Beijing's 'Silk Street' thrives with influx of foreign tourists under visa-free policy

The bustling Xiushui Business Street (Silk Street) in Beijing is experiencing a significant surge in visits paid by international tourists, thanks to the country's implementation of visa-free policy.

The business street, known for its array of shops selling a wide range of souvenirs and gifts and a vibrant shopping atmosphere, is among the top destinations for visitors from abroad.

Since earlier this year, China has implemented a visa-free policy that exempts many European ordinary passport holders from the time-consuming and costly obligation, encouraging travelers from nearly a dozen European countries to explore this Asian country. It allows ordinary passport holders of France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Malaysia, Switzerland, Ireland, Hungary, Austria, Belgium, and Luxembourg, to enter and stay in China visa-free for up to 15 days for business, tourism, transit, as well as visiting relatives and friends .

Against such a backdrop, the business street, with a spike in international tourist arrivals, has offered popular options with distinctive Beijing features to foreign visitors.

"From January to April this year, the combined number of overseas tourists we received was expected to increase by nearly 20 times from the previous year. We've selected a batch of souvenirs that can represent Beijing for our customers, so as to make each and every of them happy," said Dong Qing, an employee of the business street.

Ibeku hailing from Nigeria was on a business trip to Beijing. She came to the business street to tailor a suit of Nigerian traditional costume with Chinese silk.

"First of all, I love fashion. So if we have Chinese silk [and] Nigerian style [together], that's like a mix of cultures, and that's what we are all hoping to get this day," she said.

Taking into account the tight schedule of foreign customers, many merchants reduce the time it takes to craft bespoke garments from the traditional four to five days down to an impressive 18 hours.

Furthermore, they also provide global mailing services for international customers who express concern about limited luggage space or tight travel schedules.

According to data released by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism, the capital city received 469,000 inbound tourist arrivals in the first quarter of this year, up by 3.1 times year on year, and the foreign exchange income of tourism is 650 million U.S. dollars, a year-on-year growth of 225.8 percent.

Beijing's 'Silk Street' thrives with influx of foreign tourists under visa-free policy

Xiushui Business Street thrives with influx of foreign tourists under visa-free policy

Grain enterprises across China have purchased 120 million tons of autumn grains recently, according to data from the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration.

Provinces like Henan, Jiangsu, Heilongjiang, and Anhui have set up the minimum purchase price of middle- and late-season rice. Over 200 purchasing spots have been set up in these four provinces to facilitate grain farmers in selling their crops.

Currently the purchase of middle- and late-season indica rice in the southern region stands at around 40 to 50 percent, while in the northeast region, the purchase of japonica rice is around 20 percent. In the north and northeast China, purchase of corn stands at 20 percent to 30 percent, while that of soybeans is around 15 percent in northeastern region.

The average price of middle- and late-season rice is about 2.6 yuan per kilogram. With demand rising for animal feed, prices of corn and soybean are gradually recovering and stabilizing, boosting acquisition interest.

"Currently, the cumulative procurement of middle- and late-season rice at the minimum purchase price has exceeded 1.8 million tons, effectively stabilizing market expectations and ensuring reasonable grain prices," said Luo Shouquan, director of the grain reserve department of the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration.

Autumn grain purchases across China total 120 million tons