By Lauren Hogan

Starting from October 1, tourists traveling to Shanghai will be allowed to stay for up to 15 days without a visa, if they're sailing into the city that is.

The free passage is only allowed for passengers that belong to tourist groups organized by travel agencies legally registered in China. And said travel agencies have to submit the name lists of the tourist groups to inspection authorities 24 hours prior to arrival.

Passengers are allowed to travel to Beijing, but other than that, they can only stay in Shanghai, or the 'coastal province where cruise ships berth'.

Still, not a bad deal for those wishing to get their land legs working again.

According to Shanghai Daily, over 1.6 million cruise ship passengers came through Shanghai last year, only 69,000 of which were foreigners. The new ruling is hoping to attract more foreign tourists to set sail.

[Image via The Global Times]

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