New visas launched

Two new types of Chinese visa aimed to facilitate overseas Chinese visiting China have taken effect starting from Sunday, the news portal chinanews.com reported, citing an official with the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council.

The Q1 visa allows overseas Chinese visiting family to stay in the country for a period as long as five years, while the Q2 visa is issued to short-term visitors to their families in China. The two types are included in the country's newly amended entry and exit regulation that also took effect on Sunday.

The new regulations added four new visas, expanding the number of Chinese visa types to 12.