Russian tourists are increasingly choosing China, but prefer beach holidays and shopping, ignoring the country’s rich cultural heritage.
According to experts, the main flow of Russian tourists is directed to the south. China: Hainan, Guangzhou, Shanghai.
Aleksan Mkrtchyan, Vice President of the Alliance of Travel Agencies of Russia, notes that Beijing, despite the growth in tourist traffic (+83% in 5 months of 2025), remains less popular — people come here mainly for excursions.
“Those who need a beach fly to Hainan, and those who need treatment visit health resorts. Business tourism is mainly in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Guangzhou,” the expert told NSN.
Honorary President of the Russian Union of Travel Industry Sergey Shpilko believes that Russians should ignore historical routes in vain.:
“China is among the top countries in terms of the number of cultural heritage sites. It has a huge number of interesting historical sites. This also applies to classic routes (Beijing, Shanghai, Suzhou) and trips to other Chinese provinces. In Russia, these areas are underestimated. Now there are more offers, flights have become cheaper, visas are much easier, and in some cases they are not needed at all,” he said.
According to him, Chinese tourism for Russia is a trend “seriously and for a long time,” but so far it remains one—sided. At the same time, he advised choosing trips through tour operators, because there are many features of the country itself.
Earlier it was reported that the tourist flight will connect Chinese Datong and Moscow.
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