( CNN ) -- Exploring the mysterious nation of North Korea just got a lot easier -- at least if you 're Chinese . A new scheme has been announced that provides Chinese citizens with an ( almost ) hassle-free visa to North Korea within a day , specifically for cycling day trips . The trip , including the visa , costs around $ 50 . Some 35 Chinese tourists embarked on the first short cycling tour on May 2 . They cycled across the border from Tumen , in the northeast of China , and visited Nanyang City in North Korea before returning to China the same day . The group visited Nanyang train station , the Korean War Hero Martyrs Monument , a portrait of Kim Il Sung , The Tower of Immortality , attended a show and sampled local snacks from a small farm market behind Nanyang International Hotel . That hotel is where Kim Il Sung reportedly met Zhou Baozhong , a famous Chinese World War II general . The first trip took a little more than three hours . Zhao Xin , one of the cyclists on the trip , told Xinhua , China 's state news agency , `` In North Korea , the food was pollution-free : vegetables , fish , eggs , they all tasted not bad . We had no worries eating there . '' First look at North Korea 's new luxury ski resort . Rise of North Korea tours in China . Tumen , part of Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in China 's Jilin Province , is a popular border city for travel to North Korea . Travel to North Korea from China has grown recently , with North Korea approving more tour routes from some Chinese cities . About 10,000 Chinese tourists visit North Korea each year through organized tours , according to Xinhua . `` The biggest advantage of Tumen in cross-border travel to North Korea is the efficiency in organizing a visa , '' said Zhong Shi-jiu , the deputy mayor of Tumen , in an interview . `` If travelers register up front with related travel agencies in Tumen as well as Tumen City Tourism Bureau , then you can get a visa and your trip approved the same day you apply for one here . '' That would make travel to North Korea easier than travel to Hong Kong , at present , for Chinese mainlanders . The trip is n't available to non-mainland Chinese travelers . Tumen also offers walking tours between the two countries . It recently relaunched a train service between China and North Korea 's Mount Chibo . DMZ : Road trip to the world 's most heavily armed border .
CNN , a North Korean city bordering North Korea , recently launched the First cycling tour to North Korea . The three-hour tour takes in North Korean war memorials , the former leader 's portrait and local foods . North Korea has approved more cross-border tours in cycling day , spurring tourism from North Korea .