STORY: China's Chongqing sees surge of foreign travelers
SHOOTING TIME: July 12, 2024
DATELINE: July 18, 2024
LENGTH: 00:01:59
LOCATION: CHONGQING, China
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Chongqing
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): French tourist
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): Italian tourist
4. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): American tourist
5. SOUNDBITE 4 (English): Brazilian tourist
6. SOUNDBITE 5 (English): American tourist

STORYLINE:

Chongqing, dubbed by many as a futuristic city, is rapidly becoming a favored entry point for foreign tourists.

The city is famous for its "8D magical terrains" and attractions including the "monorail through buildings" and spicy hotpot.

In the first half of this year, Chongqing has seen more than 150,000 inbound and outbound foreign passengers. The figure is 4.9 times that of the same period last year.

The increase owes much to policies including the 144-hour visa-free transit.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): French tourist
"That's why I'm here. It's because now for French people, we can have two weeks without visa, so I will stay six days in Chongqing and eight days in Beijing. It's convenient. For now, I mostly walk but I use also the subway. It's pretty convenient and really cheap."

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): Italian tourist
"I got 14 days of free visa. I wanted to come to China for a long time, but I knew that the visa process was very slow and complicated. So I waited a long time before. And now because you can get a free 14 days, I came here. Transportation is good. I was also able to rent an electric scooter. So I went around the city with the scooter and I really enjoyed that."

SOUNDBITE 3 (English): American tourist
"Chongqing is so interesting and it's very different from other cities in China that we've been to. There are a lot of layers, lots of stairs and interesting buildings, and the two rivers make it very unique. I think it's very beautiful and I like the lights at night."

SOUNDBITE 4 (English): Brazilian tourist
"It's a great place to know a little bit more about Chinese history and Chinese culture. The public transportation here is really, really good. It's the best that I've ever seen."

SOUNDBITE 5 (English): American tourist
"It's very interesting, the mix of old city and new city. The traditions and stuff is fun. Chongqing is like it's a fun city."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Chongqing, China.
(XHTV)