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Mohan Railway Port: 240-Hour Visa-Free Transit Guide

Last verified

Port facts at a glance: Mohan Railway Port (permitted stay area, documents, conditions).

Last verified: 2026-11-03 (240-hour rules, port list and stay area, against the National Immigration Administration). Transport information last checked: 2026-11-03 (official airport/metro pages, dated below). Rules can change at short notice; the NIA and the border officer at the port have the final say. Hotline 12367 (from abroad +86 12367).

⚠️ Arriving from Laos? You cannot go back to Laos. The 240-hour rule needs a third country or region: if you enter at Mohan from Laos, your onward ticket must be to a country or region other than Laos (for example a flight from Kunming to Bangkok).

Mohan Railway Port (磨憨铁路口岸) is the border station on the China–Laos Railway, in Mohan Town, Mengla County, Xishuangbanna. It is a designated 240-hour port. Only the railway port qualifies; the Mohan road crossing does not. Entering here gives you 9 listed Yunnan cities.

At a glance
Official port name Mohan Railway Port (磨憨铁路口岸)
City / province Mohan, Mengla County (Xishuangbanna), Yunnan
Port type rail
NIA list number No. 65 of 65
Designated for 240-hour transit since before 2024-12-17 (one of the original 39 ports)
Stay area if you enter here only 9 listed cities of Yunnan
Maximum stay 240 hours, counted from 00:00 the day after entry
Eligible passports Ordinary passports of 57 countries
Note China-Laos railway border port in Mohan Town, Mengla County, Xishuangbanna Prefecture (Yunnan). Kunming Customs refers to it as '昆明市磨憨镇' because Mohan Town is administered by Kunming. Only the Mohan RAILWAY port is a 240h entry port per NIA table.

⚠️ Unverified or uncertain items on this page

  • Whether Hong Kong, Macao or Taiwan count as the 'third country or region' (for example Tokyo → here → Hong Kong) is stated explicitly only in an airline FAQ (China Southern, 2024-12-30), not on a government page. NIA texts say 'third country (region)'. Treat as unverified and confirm with 12367 before booking.
  • Refusal ground not confirmed for 240-hour transit: Serious violation of accommodation-registration rules within the past 2 years (listed in NIA's 24-hour transit temporary-entry rules; applicability to 240h not explicitly restated).
  • Train numbers, times and fares are not given; check 12306 or the China Railway app.
  • Exact cross-border ticketing rules for foreigners were not verified from an official page.

Who can use 240-hour visa-free transit here

You can enter at Mohan Railway Port without a visa for up to 240 hours only if all of these are true (source: NIA (EN) Policy Interpretation: Visa-Free Transit Policies (2026-08-20); conditions from NIA Announcement No. 4 of 2025, Annex 1 (2025-11-03)):

The 57 eligible countries: Albania, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Canada, United States, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Brunei, Indonesia, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Qatar, Singapore, South Korea, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam.

You will be refused the 240-hour exemption if any of these apply:

Want a 30-day stay instead? Many of these nationalities can also use China's unilateral 30-day visa-free entry: see 30-day visa-free countries.

Where you may go: the permitted stay area

Entering at Mohan Railway Port puts you in the Yunnan: 9 cities/prefectures stay area. Only these 9 cities are covered; the rest of Yunnan is outside the area:

City (prefecture-level) Chinese
Kunming 昆明
Yuxi 玉溪
Chuxiong 楚雄
Honghe 红河
Wenshan 文山
Pu'er 普洱
Xishuangbanna 西双版纳
Dali 大理
Lijiang 丽江

Yunnan-specific notes: Xishuangbanna (Jinghong), Pu'er, Kunming, Dali and Lijiang are inside the area. Shangri-La (Diqing), Tengchong (Baoshan) and Ruili (Dehong) are not. Mohan Town itself is administered by Kunming, but it lies in Xishuangbanna; both are permitted cities.

You may also travel on to the permitted areas of the other 23 provinces (cross-province travel has been allowed since 17 Dec 2024, gov.cn (2024-12-17)). Areas limited to listed cities:

Other 240-hour ports in the same stay area (you may leave through any designated port nationwide): Kunming Changshui International Airport, Lijiang Sanyi International Airport.

How the 240 hours are counted (worked example)

The 240 hours are counted from 00:00 on the day after entry. Example: enter 1 Jan, clock starts 2 Jan 00:00, leave by 11 Jan 24:00. (sources: NIA, 2025-11-03 (2025-11-03); Yunnan government Q&A (undated page; references policy status as of 2026-08-20))

You arrive at Mohan Railway Port Clock starts Latest departure (onward transport must leave by)
5 May, 08:00 6 May, 00:00 15 May, 24:00 (midnight at the end of 15 May)
5 May, 23:50 6 May, 00:00 15 May, 24:00
6 May, 00:20 (flight landed just after midnight) 7 May, 00:00 16 May, 24:00

The date that counts is the date you pass the border check, not the date your flight was scheduled. Your onward ticket must show a confirmed departure inside this window and must be bought before you arrive.

Getting from Mohan Railway Port to the city (official transport information)

One-stop trip check: what to sort out besides the visa question

Getting the visa question right is only half of it. Before you fly into Mohan Railway Port:

FAQ

When does my 240 hours start if I land at Mohan Railway Port?

At 00:00 on the day after you pass the border check. See the worked example above.

Can I fly in from my home country and fly back home from here?

No. The country or region you arrive from and the one you leave to must be different (A → China → B). Yunnan government Q&A (undated page; references policy status as of 2026-08-20).

Do I have to leave from Mohan Railway Port?

No. You may leave through any of the designated ports, as long as you stayed inside the permitted areas and leave within the time.

Can I use Hong Kong, Macao or Taiwan as my onward destination?

Probably yes, but ⚠️ this is unverified: only an airline FAQ says so explicitly. Arriving from and returning to the same place (e.g. Hong Kong → here → Hong Kong) does not qualify. Confirm with 12367.

What if my flight is cancelled and I overstay?

Before the 240 hours run out, apply to the local public security exit-entry office for a stay permit. Unauthorised overstay is illegal stay.

Can I go from Vientiane to Kunming and back to Vientiane visa-free?

No. Arriving from and returning to Laos does not qualify for 240-hour transit. You need an onward ticket to a third country or region.

Can I visit Shangri-La after entering at Mohan?

No. Diqing (Shangri-La) is not one of the 9 permitted Yunnan cities.

Check your own trip

Use the free 240-hour transit checker with Mohan Railway Port pre-selected to test your passport, departure country and onward destination.

Sources

Transport and terminal sources (port-specific):

Information is for reference only; official sources prevail. See our terms and disclaimer.