Efforts to make travel to China easier result in uptick in visits

British travel vloggers the Hutchinsons said China "shocked" them, after embarking on a three-month tour of the country.

The family, which has 52,000 subscribers on YouTube, made their first stop on their inaugural trip to China in Guangzhou, capital of the southern province of Guangdong, in mid-March.

In their videos, they've explored cities including Guangzhou, Foshan and Xiamen in Fujian province and tasted some authentic Chinese food. They evaluated the cities as being "safe, beautiful and amazing", and have learned to use some online payment tools such as WeChat Pay.

"When visiting China, you'll realize that cashless pay is a part of everyday life, from local fruit stores to bars, restaurants, cafes and shops. Everybody uses it, and it provides smooth and convenient transactions for your day, including shopping, dining, ordering takeouts, or even transport," said Chris Hutchinson, father of the family, in one of the videos.

China's inbound tourism has steadily recovered in recent months after the central government stepped up efforts to optimize entry policies from the end of last year.