Efforts to make travel to China easier result in uptick in visits

Ngoc Pho Chau Cao, a 25-year-old Vietnamese woman living in Germany, said her travels in China have been amazing so far. She arrived at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing on Jan 29 for an exchange program and will stay on the mainland until mid-July.

She has traveled to Tianjin, Harbin in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang, and Datong in the northern province of Shanxi. She has a long travel list for her stay over the next few months.

"So far, I like Beijing the most. The buildings are beautiful and impressive, and people here are more open to each other. I wanted to visit the Palace Museum, but the tickets were always sold out. People in China love to advertise and market Chinese culture to the world."

She said she had some problems at the very beginning in terms of language, traffic and online payment, but got help from other international students and learned to get used to life in China. "I sent pictures to my friends and they said 'China is so cool'. I'd like to introduce China to my friends after I finish my trip to the country."