1st ASEAN tour group enters Xishuangbanna visa free

A 15-member tourist group from Laos and Thailand entered south Yunnan’s Xishuangbanna prefecture through the Mohan dry port on February 18, and this is the first ASEAN tour group to enter the prefecture without a visa.

"Long before the visa-free policy, I had heard that Xishuangbanna is a good place of tasty food, so I joined the tourist group without hesitation," said Somnham, a tourist from Thailand, adding he should have traveled to Xishuangbanna earlier.

The 1st ASEAN tourist group reaches Xishuangbanna Railway Station on February 18.

China on February 10 announced a 6-day visa-free policy for tour groups from the ASEAN who want to visit Xishuangbanna, in the latest step to boost people-to-people exchanges with Southeast Asia.

Located at the southernmost tip of Yunnan province, Xishuangbanna borders Laos and Myanmar, with the China-Laos Railway passing through. As a gateway to connect China with the Mekong countries, Xishuangbanna opened international air routes to Laos, Thailand and others.

 

The 1st ASEAN tourist group reaches Xishuangbanna Railway Station on February 18.  

Sources: Yunnan Daily and YICC Xishuangbanna branch; Trans-editing by Wang Shixue and Wang Yunya