China — Kyrgyzstan and Vietnam get transit and Hainan, not the whole country
National Immigration Administration Announcement No. 4 of 2026, effective 20 August 2026, adds Kyrgyzstan and Vietnam to two separate schemes: the 240-hour (10-day) visa-free transit, which now covers 57 countries, and the 30-day visa-free entry to Hainan Province, now 61. Neither is general visa-free entry to China. The 240-hour transit requires an onward ticket to a third country or region with confirmed dates and seats, and the stay is confined to designated areas; Hainan is one province. A Kyrgyz or Vietnamese citizen flying to Beijing for a holiday and then home again still needs a visa. Our verdict for both passports therefore stays "visa required", and we have pinned it as a fact in tools/verify_rules.js so a headline about "China goes visa-free" can never quietly flip it.
Who this affects
What has NOT changed
A change to the visa rule does not change these. They apply as before.