Southeast Asia Information Port (www.dnyxxg.com) – From 7:00 AM to 9:00 AM local time on January 2nd, multiple flights from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and other cities in China landed at Istanbul Airport in Turkey. With Turkey's visa-free entry policy for Chinese citizens holding ordinary passports taking effect that day, the first batch of Chinese tourists enjoying this convenience easily entered Turkey.
"I'm honored to be among the first Chinese tourists after Turkey's visa-free policy took effect. We entered directly with our passports, which was very convenient," said Han Xiumei, who has been engaged in the tourism business to Turkey for over ten years, leading a tour group of more than twenty people to Istanbul on the first day of the visa-free policy. She expressed her high expectations for the visa-free policy and said that she would definitely be busier in the future.
Song Sijia, who is studying in Europe, arrived at Istanbul Airport in the early morning that day, waiting to meet up with her friends to explore Turkey together. "We didn't plan our trip in advance; we bought tickets immediately after seeing the Turkish visa-free policy," she said. Because she arrived just in time, she was slightly nervous during immigration, but the process was very smooth, which made her sincerely appreciate the increasing "value" of the Chinese passport.
Liu Ying, a businesswoman engaged in the wool trade, and her colleagues arrived in Istanbul and waited at the airport for their Turkish partners to pick them up. "I've been cooperating with Turkish businessmen for over ten years, traveling between the two countries three or four times a year," Liu Ying said. She added that the visa-free policy will greatly facilitate her business activities and further promote trade with the local community.
On the same day, China Southern Airlines' Istanbul branch held an event at the airport to welcome Chinese passengers arriving on the first visa-free day and presented souvenirs to lucky travelers. Xu Jiafeng, general manager of the branch, explained that to cope with the potential increase in passenger traffic after the visa-free policy, China Southern plans to increase the frequency of direct flights from Guangzhou, Beijing, and Urumqi to Istanbul starting in March this year, with a total of 17 flights per week, further expanding the "Air Silk Road" between China and Turkey.
