Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang province, will allow 72-hour transit visa exemptions for foreign nationals from next month, local authorities said.

Foreigners will be able to visit without visas when en route to a third country or region.

Following Shenyang and Dalian, Harbin will be the third city in the three northeast provinces to embrace the policy.

"The policy is expected to help ramp up the city's international access and promote the development of the city’s tourism industry," said Wang Jing, director of the Tourism Research Institute of Harbin Academy of Social Sciences.

Harbin Taiping International Airport operates 13 international routes, including Russia, Japan and Korea, and received 290,000 inbound tourists last year.