(Yicai) Dec. 25 -- Shanghai has become a popular destination for South Korean citizens among other overseas tourists after China extended its visa-free policy to more countries early last month.

The number of travel bookings from South Korea to Shanghai has surged 180 percent since the visa exemption policy kicked in on Nov. 8, according to data from Chinese travel agency Ctrip. Other popular destinations in China for South Koreans include Qingdao and Beijing.

Jin Lu, a tour guide in Shanghai, told Yicai that she has received four to five groups from South Korea over the past month. Visitors included businesspeople who tour the city after attending conferences and others traveling for leisure, she noted.

South Korean lawyer Lee Hyeyeon said to Yicai that she planned to travel to Thailand or Vietnam with her friends, but after finding out that China had expanded its visa-free policy to South Korean citizens, they bought plane tickets to Shanghai.

"Without the visa exemption policy, we probably wouldn't have come to Shanghai because applying for visas takes time," Lee noted.

The first stop for most South Korean visitors to Shanghai is the site of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea during World War II on Madang Road. During peak hours in the afternoon, there are often long queues of tourists at the museum entrance.

Other Shanghai landmarks, including Yu Garden, the Bund, the Wukang Building, and the Oriental Pearl Tower, are also popular attractions among South Korean tourists.

"I really like the night view of Shanghai and the majesty of the buildings in places like the Bund," a South Korean visitor told Yicai. "When coming to China, I want to taste authentic mutton kebab and hot pot," another tourist noted.

The visa exemption for South Korean citizens can significantly boost the enthusiasm of young people for traveling to China because this allows them to travel straight from getting off work on a Friday, Quan Xiaoxing, a part-time researcher at the University of International Business and Economics' Research Center on the Korean Peninsula, said to Yicai.

Shanghai has become the first stop for many foreigners entering China due to its highly convenient land and sea transport, with the number of overseas visitors doubling to more than 4 million in the 11 months ended Nov. 30 from a year earlier, according to data from the Shanghai General Station of Immigration Inspection. Visitors without needing a visa reached nearly 1.4 million, a 4.8 times surge.

Citizens of Slovakia, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Andorra, Monaco, Liechtenstein, and South Korea were allowed to travel to China for up to 15 days without a visa from Nov. 8 to the end of next year.

China has implemented unilateral visa exemptions for citizens of 38 countries, including France and Germany, transit visa exemptions for citizens of 54 countries, extended the stay time of transit visa-exempt personnel, and added new entry and exit ports.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Martin Kadiev