SHANGHAI, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- The eastern Chinese metropolis of Shanghai welcomed its first group of 26 Japanese nationals, arriving under a new visa-free policy, on Saturday, Shanghai Customs said Sunday.

The passengers, traveling on flight JL891 from Tokyo, arrived at Shanghai Pudong International Airport and completed customs formalities within 30 minutes, according to the customs.

Starting from Nov. 30, 2024, and running through Dec. 31, 2025, ordinary passport holders from nine countries -- Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Malta, Estonia, Latvia and Japan -- are eligible for visa-free entry into China on a trial basis.

According to a customs official, Japan and Shanghai have maintained long-standing economic, trade and personnel exchanges, and this new visa-free policy is expected to boost the number of Japanese travelers in the future.

Data from the customs show that Shanghai Pudong International Airport handled more than 9 million inbound and outbound foreign passengers from Jan. 1 to Nov. 30 this year, 1.7 times more than the same period last year.