region has become one of the hottest topics on Chinese social media.
On the popular Chinese social network Xiaohongshu /Rednote/, the number of views of discussions under posts about both Central Asia itself and travels there has exceeded 50 million and 20 million, respectively.
A young Chinese blogger’s guide to Central Asia in Xiaohongshu has gained over 5,000 likes and favorites. Local folk customs, magnificent natural landscapes, and unique cultural charm of the Central Asian countries have attracted the attention of social media users.
According to the Utour travel agency, in the first half of 2025, the tourist flow of Chinese citizens to Central Asia increased by 100 percent year-on-year. Data from Fliggy, an online travel platform owned by Alibaba, showed that since the beginning of 2025, the number of bookings of air tickets from China to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan increased by 60 percent and 47 percent year-on-year, respectively. Popular destinations for the Chinese were Tashkent, Almaty, Shymkent, Bukhara, etc.
China has introduced a mutual visa-free regime with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Over the past year, the number of mutual trips of citizens of China and Kazakhstan exceeded 1.2 million.
In March 2025, the new Guangzhou-Almaty air route was officially opened. The development of the tourism industry in these two places has accelerated.
In early June, Zhang Qun, a resident of Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province, South China, visited Kazakhstan. Although she knew little about the Central Asian country before leaving, the experience left a deep impression on her.
“The warriors wrestle, ride horses, shoot, and tame eagles, which allowed us to immerse ourselves in a unique culture,” she said.
She also noted that Almaty and other cities in Kazakhstan are very clean and have a high level of greenery. “There are signs in Russian, English and Chinese at the Almaty airport, and there are no barriers to communication. Local residents are also very friendly to Chinese tourists,” she emphasized.
As more Chinese tourists travel to Central Asia, more and more Central Asian citizens are also becoming more interested in China.
On June 1, 2025, a plane with 160 passengers on board landed at Tianshan International Airport in Urumqi, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region /Northwest China/. They became the first passengers from Uzbekistan to visit China since the Agreement between the PRC and the Republic of Uzbekistan on Mutual Exemption from Visa Requirements came into force.
Under the agreement, citizens of both countries are exempt from visa requirements when entering, leaving or transiting through the territories of the two countries for a period of no more than 30 days for each individual stay and for a total period of no more than 90 days within any 180-day period.
According to the Chinese travel platform Ctrip, since the beginning of 2025, the number of bookings of inbound tours among Central Asians has increased by 106 percent year-on-year. In particular, among citizens of Uzbekistan, this figure has increased by 164 percent year-on-year. The most popular destinations among tourists from Central Asia were Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Beijing, Urumqi, Xi’an, etc.
In recent years, the passenger flow from five Central Asian countries at Guangzhou Baiyun Airport has been steadily increasing. Since the beginning of this year, as of June 17, the total incoming and outgoing passenger flow from five Central Asian countries recorded at the checkpoint at Baiyun Airport was about 28 thousand person-times, which is more than 460 percent more than in the same period last year. Among them, the most obvious was the increase in tourist flow from Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.
Guangzhou’s tourism industry is experiencing a rapid revival of tourism projects in Central Asia. Huang Jingru, deputy general manager of Guangzhilu Travel Agency, said that thanks to the opening of more direct flights and favorable visa policies, her agency’s tourism services sector in Central Asia has grown by more than 200 percent in the past two years.
“It is expected that in the future, tourism products from China to Kazakhstan and other Central Asian countries will have great potential in the Guangzhou market,” she said. -0-