If you are filling in China’s arrival card and have reached a field called “Cities of Transit”, you are not alone in pausing over it. It sounds like it should be about your visa — especially if you are travelling on a transit visa-free arrangement — but it is not. It is simply one optional line on an entry form, and it asks something much more ordinary than it sounds.
Short answer: “Cities of Transit” means the cities in China you will pass through or stop in briefly on your way to the place where you will actually stay. It is optional, you can list up to three cities, and you can leave it blank if you are going straight to your destination. Writing a city here does not give you permission to travel there — that permission comes from your visa or visa-free policy, which is a separate thing entirely.
Cities of Transit vs. Destination Cities
The arrival card asks about your trip in two different fields, and mixing them up is the most common mistake:
| Field | What it means | Required? |
|---|---|---|
| Destination Cities in China | The city or cities where you will stay — the place you are actually travelling to | Yes |
| Cities of Transit | Cities you pass through or stop in briefly on the way to your destination, where you are not staying | No — optional, up to three |
Think of it as the difference between “where I am going” and “where I pass through on the way.” Your destination city is also where your accommodation address (the “Address in China” field) is: the hotel or place you are staying. Transit cities are the in-between stops.
How to fill in Cities of Transit
Going straight to your destination — leave it blank. If you land in Shanghai and go directly to your hotel in Shanghai, or you take a taxi from the airport to the city where you will stay, there is no transit city to report. Leaving the field empty is correct.
One stop on the way — list it. Example: you fly into Beijing, spend a night in Tianjin, then continue to Xi’an, where you will spend the rest of your trip. Xi’an is your destination city; Tianjin, the brief stop on the way, is a transit city.
A connecting domestic flight — use your judgment. If you change planes in another Chinese city but never leave the airport, that city is a place you pass through. You may list it, but because the form already records your arrival flight and port of entry, a same-airport connection with no overnight stay is the least important case. The field exists for stops that are part of your itinerary, not for every airport your plane touches.
Travelling on a transit visa-free arrangement — the field works the same way. If you are entering under the 24-hour or 240-hour transit visa-free policy, the Cities of Transit field is still just an itinerary note. Your transit eligibility is decided separately, at the port, based on your passport, your confirmed onward ticket to a third country or region, and whether your route fits the policy (see below). Filling in this field does not create or extend that eligibility.
Can I leave Cities of Transit blank?
Yes. The field is optional on the online form. Leave it blank if:
- You go directly from your port of entry to your destination city.
- Your only “stop” is a same-airport flight connection.
- You are not sure — a blank optional field is better than a guessed city. Border officers can ask about your itinerary if they need more detail.
What if my plans change after I submit?
Submit a new arrival card with the updated itinerary. Each entry into mainland China needs its own card, and you cannot edit a submitted form. If your destination city changes, update that field and your address in China; transit cities that no longer apply can simply be left off the new form.
What Cities of Transit does NOT do
This is the part that causes real confusion, so it is worth stating plainly:
- It is not a travel permit. Listing a city in Cities of Transit does not authorise you to visit it. What decides where you may go is your visa, or the terms of the visa-free policy you are entering under.
- It is not the 240-hour transit area list. The 240-hour visa-free transit policy has its own official list of permitted areas and entry ports (below). The two lists have nothing to do with each other: one is a box on a form, the other is a policy that controls where you may travel.
- It is not your visa application. The arrival card is an entry declaration. It does not replace a visa, and it does not grant entry by itself. You still need a valid visa, a residence permit, or eligibility under a visa-free policy.
A concrete example of why the distinction matters: a 240-hour transit traveller may only stay within the policy’s permitted areas. If a city outside those areas appears on your itinerary, writing it in Cities of Transit will not make it permitted — and travelling there could breach the conditions of your stay. Check the policy list first; fill in the form second.
The 240-hour transit visa-free policy in brief
For travellers using the 240-hour (10-day) visa-free transit policy, the official framework is set by China’s National Immigration Administration (NIA):
- Who: nationals of the countries listed in the NIA announcement (55 countries as listed in the November 2025 announcement — check the current list before you travel, as it can change).
- What you need: a valid passport and a confirmed onward ticket, with a set date and seat, to a third country or region (Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan count as third regions for this purpose).
- Where you can enter: 65 designated ports across 24 provincial-level regions, including major airports such as Beijing Capital and Daxing, Shanghai Pudong and Hongqiao, Guangzhou Baiyun and Chengdu Tianfu.
- Where you can stay: within the permitted areas of those 24 regions. Most regions are open in full, but six are limited to specific cities: Shanxi (Taiyuan and Datong), Jiangxi (Nanchang and Jingdezhen), Heilongjiang (Harbin), Guangxi (12 cities), Sichuan (11 cities) and Yunnan (9 cities).
- How long: up to 240 hours, counted from 00:00 on the day after you enter — not from the moment you land.
- What you may do: tourism, business, family visits and similar activities. Work, study and journalism that require prior approval still need a visa obtained in advance.
The NIA announcement also covers the 24-hour visa-free direct transit rule: if you transit within 24 hours and do not leave the restricted area of the port, you are exempt from immigration inspection — and from the arrival card altogether (see below).
Official sources for the current port and area lists:
- NIA Announcement No. 4 [2025] (3 November 2025), including the 240-hour policy conditions: https://en.nia.gov.cn/n147418/n147468/c187308/content.html
- The same announcement’s appendix lists the eligible ports and permitted stay areas; a full reproduction of the port and area lists is also published by the Hainan provincial government: https://en.hainan.gov.cn/englishsite/Visa/202506/f24eef61de5945e799e89ec21e280788.shtml?ddtab=true
Always confirm your port and your permitted area against an official list before booking, because both can change.
Filling in the arrival card online
Since 20 November 2025, foreign nationals can complete the arrival card online before travelling to China, free of charge, through the NIA’s official website, its government service platform, the “NIA 12367” app, or the WeChat/Alipay mini-programs — or by scanning the arrival-card QR code on a phone. The official filing site is https://s.nia.gov.cn/ArrivalCardFillingPC/
If you cannot file online in advance, you can still complete it on arrival at the port by scanning the QR code, using the on-site smart devices, or filling in a paper arrival card. The NIA has warned that the service is free: websites charging a fee for this form are fraudulent — use only the official channels above.
Seven groups of travellers are exempt from the arrival card entirely, including holders of a Chinese Foreign Permanent Resident ID Card, non-Chinese holders of a Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong and Macao residents, group-visa travellers, cruise passengers returning on the same ship, fast-lane users, transport crew — and travellers in direct transit within 24 hours who do not leave the restricted area of the port. If you step out of the airport under a transit arrangement, you will go through the temporary-entry process at the port counter instead, and the officers there will confirm which form and fields apply to you.
FAQ
Is “Cities of Transit” the same as my transit visa? No. It is an optional itinerary field on the arrival card. Your transit eligibility comes from the visa-free transit policy (or a visa), not from this field.
Do I need to fill it in if I am on a 240-hour transit? Only if your route genuinely includes pass-through cities in China beyond your destination cities. Many 240-hour itineraries — one entry city, one main stay, one exit — have no transit city to list.
What is the difference between Cities of Transit and City of Entry? City of Entry is the Chinese city where you first arrive (filled automatically from your flight number on the online form). Cities of Transit are the extra Chinese cities you pass through afterwards, on your way to your destination.
I am only changing planes in China and never leaving the airport. Do I list that city? If you stay inside the airport’s restricted area on a direct transit of under 24 hours, you are exempt from the arrival card entirely and do not file one at all. If you do file a card (for example, because you are leaving the airport), a same-airport connection is the least important case for this field — list it only if it is a genuine stop on your itinerary.
Can I list more than three transit cities? The online form allows up to three. If your route has more stops, list the first three in travel order and make sure your destination cities and accommodation address are accurate — those are the fields officers rely on.
Does listing a city in Cities of Transit let me visit it under 240-hour transit? No. Only the policy’s permitted areas decide that. A city outside the permitted areas stays off-limits even if you write it on the form.
I made a mistake on my card. Can I fix it? You cannot edit a submitted card. Submit a new one with the corrected information before you travel, and use the newest QR receipt at immigration.
The bottom line
“Cities of Transit” is the smallest box on the arrival card and the easiest to overthink. It asks where you pass through inside China on your way to where you are staying — nothing more. Put your real destination in Destination Cities, your real hotel in Address in China, and use Cities of Transit only for genuine in-between stops, up to three, or leave it blank. And if you are travelling visa-free on a transit policy, remember the real rulebook is the policy’s port and area list, not this field.