US ambassador to China Gary Locke has announced a new interview waiver pilot program that is expected to make it easier for Chinese nationals to visit the United States. Under the new program, consular officers will have the power to waive interviews for some qualified non-immigrant applicants who are renewing their visa within 48 months of expiration of their previously held visa. more ›

Chinese high rollers have transformed Macau and Singapore into two of the world's top gambling destinations. Now, Australia wants a slice of that market too. Peter Gotting of Australia Network News reports. more ›

The Hukou Waterfall, China's second largest waterfall, located on the border of Shaanxi and Shanxi provinces, are an absolutely spectacular sight in winter to behold. more ›

Chinese nationals accounted for the largest share of luxury goods sales in overseas markets during the month of January, with total sales of approximately $7.2 billion USD recently. The amount sees the a nearly 30 percent increase from the same period last year, when Chinese on vacation spent $5.6 billion USD on luxury items. more ›

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A video of a quarrel between mainland tourists caught snacking on a Hong Kong subway train with local passengers has burnt up the internets in both Hong Kong and the mainland. Watch a Hong Kong news report with English subtitles after the jump... more ›

The 56-year-old traveler, whose identity has not been released by authorities, had been traveling with her sister, who resides in the US, when the $450 million-dollar ship, carrying upwards of 4,200 passengers and crew members, collided with a reef off the Tuscan coast, since claiming the lives of at least six people, while at least 29 people are still missing, according to foreign media reports. more ›

Li Senlin (李森林) and his friend Yuan Hui (袁辉) have chosen to hike back home for the Spring Festival. The two university students plan to spend 8 days covering 400 kilometers from Suzhou, where their universities locate, to their hometown Yancheng. more ›

Shot by Ricardo Mendialdua in Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou and Suzhou. more ›

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"You know, quite a lot of mainland tourists now, more than 2.6 million, have come to Taiwan. They have done a lot of consumption in Taiwan, and spurred a tourism boom. At the same time, moreover, they have also got a sense of Taiwan’s democracy and freedom. A lot of them didn’t go out during the evening. Instead, they lock themselves up in their hotel rooms, watching the political talk shows to see our people criticizing their president. [laughter] Well, that’s democracy. That’s, you know, freedom of expression. But after a while, they began to ask why they couldn’t do the same when they go home? So, this is a very powerful question, and gradually they will make some changes, not only in our cross-strait relations, but also in their own internal system." more ›

Another day, another group of angry Chinese travellers causing a commotion somewhere in the world. This time, a group of tourists from Shanghai, Sichuan and Shenzhen staged a protest at Singapore's Changi Airport after a lengthy delay of their Hong Kong Airlines flight. more ›

An uproar broke out earlier this week in the Canadian province of British Columbia when a brochure sent by the provincial government to business owners entitled "How to Market Your Business to China" warned against promotions involving gay tourism, casinos or gambling. more ›

Air China, the world's largest carrier by market capitalisation and also the world's most profitable airline, begins inflight wifi trials on a Boeing 737-800 flight departing from the Beijing Capital Airport tomorrow. As soon as it receives approval from regulators, it will begin rolling out the service starting from its domestic flights. And the best part of it all is, they're not looking to charge us a single cent for it! more ›

When news first sprung up about the planned resumption of the Shanghai-Nagasake ferry, it was painted more as a bargain boat designed to get you there and back on the cheap. Which made the unveiling of a new(ish) cruise ship on the route's inaugural run last weekend very exciting indeed. Beginning in January, for only around 800RMB (one way) you can travel over to Nagasaki on a second-hand Greek cruise ship called the Ocean Rose. more ›

A total of 21 floats and 30 performer teams enthralled crowds in a massive parade last Saturday on Huaihai Middle Road to kick off this year's Shanghai Tourism Festival. Featuring the usual flotilla of garish floats, happy minorities and a number of imported acts from Japan, Brazil, Finland, Indonesia and elsewhere, the parade's manufactured carnivalesque atmosphere drew a crowd of tens of thousands. more ›

Anthony Tao, who writes over at the Heart of Beijing blog, has just returned to China from North Korea, and he has some amazing footage from this year's mass games. more ›

Everything about it screams BACKWARD, but it's still luxurious by North Korean standards. Over the weekend, 130 Chinese tourists and journalists boarded the 39-year-old Man Gyong Bong, a former cargo ship that's just been recently renovated and remade to become the DPRK's very first cruise ship. more ›

And by the looks of it, it's going to be pretty effing cheap too! Plans to resume the ferry after a 30-year hiatus were announced this week in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Revolution of 1911, because apparently Sun Yat-sen was real tight with a couple of Japanese friends from over there. more ›

Taiwan's Tourism Bureau has launched a new international marketing campaign that aims to lure more travellers to the island even as it attracted a record number of visitors last year. The full 16 minute film, "Time for Taiwan - My Beautiful Island" aims to showcase all of the island's culture and natural beauty and is targeted at four main categories of travellers -- backpackers, women, families and elderly couples. Since it was launched about a month ago, the video has been seen close to half a million times on Youtube. The masterminds behind the film, Johnason Lo and Michael Fimognari, were tasked with breaking the mould of conventional marketing campaigns employed by other tourism bureaus, and we think to a large extent, they have succeeded in what they set out to do. more ›

For North Korea's fledgling tourism economy, China represents the largest inbound market. This clip from a Japanese documentary gives you an eye-opening glimpse of what Chinese travellers are shown on their DPRK tours. more ›

Well, we sure didn't see this one coming. Budget carrier Spring Airlines has finally been allowed to fly the highly lucrative Shanghai-Beijing route. more ›

Hey Shanghaiist readers! Do you have a burning desire to go to Ocean Midi Fest but don't know how to pull it off? Can't be bothered to take multiple trains, planes, and buses to get to Rizhao? We've got you covered with our very own bus to the beach! more ›

• HELL HAS OFFICIALLY FROZEN OVER: Shanghai urban planning authorities are actually reconsidering their real estate plans for adding high-rise complexes to the Bund after "a large majority of local citizens disapproved the design... In a public survey launched by the authority, nearly 70 percent of respondents said they consider the proposed 136-meter-high SOHO twin towers too high and out of harmony with the rest of the Bund's architecture."
• Speaking of construction, did you know that at least 60,000 residential building units in the city are illegally constructed or expanded?

Just two weeks since its grand opening, the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed train has disappointed passengers for the third time. Beijing railway bureau officials attributed the third glitch in as many days to "a sudden malfunction," leaving out any further explanations as to what caused the malfunction. According to a passenger who was on board, "the lights and air conditioning were off" and passengers were told by the attendants that "the train might be delayed for 30 minutes because of a problem with the signal system." Those 30 minutes of delay quickly turned into an hour, and passengers were then told to board the back-up train, arriving at the destination two and a half hours behind schedule. The Ministry of Railways attempted to lift the spirits of each passenger with a complementary box of cookies and bottle of water, the obvious cure-all. The first two incidents with the high-speed rail were due to power failure. more ›

The Beijing-Shanghai high speed rail link experienced two malfunctions yesterday that resulted in over an hour delay. At times, the cabins were even plunged into complete darkness! Massive bummer for these rigorously trained rail girls - can't really blame them for the glitch, can you? Like the laowai girl says, just relax! more ›

Via NoCommentTV: "Ahead of the 90th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party on Friday, the country's multi-billion dollar "Red tourism" industry is booming in Yan'an, the Party's old revolutionary base, where visitors can re-enact an historic battle with guns, explosions and tanks." more ›

Chinese passport holders often complain about the hassle they have to go through applying for visas each time they're going abroad, but on the bright side, they'll now have easier access to ONE country than everyone else on Planet Earth. Recently, 100 Chinese tourists drove their own way in a convoy around North Korea as part of a three-day tour costing a very affordable US$147 per person. And my, my, look what happy tourists they are! more ›

Woohoo! Beginning July 1, a new flight will take you from Pudong Airport to one of the world's most exotic (and reclusive) destinations. more ›