Has anyone in the US done the 240hr visa free stuff with China? Looking to go next year meet with a few friends that moved there and sight see for a week.I'm kinda confused on what the requirements are I can't figure out if my shit is right, plan is>Fly in from US>Visit shanghai for 7 days>8th day train to HK to "exit">spend 2 weeks there>fly to japan for a week and head homeHas anyone done this before? Google's AI bullshit is so whack it doesn't explain shit and reddit threads about it are just "read my blog" begging posts. Really don't intend to do anything longer there so I feel the 10 year visa would be a waste of time and money.
From what I've heard post-COVID china is a huge nightmare for outsiders because everything uses these proprietary chinese mobile pay apps, no one accepts cash, and I guess credit cards as we know them aren't a thing there
>>2842240Great, signing up for alipay isn't that hard talking about the visa there bot brain
you didn't find this thread? The page the OP links to is incredibly comprehensive./r/Chinavisa/comments/1ideal6/chinas_10day_visafree_transit_policy_detailed/I spent 2 days in Kunming back when it was only 48 hours and had such a fucking good time, 10 days seems like eternity and I am very excited. Thinking of flying into Wuhan, doing some hiking nearby, then traveling by train to Shanghai. Looks like as long as your route takes you through approved regions you can travel by any means, and fly out of a different airport.My question is this: typically I just travel by camping and hiking, but will I be blacklisted against future travel if I don't register in a hotel every night? I'm guessing yes.
>>2842243Alipay (also wepay) doesn't work well with non-chinese bank accounts. The great firewall doesn't help with this.I'm not going until they sort it out. I already went in the 2010s when you could get by with cash. I can wait (or simply never go again).
>>2842260>Alipay (also wepay) doesn't work well with non-chinese bank accounts.You can literally link Alipay/we pay to most visa backed cards.
I have an Italian passport and get get russia evisa and visa free travel in china easily so I'm thinking of planning a trip through russia, china, mongolia, and central asia. Idk if it makes sense to see so much in a months time or travel over there a few times since I live in Europe and work in Asia, but the ease of access inspired me to try. I've actually been and lived in China a decade ago. I've wondered if it's changed.
>>2842268CorrectAnd then your bank will decline the paymentAnd you need 2-factor authentication And then you need a VPN and a second local simAnd then it might work half the timeI'll pass. There are many other countries in the region that I can check out where I don't have to deal with this shit AND are better and safer
>>2842274I never had much trouble with any of that shit, and the few times I did it wasn't as issue for them to take cash, people online seem to make a bigger deal of the "no cash" thing than it really is. The actual problem is everything is in fucking Chinese - all of the maps apps, menus, etc and there's no English option or smooth way to translate without having to screenshot everything first
>>2842274You know Alipay and WePay is huge in SEA right none of that is true>I'll pass. There are many other countries in the region that I can check out where I don't have to deal with this shit AND are better and saferThen why are you in a thread where the OP is about visiting china?
>>2842284>You know Alipay and WePay is huge in SEA right none of that is trueThis only work for actual Chinese citizens or people that have done some special verification right? I've tried to use the apps outside China and they say I can only use it in China
>>2842289It's the same app now AFAIK, Alipay will allow you to pay but not use the other apps like the china uber alternative stuff or pay without an active data plan. The only thing I've seen is that whatever SMS you registered with must be able to get SMS's wherever you are for issues.
>>2842248>camping and hikingare you going to do that without a car?
>>2842284>it's accepted in SEA!Yes, and so is my visa/mastercard. Thais have it figured out. If only the chinese could somehow figure out this advanced technology of accepting foreign payment processors...
>>2842290>it does work most of the time but you've gotta do x, y, and z for it to workSounds like the typical chinese experience for a foreignerNot worth my time to jump through these retarded hoops. I'm going to Taiwan in 3 weeks where I don't have to deal with any of that shit.
>>2842339>>2842343Great anon why the fuck are you bothering posting in a thread about people visiting China then? Most China accepts CC's but if you want to go to non-chain places you often need to pay with something else and cash is going out of style. Please stick to thailand
>>2842236I've done it before and my parents did it as well this past year. Works fine. The only thing you need to be concerned about is sometimes the immigration agents will really grill you. I've seen them reject people for seemingly no reason, and they nearly rejected my dad, though they thankfully called me over to help explain things.But they'll basically ask you to show proof of all of your hotels, ask you why you're there, ask where you're coming from and where you're going (mention you arrived from the US and you're leaving to Japan. HK is technically okay, but saying Japan is guaranteed okay), be ready to list off a lot of reasons why you're visiting (food, museums, some specific places) and don't sound like you're not sure. I've seen people who say "Oh, I dunno. Just thought I'd check out China because it seems interesting" get turned away. >>2842274Works fine for me. But my parents had issues because they used a bank debit card. I use a normal credit card.
>>2842240>no one accepts cashStrong doubt. ATMs can be found in China. Chinese at local businesses are gonna be rude to a non-Chinese speaking foreigner, but they won't refuse their own currency, and in my experience, Chinese businesses always have big piles of change around, so paying with a large bill will always be doable.
>>2842352Most large companies and chains have done away with cash payment options, you use cash for small goods and shops only.
>>2842346Yep, transit stays are one case where you should have your itinerary completely planned out in advance, with your onward ticket ready to present. Best not to overshare details about your travel plans. Don't say you're thinking of going hiking in some far-off province 1500 km from the airport you are arriving in, even if you are.>saying Japan is guaranteed okayAnon, do you live under a rock? The PRC is mega butthurt over Japan atm.
>>2842346So if I'm staying for 9 nights i have to have all hotels booked in advance?
>>2842260Was in China in October and Alipay worked fine for most things linked to my American debit card. Only thing I had trouble with was those stupid scan and pay vending machines in metro stations.
Set up wechat at home, it needs an SMS to verify your phone. Get a roaming esim for google etc. get trip.com for trains (this is the official app). I love china but see more than Beijing and Shanghai>>2842352My cab driver in West china 2 years ago handed me his wechat qr to pay, I handed him RMB and you would think that he’d never seen cash before. Most places were fine but cash is less and less common
>>2845296Are there people who still show up to countries without places to stay booked?
>>2846241>get trip.com for trains (this is the official app)lol no it isn'tThe official app is 12306. Trip is completely pointless for booking trains if you're not a clueless laowai happy to pay commission fees for no good reason whatsoever.
So let me get this straight>be burger>fly into China with continued travel booked>continued travel must not be the one you flew in from>must have hotel booked and prove it on landing>prove funding for trip>clock begins ticking at midnight of the day you landThat's it?
>>2846296Think 'ABC', where each letter must be a different country. i.e. London -> Singapore -> Tokyo.Hong Kong counts as a different country. I believe Taiwan and Macau do, too. Hainan does NOT count. Everything else you're saying sounds good.
>>2846286It official for english, as in they aren’t just taking info from another website, they get it from the government directly.I dont remember the commissions but it was worth because their customer service was great.
>>2846286Great rec, thanks>>2842493I'm gonna have to come up with some creative fictions, since all I plan on doing for 10 days is stealth camp, drink beer in 7-11s and practice my "hey cutie can I qing ni yi bei ka fei?"
>>2842236the requirements are:you enter from country A and exit going into country B (not country A)HK, Macao, Taiwan all count as separate countries because they are not under Mainland Chinese visa policy jurisdiction.Your plan is fine.>>2842248no, if you didn't register at a new hotel then they will just assume you are travelling on a train or the staff were dumb and registered you out early or you extended your stay there and they didn't re-register you. It is really not that serious.I stayed at friends houses without registering, stayed in a hotel in Shenyang where the staff were so retarded that they couldn't figure out how to register me over the course of five days, nobody cared.>>2845303those need you to have a credit score (otherwise you could open it steal all the drinks and they can't charge your card so it's empty) but they worked for me eventually.>>284632712306 has an English version thoe
Is it that hard to just apply for an actual visa?
>>2846437It's easy. My exp:>complete only pre-screening docs form>got approval in 24 hours>went to visa centre>paid for express>came back 2 or 3 days later>picked upCost like 100quid in Warsaw for a business visa. Tourism should be easier. Seen many people get multiple year multiple entry stuff.
>>2846296Yes. So long as you're prepared, it's very, very easy. Be able to answer simple questions that they'll ask you. Know at least a few touristy spots in the city you're arriving in and they'll let you through. They just want to know that you're a tourist, not someone who's going to wander in and cause problems.
>>2842274Heard the same thing from my Canadian friend who just went. He said payment was a nightmare in China.
>>2842274>>2846483Are people honestly experiencing this?
>>2846487I have absolutely zero idea where this comes from. I think it's just retards angry they can't pay directly by card adding more story to it.I used alipay for most of my purchases. It was admittedly mildly annoying to set up since for some reason automatic verification failed to go through and I had to wait an extra day for some chink to click through the pictures manually. I linked my Revolut to it and generally had no problems bankside. Twice during a month's stay the payment would not go through - from a quick search it appears there's some foreign payment acceptance toggle people with truly ancient accounts might not have on by default. There was no issue paying in cash anywhere, I went through a fair bit of money I withdrew as backup and had to eventually get rid of. Nobody ever grumbled and everyone had change. ATMs charged no fees (at least not Pingan bank). From my experience, you could totally go cash only with no issues.There is some actual cancer in China as far as the digital ecosystem is concerned (wechat museum booking, VPNs, non-Chinese services being useless) but the payment bit is nonsense. It works fine and cash is still a viable option.
>>2842236How can i arrange such a long transit in China? I am unbale to do it with Google flights nor e.g. China Eastern Airlines. Would I be eligible with multi-journey with different airlines?I thought about going to Japan and spending close to 10 days somewhere in China (e.g. Chongqing).
>>2846693The ''''''''''''transit visa''''''''''''''''''' is being used as a short-term tourist visa. It doesn't have to be the same flight or airline, or anything. You just have to fuck off to a 3rd country upon leaving (i.e. not return to the country you had flown out from).You book Heathrow to Shanghai on day one, and make sure before day 10(?) you fly from something like Beijing to Tokyo/HK/Dubai. In between, you can fuck around and do what you like.You must have some type of itinerary, though to avoid fuckeries at the border. People ARE getting turned away for just yolo'ing.
>>2842236>Visit shanghai for 7 days>8th day train to HK to "exit"that is not a transit, that is a trip to china. you are meant to have a flight out of china to a 3rd country which wasn't your origin for it to count as a transitentering Hong Kong overland means exiting china overland which means you haven't transited. HK is, for the purposes of immigration, not Mainland China.you would be flying to china without a Visa which may cause you problems checking in for your flight in the USA because they will usually ask to see your visa. and then when you explain they will raise an eyebrow that you are not transiting. might you be able to pull it off at immigration in shanghai airport? maybe, but i wouldn't risk it for $180 which google says a visa + processing costs. you are risking being refused onto your first flight at check-in because, essentially, you are not transiting and you don't have a visa.
>>2842248not registering is only an issue if they want to make it an issue. immigration points aren't accessing that info and visa processing dept aren't accessing that info, so the PSB can look at it if they have a reason but if you aren't ever in trouble then no one is going through tourist records to find out who skipped a registration. if you are arrested and they want to hassle you then they would find all your details across the country regarding everything and put it in a binder and present it to you in a police interview room to make you explain and justify yourself. this is an escalation and they do not want to escalate unless you really require it.
>>2846734You speak with such authority when you spout conjecture.
>>2846733Everything I see online says HK is a viable third option unless you have something else to prove that, the HSR with a proven flight from HK booked to another country is fine.
>>2846711Would it work with a train ticket? Can you buy a ticket out of there to Vietnam or Laos?
>>2846930only to Laos and Hong Kong. Other railways (Vietnam, Mongolia, Kazakhstan) are not valid ports of exit for the visa waiver programme.
>>2846733I've personally done the following route using the transit visa>Flight 'in': Heathrow - Chengdu>''Transit: Chengdu - Xian - Chongqing>Flight 'out': Chonqing - HK>Bonus round: HK - Hainan for 30 days
>>2846968>30 days in hainanWhat all did you do there
>>2847034Ah, was only 2 weeks, but they have 30 day visa free. Sorry, should've been clearer.I worked half the time, and chilled on teh beach the other half. Did normie shit like go to the rainforest, monkey island, theme park, etc. Drank a fuck load of beer, too.
