So, nobody wants to go to China.

Last month the Chinese government, on a panda diplomacy tour of Australia, announced it will grant Australian travellers visa-free entry for 15-days. The program began at the start of this month.

It’s an attempt to ramp up inbound tourism, which has been seriously flagging since the pandemic. Foreign visitors are arriving at only 30 per cent of 2019 levels, even though domestic tourism is booming.

I was in Shanghai late last year when Qantas reinstated its convenient non-stop flights, which now sadly have been halted due to lack of interest. I wondered why Australian tourists aren’t so keen on China now.

I love Shanghai and I’ve been several times. I was daunted by the DFAT warnings that Australians may be subject to “arbitrary detention” or harsh enforcement of local laws but my burning curiosity about what it would be like after the dramatic COVID-19 lockdowns won me over.

The biggest hurdle has always been the visa application process. Tourists needed to negotiate long lines at visa application centres, rigorous demands (the photo requirements are especially irksome) and scrupulous questioning of itineraries and professions.

But when I applied a few months ago, even though the lines at the Sydney visa centre were still painfully slow, I was barely questioned once I reached the counter. The immigration officers were spending far more time with Chinese Australians than anyone with non-Chinese ancestry. I picked up my visa within two days.

Getting a visa is one thing. Fronting immigration on arrival at the destination is another. This time, it did not go smoothly. The uniformed officer behind the counter seemed puzzled by my passport and kept on consulting his computer and tapping in figures, looking stern.

When he asked me to wait while he consulted a superior, I admit I started to tremble. My fellow travellers waved as they went through without a hitch, and I worried I may never see them again.