When Brian Hepburn and his wife, Joan, stepped into the arrival hall of Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport at about 6:20 am on Thursday, they were immediately in the media spotlight.

Brian Hepburn, 85, from New Zealand, said he was surprised and glad to learn he had become the first foreign passenger to visit Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province, on a free-visa transit policy that took effect on Thursday.

Hepburn told reporters who had waited at the airport that the transit policy was convenient, as he needed only two to three minutes to complete the paperwork.