Ordinary visa-free entry
You are visiting mainland China directly for tourism, business, family visits, or exchange under a passport-based visa-free policy.
China 240-hour transit
China 240-Hour Visa-Free Transit Checker
Check whether your route has the right shape for China transit visa-free entry before you book flights or show up at airline check-in.
240-hour transit checker
Build your route first
Do not start with policy names. Start with your actual ticket path: where you come from, where you enter mainland China, where you plan to go inside China, and where you leave next.
Plain-English model: first check the route shape, then the time and onward ticket, then whether your planned China cities stay inside the allowed area.
Route shape
Are you going from one country or region, through mainland China, to a different one?
Time + ticket
Will you leave within the allowed time with a confirmed onward ticket?
Port + stay area
Are your entry, exit, and China cities inside the allowed port-and-stay-area rules?
6. Which mainland China cities will you visit?
This is the part many travelers miss. Your route shape can look fine, but planned cities may still need a stay-area check.
7. How long will you stay in mainland China?
Likely eligible
This route looks likely to fit 240-hour transit logic
Your route has the basic shape travelers usually need for China 240-hour transit visa-free entry.
Why this result
- Your stay appears to be within 240 hours.
- United States is selected from this starter eligible-passport list.
- Shanghai is selected from this starter designated-gateway list.
- Shanghai is selected as the mainland China exit city or port.
- United Kingdom and Japan are different countries or regions.
What to do before flying
- Check the current official eligible-country and port list before booking or flying.
- Confirm your airline will accept the route at check-in.
- Keep your onward ticket and hotel address ready for border inspection.
- Commonly used for Pudong and Hongqiao routes. Confirm the current Yangtze River Delta stay area before adding far-away cities.
Your trip checks
Route shapeOK
United Kingdom to mainland China to Japan has the basic third-country or region shape.
Time + ticketOK
Your selected stay is within the 240-hour window and you have a confirmed onward ticket.
Stay areaOK
Entry and exit ports are both in the starter Yangtze River Delta starter area model, and selected cities fit that area. Still confirm current official rules before travel.
How to read this result
Route shape
Are you going from one country or region, through mainland China, to a different one?
Time + ticket
Will you leave within the allowed time with a confirmed onward ticket?
Port + stay area
Are your entry, exit, and China cities inside the allowed port-and-stay-area rules?
A route can have the right transit shape but still need a manual check if the exact port, exit port, or planned cities are unclear.
Do not skip this
- This checker is not immigration advice. Final decisions are made by airline check-in staff and Chinese border inspection.
- Keep passport, confirmed onward ticket, hotel address, and your full route ready to show.
- Old 72-hour or 144-hour summaries may be outdated; check current official sources before travel.
First, separate the concepts
Visa-free entry, transit visa-free entry, and transit visas are different
A lot of traveler confusion comes from mixing these three ideas. The checker above is for the second one: passing through mainland China to a different third country or region.
Transit visa-free entry
You are passing through mainland China on the way to a different third country or region within the allowed time.
Transit visa
A visa category may be relevant if you do not fit visa-free entry or transit-without-visa conditions.
Route examples
Think in tickets, not slogans
The question is not only “Can I enter China without a visa?” The practical question is: what is the country or region immediately before mainland China, and what is the first country or region after it?
London → Shanghai → Tokyo
Usually the right transit shape
The immediate previous country and next country are different. You still need passport, port, ticket, and timing checks.
London → Shanghai → London
Usually not transit visa-free
This is a round trip, not transit to a third country or region. Check ordinary visa-free entry or visa rules instead.
London → Shanghai → Hong Kong
May fit transit logic
Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan are commonly treated as separate regions for transit checks, but confirm your exact route.
Before you rely on the result
Six things to verify
- Your passport country is on the current eligible list.
- Your exact entry and exit ports are designated for the policy.
- Your previous and next countries or regions are different.
- Your onward ticket is confirmed and leaves within the allowed time.
- Your planned cities stay inside the allowed travel area.
- Your airline will accept the route at check-in.
Official check required
TipTipChina can help you find obvious route problems, but it cannot approve entry. Before traveling, verify the current policy with official immigration, embassy, visa-center, port-of-entry, and airline sources.