It turned out why Chinese tourists love Russia: feelings intensified

On the third day of the fall of the “great pandemic wall” (China closed its borders due to the coronavirus on January 24, 2020, and opened for mass tourism only on February 6, 2023), the tourism industry of the Celestial Empire voiced large-scale aspirations: the volume of foreign trips of their citizens promises to increase annually by more than 8 million (in 2019, 170 million Chinese made foreign voyages, and by 2030 this figure promises to grow to 228 million).

Where did the Chinese travelers first go, and whether Russia is in their plans, we found out from them.

Since last Monday, Chinese vacationers have been allowed to travel in groups to 20 countries around the world (borders opened for business travel a month ago). 11 countries of the Asia-Pacific region (UAE, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, New Zealand and Fiji), 3 African states (Egypt, Kenya and South Africa) are ready to accept tourist groups from China , 2 in the Americas (Cuba and Argentina) and 3 in Europe – Switzerland, Hungary and Russia. However, with all the optimism of the Chinese side, the statistics of tour operators in countries awaiting Chinese tourists indicate that at the time of the removal of covid restrictions, less than 10% of the pre-pandemic volume of Chinese tourists were interested in tourism products. We asked the Russian-Chinese couple whether the attitude of the citizens of the Celestial Empire to foreign trips after a three-year break and in what direction has changed: Russian writer Vadim Chekunov and his wife, journalist He Xiao from Shanghai, spent the protracted Chinese version of the pandemic in their wife’s homeland, and they remain there now . Both claim that their people are very happy about the lifting of travel restrictions, and they are especially interested in Russia. Many dream of being photographed “in Rush under the Northern Lights.”

– Friends of Xiao and I constantly write and call, find out if the “group visa-free” will resume with the Russian Federation on February 6: before the pandemic, visas were issued between our countries according to the lists, that is, a citizen of China who purchased a package excursion tour to Russia in a group from 6 people, could not worry about an individual visa. Whether it will be the same as before, we ourselves do not yet know, only three days have passed since the opening of the borders. For single trips allowed a month earlier, Chinese citizens were required to obtain an individual Russian visa. But the fact that there is interest in traveling to Russia is a fact. Chinese travelers are actively investigating the conditions of a trip to the Russian Federation and are going to go in the near future.

– Where exactly are they going? Or even?

– Those who have never been, are primarily interested in Moscow and St. Petersburg. And among those who have already been, there are those who want to see the Russian capitals and their museums again. The route to Lake Baikal is very popular with our Chinese friends. And in winter they adore (not all, of course, but lovers of the exotic) either to Murmansk, or to Arkhangelsk, or to both cities at once. In general, some kind of northern route, during which you can see the northern lights.

– And how do the Chinese prefer to travel – comfortably or economically, in groups or individually?

– Those who are older – from 50 and above, and especially pensioners – definitely like to travel in groups, they are more fun, and calmer, and more familiar. And younger people are already more inclined to individual or family trips. As people are very practical, the Chinese are always looking for the ideal – to be both inexpensive and very comfortable. But since this rarely happens in life, they almost always choose inexpensively. And since the Chinese are very hardy and adaptable, they are ready to endure temporary inconveniences and difficulties on the journey, the main thing is that they give boiling water to the thermos. Joking aside, the Chinese don’t travel without a thermos, because the whole Chinese life is in it – they brew green tea, instant noodles, and just sip hot water on the way, the Chinese adore. Many also bring noodles with them, but not so much to save money, but in case the local food is not to their liking. Many of them are conservative in terms of food, they prefer the usual, and with their thermos, they will not go hungry anywhere. Previously, there were Chinese “feeding places” everywhere in Russia. I don’t know how it is now, but in the past, guests from China were taken by whole buses to a Chinese restaurant on Prospekt Mira, right opposite the Cathedral Mosque. They called the food there “like at home”.

– Vadim, you used to take groups of Chinese sightseers around Russia. What exactly did they like?

– The Chinese do not like to spend extra money on comfort on the road, preferring to get to a place where they can squander money to their heart’s content. And already on the spot they are one of the most active buyers, they never skimp on souvenirs and other purchases in memory of the country they visit. In Russia, they always buy rose gold, amber and chocolate – and not only because they are sold on it. All this can be bought in China, but in Russia it is cheaper. Russian chocolate in China is known and greatly appreciated, but it is not cheap. They also like to buy natural herbal cosmetics in Russia, various lotions from traditional medicine such as chaga, Russian vodka – but the last one is only a memorable effective bottle. Therefore, they will choose the one with Russian symbols on the label, preferably the Kremlin.

– The Chinese are not drinkers? What type of recreation do they generally prefer – gastronomic-contemplative or sports-extreme?

– Not sports for sure, the most important thing for them is excursions and shopping. Drinking is very much even lovers, they just don’t really like our vodka. They are more comfortable with their own alcohol, which they consider “flavored”. For Russian taste, it is too strong and smelly. But, fortunately, this is not a reason for resentment and showdown.

– Has the post-pandemic Chinese tourist changed his attitude towards Russia? And then a number of countries indicated to their citizens that traveling in the Russian Federation is “unsafe”, and therefore the inbound tourist flow to Russia is falling (according to the domestic tourism industry, in comparison with 2021, in 2022 it fell by 30.2%).

– In terms of travel safety in the Russian Federation, the Chinese do not worry at all. Questions like “did it become dangerous there?” when discussing trips to Russia, they do not even rise. The vast majority of Chinese have an extremely positive attitude towards Russia, and over the past year, pro-Russian feelings and sentiments have even intensified. As for the usual crime, the Chinese are well aware that in any country in the world a tourist is the most delicious prey for all sorts of petty scammers and street criminals, so they are used to taking some caution in any travel. In the first half of the 2000s, I remember, there were horror stories among Chinese tourists about Russian skinheads, but now there is nothing like that, everyone who is going to Russia is calm and very positive.