Russia will open its tourism markets to Chinese citizens completely, announced the Federal Tourism Agency of Russian Federation and the "World without Boundaries" Visa Waiver Travel Association on June 23 at a press conference in Beijing.

According to the introduction, organized groups of Chinese citizens can go to all parts of Russia free of visa. Russia has opened many travel routes, including Moscow, St. Petersburg, Baikal Lake and Sochi. China has authorized 672 travel agencies to organize tourism groups for sightseeing in Russia.

Last year the number of Chinese citizens' visit to Russia was reportedly close to 810,000, an increase of 22.4 per cent than that of the year before. It is expected that by 2006, the number of Chinese citizens visiting Russia will reach 1 million.

By People's Daily Online