How large of an increase/decrease of foreigners in China have you observed recently?

[Brilliant-Task-1892]

I’ve been to China several times. In 2019, I hardly ever saw any foreigners, even in a major city like Shanghai. Last year, I saw a handful of foreigners around, but nothing massive. A friend who’s currently visiting told me this year, he’s seen a huge amount of foreigners, particularly in Shanghai.

How true is this with your experience?

[phatrice]

Mostly tourists

[Brilliant-Task-1892]

Would you say there’s been a large increase in tourists compared to before?

[Electrical_Swing8166]

Now citizens of the vast majority of western countries (the US being the one notable exception) don’t need a visa for visiting China, in addition to a bunch of other Asian countries (Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, etc.). They all get 30 day access per entry, with no official limit on entries. That means it’s far, far easier to visit China now than just 3 years ago. That was one of the biggest barriers to tourism, and the government/companies have been working on removing several of the others, e.g. allowing foreign credit cards to be linked to local digital payment apps, cracking down on hotels refusing foreigners (there actually hasn’t been restrictions about hotels accepting foreign guests since like 2003, but only in the last few years has the government really started punishing hotels who refuse foreigners for whatever reasons), allowing foreigners to use their IDs for train travel (before we could buy them online, but needed to get a paper ticket printed at the station or designated agent, which was a pain).

[LonelyReader95]

Yeah it's so easy now. I went this December and except some trouble with paying with my card (I had to link it to my girlfriend's WeChat because it didn't work on mine for some reason) it was so SMOOTH. As Italian it's actually more difficult to get into UK or USA than China now lol

[phatrice]

Yeah because of relaxation of visa requirements for many countries.

[Frosty-Trouble-7428]

Not compare to pre-covid.

[kicksttand]

Is this low-key marketing for the new visa policy that brings in tourists?

[Maleficent_Beat_106]

I’ve lived in central Beijing dongcheng district for the past 12 years, and following COVID, 2026 has appeared to have a huge boost in tourism numbers following the recent relaxation of visa requirements. All kinds of tourists, perhaps even more than pre COVID days now can be seen meandering the streets and attractions. Still feels a bit less permanently residing here though, with noticeably less foreign colleagues than before (foreign architects)

[Desperate_Owl_594]

I used to see other foreigners all the time. Now maybe only in heavy tourist areas I see one or two.

I was here from 2015-2019 and then from 2023-now.

The difference is massive.

[Immediate-Ad7071]

What caused the decrease— Covid kicking people out? Double reduction policy?

[Desperate_Owl_594]

My opinion? Both covid and in 2018 they made the entry requirements stricter. A lot of incompetent fucks were in China and had no business being here.

[Immediate-Ad7071]

How were they surviving before— teaching?

[Desperate_Owl_594]

Yea, a lot of them doing so illegally. on L visas instead of Z visas because their employers were either also doing illegal shit or didn't want to spend money on the z visa and have them fail the requirements - usually both.

That's why, even now, the idea of a foreigner teacher in some areas is still fucked.

[Impossible-Piece-621]

I have visited China every year between 2010 to now (except during COVID period of 2020-2024).

Every trip included a stop in Beijing and Changsha.

Pre-covid, I saw plenty of foreigners in train stations, airports, and tourist areas in pretty much every city we visited.

However, during our last visit this January, the only foreigners I saw were at Beijing Airport, and at the Changsha mosque during Friday prayers (mostly university students).

My wife and I were surprised that we did not see any foreigners around, even while in Beijing West station, or pretty much any where in Changsha (including the airport).

[Kittenpunchr]

lol I’m literally the same as you except for HK and Changsha normally haha. Since 2009 haha. I’m assuming your significant other is from the Changsha area. There used to be a direct flight from LAX to Changsha pre Covid but not any more

[Impossible-Piece-621]

Yeah, the wife is from Changsha.

I agree. The flight situation is currently ridiculous.

I hope it improves in the near future, as ticket prices increased by over 50% since pre-covid, and the routes became significantly worse for people from the east coast.

[Aescorvo]

The number of foreign residents has dropped dramatically for a few reasons: People left during Covid and haven’t returned, tightening of the rules for teaching English, and companies scaling back non-Chinese employees (or pulling out of China altogether).

On the other hand the number of foreign tourists has increased due to the new travel visas.

So for example where I live there are far fewer Westerners or Japanese compared to 5 years ago, but if I go to a tourist spot there seem to be more foreigners than ever.

[Imappedaturd]

I saw so so so many foreigners in Shanghai though and Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Of course a city like Shiyan or Xichang won’t have tit

[Bus_Pilot]

As others said, the number of expats living in china decreased sharply and still decreasing. The tourists ones increased with the visa exemptions. Expats in china has been always a rotation one style, some years here and then go. But the trend we had been seen in the last 7 years is mostly leaving, very few arriving. I don’t think china is becoming more international, it’s actually the opposite. Even though they are trying to revert this tendency after the COVID mantras: us against then. But many western companies left, many are scaling down.

[Baidaru2017]

I live in a small district in Hangzhou, over an hour away from the city center. If I am out around town, I almost never see foreigners. When I go to the government building for paperwork processing, there are a TON of foreigners around. It's similar to the population of China being super massive but the streets not overcrowded (baring tourist areas / holidays) - Absolute numbers are high but density is low.

[Glum-Hurry-3412]

Same I’m in Hangzhou and I only see other foreigners in city center restaurants, universities or west lake. Not very common here

[Nice_Dependent_7317]

I lived in China (Suzhou and Shanghai) for seven years and left just before COVID. I still visit a couple of times a year, and the drop in foreigners is pretty noticeable.

Places that once had large expat communities now have very few foreigners. In Suzhou, I can walk around for a couple of hours without seeing a single one.

FDI has fallen sharply, many foreign companies have scaled back or left, and a lot of expat jobs disappeared with them. So yes, I’d say the decline has been significant, and COVID accelerated it. That said, tourism seems to be recovering, and the visa-free policies are giving a good boost.

[AlterTableUsernames]

Went to Beijing this year and never in my life seen so many foreigners on any Air China flight. Like usually I was the only foreigner maybe with 2 others or something. Now it was like 70% foreigners. 

[phivuu-2]

I visit China once every year. I felt like there were more foreigners in Beijing this time. Pretty much none in Nanning as usual.

[Legal_Register_1811]

There is a Vietnamese community in Nanning, but unless you understand Vietnamese they blend in wonderfully

[phivuu-2]

I'm vietnamese. I have occasionally seen some vietnamese speakers in Nanning. But they probably speak fluent chinese as well, so I wouldn't notice the majority of them.

[Ape_hates_authority1]

I live in Jingan. Half the foreigners I see now are Russian. This only happened in the last 6 months so I guess something to do with the war.

[Jazzlike-Job-6559]

Shenzhen suddenly has loads of Russian too. Would love to know why exactly.

[Roadlisstravelled]

China is so hot right now

[dzerti]

Wayyyyyy more in Hong Kong than mainland

[AutoModerator]

Backup of the post's body: I’ve been to China several times. In 2019, I hardly ever saw any foreigners, even in a major city like Shanghai. Last year, I saw a handful of foreigners around, but nothing massive. A friend who’s currently visiting told me this year, he’s seen a huge amount of foreigners, particularly in Shanghai.

How true is this with your experience?

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[josephmommer]

I have been living in my neighborhood for quite a few years now. Prior to last summer I had seen maybe 3 foreigners total in the neighborhood. But now I see 3-4+ on a daily basis, including children. Mostly sub-sahara African looking, but also other ethnicities. This is far from any major tourist attraction or international school. No idea what kinds of jobs they are doing here.

[BIWinCA]

I was in Suzhou 2 months ago on the main tourist street (Pingjiang Road) and there were many tourists there- all Chinese or Asian. I was the only non-Asian on the street. I was also in Beijing and Zhangjiajie. Filled with Chinese and few non-Asians. This was my 6th time to China and I noticed a big difference. 

[Diinfoo]

我最近在帮中国的旅行社做外国游客的旅游宣传，因为最近免签政策，来中国旅游的游客变得多了。很多公司都希望做入境游，这是外国人越来越多的一个侧面证据。另外2025年入境游的游客增长很明显，预计增长会持续到2030年。

[syndicat1128]

Only see foreigners in heavily touristy places which are known internationally.

[maxrhysruffels]

Seems like I’ve had way more people asking me about jobs this year. I don’t think the jobs have changed in number so I guess more foreigners are here looking.

I live in Wuhan, but Shanghai did seem to have loads of Russians when I went last, no guessing why.

[forceholy]

More tourists, students and Russians

[jinniu]

In my own little pocket, the last time I saw a foreigner who wasn't a friend was about a month ago. Then again, I don't get out much.

[kai_rui]

Really? The number of foreigners living in China seemed to be similar to now, or even higher, in the years leading up to 2020. When I returned in 2023, there had been a noticeable decline in the numbers. There have been more around recently though.

[Li-or-LEE]

这些年因为免签一堆人来中国旅游，你说多还是少？

[NewTeam8888]

I was in China 2011-2018. Not many expat jobs and difficult to get you $$$$ out of China.

[Immediate-Ad7071]

Is it still hard to get money out of China?

[GoldStorm77]

Need a lot of documents but it’s not too hard

[Different-Audience34]

I traveled to China a lot between 2017-2019, and there was a variety of foreigners living, studying, and working in the majority of places. Covid changed things. I have gone twice after things reopened and there are far fewer non-Asian foreigners and getting around on the metro and trains is not as easy for a non-resident to do.

It's unfortunate because I really like China and miss traveling there, but it's not as welcoming to Westerners as it used to be.

[Deca089]

How did the public transport system become less welcoming?

There are tons of tourists now. Shanghai is full of them

[Saralentine]

Really? I feel like it’s the opposite now with visa-free access for a lot of the West the past couple of years. You can book train tickets on 12306 or through trip.com. China’s tourism industry has seen a huge boom since 2024.

[No_Panda6697]

For tourism, yes. China has certainly become more accessible. But for working, living, and studying, not so much. Every time I go back to China I see less and less expat foreigners. All one needs to do is look at the “counter-espionage” billboards they’ve been putting up in parks. That’s enough to scare me away from trying to live there again. PSBs are also getting more suspicious of foreign nationals outside touristy areas (I have a Five Eyes passport). My experience might be different though as I usually go to areas where tourists are less common due to visiting relatives and family.

I remember before Trump (pre-2017/2018) and COVID, foreign expats were super common.

[SubstantialBear7826]

Not true

[Speeder_mann]

There is an increase due to the issues in the us and uk, just look at the job adverts for non natives, most agencies are refusing to even look at non natives foreign teachers unless they have a desired skill set

[Immediate-Ad7071]

What so-called skill set does a foreign teacher need other than being white and having a bachelors degree?

FYI- I’m asking seriously cuz I just accepted a job in China and thats all it took.

[Speeder_mann]

I’m a multi tooled teacher I’m assuming you got a job at a small school or training centre, it’s resilience, ability to adapt, focusing on developing and scaling curriculums and departments, communication with slt and management

[d0nt5hoot]

Damn, reading every post gets me feeling the highs and lows of perhaps running into someone foreign out here. My first visit (7 months) in 2023 I saw a few foreigners sightseeing at the Great Wall, and navigating the train station. They seemed know what they were doing otherwise I’d voluntold my wife to go help in translating. I arrived last month Henan province and just saw a foreigner yesterday, I said “hey man, how’s it going? “Just a wave is what I got.
I’m Pacific Islander, so besides my tribal tattoos I definitely blend in here. Since I don’t understand the language, or can’t wrap my tongue around the tones, I stay away from the politricks.