India-China Travel Resumption 2026: Direct Flights, Tourist Visas and the Kailash Yatra Are Back

Last updated: Apr 23, 2026

Travel between India and China is opening up again after a six-year freeze, and 2026 is the year it really shows.

The thaw follows a series of quiet diplomatic steps since 2024, including a border agreement, a bilateral deal to restart air services in August 2025, and India reopening tourist visas to Chinese nationals in July 2025.

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Direct flights between India and China are back

Four direct routes are operating in the first half of 2026, giving travellers in Delhi and Kolkata nonstop options to mainland China for the first time since 2020.

Here’s what is flying as of April 2026:

Air India — Delhi (DEL) to Shanghai Pudong (PVG), launched 1 February 2026 on Boeing 787-8 aircraft. The route started at four times a week and stepped up to five times a week from 29 March 2026. A Mumbai–Shanghai service is also planned for later in 2026, subject to regulatory approvals.
Air China — Beijing (PEK) to Delhi (DEL), restarted on 21 April 2026, operating three times a week on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays with Airbus A330 aircraft.
IndiGo — Kolkata (CCU) to Shanghai (PVG), launched 29 March 2026 as a daily Airbus A320neo service.
China Eastern — Kunming (KMG) to Kolkata (CCU), resumed 19 April 2026, flying six times a week.

Between them, these four routes add up to about 40 nonstop flight movements each week between the two countries — a big jump from zero a year ago.

For Wego users, the fastest way to compare prices is to search flights to Shanghai, flights to Beijing or flights to Delhi.

Tourist visas are open again on both sides

India reopened tourist visas to Chinese passport holders on 24 July 2025, ending a five-year freeze that began after the 2020 Galwan border clash.

By November 2025, the Ministry of External Affairs had widened processing from a handful of missions (Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong) to Indian embassies and consulates worldwide. Chinese citizens living abroad can now apply from wherever they are.

For Chinese nationals applying from within China, the process runs through the BLS International Indian Visa Application Centres in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

Fill out the online form on the Indian Visa Online portal.
Book an appointment and submit your passport in person at the relevant BLS centre.
Expect roughly five working days of processing, per the Consulate General of India in Guangzhou.

Single- and multiple-entry tourist visas of up to one year are available.

For Indian passport holders, China’s tourist visa is processed through the Chinese embassy in Delhi and the Chinese Visa Application Service Centres in New Delhi, Mumbai, Shanghai and Kolkata, typically within four working days for standard processing.

The Kailash Mansarovar Yatra in 2026

The Kailash Mansarovar Yatra — the pilgrimage to Mount Kailash and Lake Mansarovar in Tibet — is running again in 2026 for the second consecutive year, following its resumption in 2025 after a five-year suspension, according to the Ministry of External Affairs.

The government-organised yatra runs between June and August 2026 on two routes:

Lipulekh Pass (Dharchula, Uttarakhand) — five batches of 50 pilgrims each.
Nathu La Pass (Gangtok, Sikkim) — ten batches of 50 pilgrims each.

That works out to 750 pilgrims in total, selected through a computerised draw.

Online registration opened on 15 April 2026 via the MEA’s KMY portal.
Applicants must be Indian passport holders aged 18 to 70 as of 1 January 2026.
The Lipulekh route runs roughly 19–20 days from Delhi; the Nathu La route takes around 20–22 days. Both include a required medical screening in Delhi before departure.

Private operators also run the yatra via Nepal and Lhasa, which remain the main options for non-Indian pilgrims.

What travellers should know before booking

Even with the reopening, India–China travel is still finding its feet. A few practical things to keep in mind before you book:

Flight schedules are still thin. Most routes operate daily or less often, so plan around specific days — miss a flight and the next option may be 24–48 hours away.
Apply for your visa early. Four to five working days is the nominal processing time, but demand is rising fast; allow two to three weeks to be safe.
Check your mobile and payment setup. China relies heavily on Alipay and WeChat Pay, both of which now accept foreign cards — set them up before you land.
Read your government’s advisory. India’s MEA and China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs have not issued warnings, but rules around border areas and Tibet permits still apply.
Use Wego’s flight tracker to follow schedule changes — the new routes are still being scaled up, and frequencies are expected to rise through the second half of 2026.

Sources

Disclaimer: Wego strives to ensure all information presented in this article is accurate and up to date at the time of publication. Travel policies, prices, visa requirements, and conditions can change rapidly. We strongly recommend verifying critical details with official sources before making travel decisions. Wego does not accept liability for any inaccuracies, oversights, or changes that may occur after publication.