Do China passport holders need a visa to visit SY?

No. A Chinese ordinary passport holder cannot travel to Syria visa-free. China is a "restricted nationality," so you must obtain prior security clearance/approval before travel — typically arranged through a licensed Syrian tour operator — and pick up the visa at the airport or land border. There is no working eVisa and no simple visa-on-arrival for Chinese citizens as of 2026-05-30. Syria requires advance approval for Chinese ordinary passport holders. Following the change of government in late 2024, the official eVisa portal (evisa.sy) is not operational, and the visa framework remains fluid. Citizens of "restricted" countries — which explicitly includes China (alongside the USA, Russia, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and others) — must obtain a prior security clearance issued inside Syria, almost always handled by a licensed Syrian travel agency or tour operator. Airlines will not board a passenger flying into Damascus or Aleppo without this approval reference. Once approved, the physical visa is issued and the fee is paid in USD cash on arrival at the airport or at the Lebanese/Jordanian land border. Processing for restricted nationalities runs up to roughly one month. Passports must be valid at least six months, and any sign of prior Israeli travel (stamps/visas) or Israeli nationality results in refused entry. Given that there is no reliable visa-free, visa-on-arrival, or eVisa channel for Chinese citizens, the conservative and correct classification is visa-required.