Sanya Phoenix (SYX): 240-Hour Visa-Free Transit Guide
Last verified
Port facts at a glance: Sanya Phoenix International Airport (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).
Hainan also has its own 30-day visa-free entry for 61 countries, separate from 240-hour transit, with entry through Hainan's ports only and no travel to the mainland. See our Hainan visa-free entry guide. This page covers 240-hour transit only.
Sanya Phoenix International Airport (三亚凤凰国际机场, SYX) is a designated 240-hour port (No. 50). Entering here gives you the whole of Hainan. You can leave through Haikou Meilan (No. 49) or any other designated port within 240 hours.
At a glance
| Official port name | Sanya Phoenix International Airport (三亚凤凰国际机场口岸) |
| IATA code | SYX |
| City / province | Sanya, Hainan |
| Port type | air |
| NIA list number | No. 50 of 65 |
| Designated for 240-hour transit since | 2024-12-17 |
| Stay area if you enter here | the whole of Hainan Province |
| Maximum stay | 240 hours, counted from 00:00 the day after entry |
| Eligible passports | Ordinary passports of 57 countries |
⚠️ 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).
- The Hainan visa-free country list on the airport page looks out of date (it predates later changes); we do not reproduce it. The current list is in our Hainan visa-free entry guide.
Who can use 240-hour visa-free transit here
You can enter at Sanya Phoenix International Airport 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)):
- Must be a national of one of the 57 eligible countries.
- Must hold an ordinary passport (NIA policy page and 2026 announcement say 'ordinary passports'; the Nov 2025 conditions say 'valid international travel document').
- Passport/travel document valid for at least 3 months, and the traveller must meet the entry requirements of the onward third country/region.
- Must hold an interline/onward ticket (air, ship or train) to a third country/region with confirmed date and seat/itinerary, departing within 240 hours, or other proof documents. It must be bought BEFORE entry.
- The country/region you arrive from and the one you depart to must be different (A -> China -> B). Same-country round trips (e.g. Seoul -> Shanghai -> Seoul) do not qualify.
- Fill in the Arrival Card for Temporary Entry Foreigners and accept inspection/questioning by border inspection. Arrival cards can be filled online before travel (since 2025-11-20).
- Enter through one of the 65 designated ports; exit through any designated port (in Guangdong, also any open port of Guangdong).
- Stay only within the permitted areas of the 24 provinces; cross-province travel within those areas is allowed.
- Tourism, business, visits, family visits allowed; work, study, news reporting require a proper visa.
- Hotels register guests; if staying elsewhere, register with local police within 24 hours (online channels nationwide since 2026-09-21).
- If force majeure requires staying longer or outside the area, apply in advance to the local public security exit-entry authority for a stay permit; unauthorised overstay is treated as illegal stay.
- If you are covered by a mutual visa-exemption agreement or China's unilateral visa-free policy, those provisions prevail (often 30 days).
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:
- Passport/travel document valid for less than 3 months.
- Passport bears a Chinese visa-refusal stamp.
- Illegal entry/exit, illegal stay or illegal employment in China within the past 5 years.
- 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). ⚠️ unverified for 240h
- Any other circumstance where entry is not permitted under Chinese law.
- No confirmed onward ticket at entry (cannot buy after arrival).
- Round trip to/from the same country or region.
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 Sanya Phoenix International Airport puts you in the Hainan Province stay area: Entire administrative area of Hainan. Cross-province travel is allowed within the permitted areas of all 24 provinces.
Hainan-specific notes: Yalong Bay, Haitang Bay, Wuzhizhou Island, Lingshui and Boao are all in Hainan, so they are inside the area. You can reach mainland Guangdong (permitted in full) by crossing the Qiongzhou Strait from Haikou.
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:
- Shanxi: Taiyuan, Datong only
- Heilongjiang: Harbin only
- Jiangxi: Nanchang, Jingdezhen only
- Guangxi: Nanning, Liuzhou, Guilin, Wuzhou, Beihai, Fangchenggang, Qinzhou, Guigang, Yulin, Hezhou, Hechi, Laibin only
- Sichuan: Chengdu, Zigong, Luzhou, Deyang, Suining, Neijiang, Leshan, Yibin, Ya'an, Meishan, Ziyang only
- Yunnan: Kunming, Yuxi, Chuxiong, Honghe, Wenshan, Pu'er, Xishuangbanna, Dali, Lijiang only
- All other permitted provinces/municipalities are covered in full: Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Liaoning, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian, Shandong, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, Hainan, Chongqing, Guizhou, Shaanxi.
Other 240-hour ports in the same stay area (you may leave through any designated port nationwide): Haikou Meilan 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 Sanya Phoenix Airport | 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 Sanya Phoenix Airport to the city (official transport information)
Sources: Sanya airport, airport bus and HSR pages (Chinese; undated; fetched 2026-11-03).
Airport buses (board opposite Domestic Arrivals Gate 5, Complex Building C, ground floor)
| Line | Route | Departures from the airport | Max fare |
|---|---|---|---|
| ① | Airport ↔ Yalong Bay via Sanya Bay Road, the main bus station and Dadonghai | hourly 09:00–02:00 (02:00 = last flight), 18 a day | coach ¥25; 7-seat van ¥30 |
| ② | Airport ↔ Haitang Bay (hotels and the international duty-free city) | hourly 10:00–22:00, 13 a day | coach ¥25; 7-seat van ¥35 |
- Fares are charged by distance (children ¥12.5 maximum on the coach). The airport says the "海汽行" (Haiqixing) booking page has the final stops and times.
High-speed rail: Phoenix Airport station (凤凰机场站)
- On the western round-island line (Haikou → … → Yazhou → Phoenix Airport → Sanya). It also has its own line, via Tianya Haijiao and Nanshan.
- The station is connected to the terminal's departures drop-off level; the main entrance is on the west side of T1.
International arrivals at SYX
- Per the airport's international arrivals page, your plane may park at a remote stand. A shuttle bus takes you to the terminal, where you clear health and quarantine, border control (the 240-hour lane) and customs before baggage claim.
- 24-hour airport hotline: 0898-9612333.
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 Sanya Phoenix Airport:
- Arrival card: fill it in online before you travel (available since 20 Nov 2025 via NIA online arrival card, the NIA 12367 app or WeChat/Alipay mini programs), or on paper/by QR code at the port (NIA, 2025-11-03).
- Payments: set up Alipay and/or WeChat Pay with a foreign card, and carry a backup card and some cash. See How to pay in China.
- Must-have apps: install them before you land (maps, translation, ride-hailing, train booking). See Must-have China travel apps.
- Phone number and data: decide between a travel eSIM and a local SIM; some services need a phone number that can receive SMS. See eSIM and internet in China.
- High-speed rail (HSR): if you plan day trips inside the stay area, compare 12306 (official) and Trip.com, and remember your passport is your ticket. See China high-speed rail: 12306, tickets and refunds.
- Where you sleep: hotels register you; if you stay in a private home you must register with police within 24 hours, which can now be done online nationwide (NIA Announcement No. 7 of 2026, 2026-09-21).
- Onward ticket: printed or on screen, showing a confirmed seat/date inside the 240-hour window to a different country or region than the one you arrived from.
FAQ
When does my 240 hours start if I land at Sanya Phoenix Airport?
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 Sanya Phoenix Airport?
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.
How do I get from Sanya airport to Yalong Bay?
Take airport bus line ①, which runs hourly from 09:00 until the last flight (about 02:00), max ¥25.
Can I take the train from Sanya to Haikou and leave from Haikou airport?
Yes. Both airports are 240-hour ports, and Hainan is permitted in full.
Do I need a 240-hour onward ticket if I use Hainan's own visa-free entry instead?
That is a separate scheme with its own rules: the NIA texts for it do not mention an onward ticket. See our Hainan visa-free entry guide for what is and is not verified.
Check your own trip
Use the free 240-hour transit checker with Sanya Phoenix Airport pre-selected to test your passport, departure country and onward destination.
Sources
- NIA (EN) Policy Interpretation: Visa-Free Transit Policies (2026-08-20)
- 国家移民管理局 关于实施支持扩大开放服务高质量发展10项创新举措的公告（附件：适用条件、适用口岸和停留活动区域表） (2025-11-03)
- 中国政府网：中国过境免签政策全面放宽优化（21 new ports, 39->60; areas expanded） (2024-12-17)
- NIA Announcement No. 4 [2025]: 10 New Measures (5 Guangdong ports added, 60->65; Conditions appendix) (2025-11-03)
- 云南省人民政府：240小时过境免签政策问答 (origin vs destination rule; time calculation example; onward ticket must be bought before entry) (undated page; references policy status as of 2026-08-20)
- NIA Announcement No. 7 of 2026: nationwide online accommodation registration (2026-09-21)
- NIA Announcement No. 4 of 2026 (Kyrgyzstan, Vietnam added; 57 countries) (2026-08-20)
- Port and area data: this site's dataset, last verified 2026-11-03 (generated from the NIA tables).
Transport and terminal sources (port-specific):
- Sanya Phoenix Airport: Airport bus (Chinese): undated; fetched 2026-11-03
- Sanya Phoenix Airport: HSR (Chinese): undated; fetched 2026-11-03
- Sanya Phoenix Airport: International arrivals (Chinese): undated; fetched 2026-11-03
Information is for reference only; official sources prevail. See our terms and disclaimer.