TravelMore&More

One thing to be mindful of is that I've read you can't return to Shanghai within the initial 144 hour window. Depending on your initial arrival, and the length of the cruise, that may affect you so you should check further if it applies to you.

 

Aside from that, it sounds fine.

Where did you read this? Multiple reports on various forums of travelers using the exemption multiple times.

They don't care whether you've visited a country? News to me. Do you have anything to support that?

 

The traveller is coming from Japan, going through China, and back to Japan. Without clearing immigration they haven't actually gone to any different country that changes that.

Sorry, I don't understand what you mean. Japan-China-Japan clearly does not qualify. It does not matter if you "visited" the country or not. If the plane arrives from Japan or goes to Japan directly, whether you get off or not, it is Japan that matters.

I mean in Guangzhou

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Nobody really knows. It was "announced" some time ago but it seems that they can't get approval.

Used to be 72 hours. Extended to 144 hours mid 2018.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

You mean Beijing? It is effective now.

I just read the rules and they are for Shanghai and ajoining areas. I never dealt with that. I wonder if Beijing is covered in its own right. Canton is not. And 72 is not 72 there.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Beijing is 144 hours and like Shanghai it covers various ports in nearby provinces such as Tianjin cruise port , Shujiazhuang, the Qinhuangdao port and the Beijing west railway station. At airports in Changsha, Chengdu, Chongqing, Dalian, Guangzhou, Qingdao, Tianjin , Wuhan, Xi'An, Xiamen the maximum transit time is 72 hours starting at 00:01 on the day following the day of entry, making it effectively more than 72 hours.

The link you sent looks to be for the Shanghai area where this has been in effect for over a year.

 

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S8 using Tapatalk

Yes, as the recent posts that I was responding to were about Shanghai.

You sure? In canton you can NOT get a train ticket to Guilin with the 72 hour non visa. You must have a full visa to pick up the ticket. Maybe Shanghai is different. They do enforce things differently here and there. But unless your entering one city and leaving another you are to gave a full visa. It’s good now for 10 years and as many times. If your an American.

The 72 hour non visa is issued city by city to encourage people transiting to stay. Chinese airlines allow stopovers for free or $100. I use china southern to fly from USA to Australia all the time.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Yes, I am 100% sure. It is not about how it is enforced, every place has different rules.

Firstly there is no 72-hour visa exemption, it is 144 hours. Then you can travel to 2 nearby provinces and enter and exit from various ports. It has been like this for 2 years and it has been discussed at length on this board

Here are the official rules again: http://www.sh-immigration.gov.cn/listPageEn.aspx?lx=40&id=4421

For "peace of mind" you can check the Q&A on this official Shanghai immigration website. Look at question #3: http://www.sh-immigration.gov.cn/listPageEn.aspx?lx=40&id=4421

When you arrive in Hangzhou, there is a subway station next to the train station. Take the subway, it is simple and cheap.

Watch this video of Hangzhou east:

regarding the advice above about going to the information counter to ask where to pick up the tickets, this is irrelevant. You just go to any ticket counter. It is well signed in English.

This ticket agent that made the video above also has one about the Shanghai Hongqiao station. You may want to search for it on their Youtube channel.

Easy to do. However I would get the tickets in advance. Get the app Ctrip. Has a new name but it’s the same. You can buy rail tickets very easy. They will send you a receipt. You go to the station and pick up the tickets.

China rail tickets sell out very very fast. And all the info on the app is in English. You must have your passport to pick up the tickets. And you must have a real visa. The 72 hour visa is no good. Only good for where you arrive and transit to point of dep.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Incorrect. You do not need a visa. If you enter Shanghai under the visa exemption, you can travel to the Zhejiang province where Hangzhou is located.

Here is another article.

 

https://www.saporedicina.com/english/how-to-transit-china-for-72-hours-without-a-visa-the-complete-guide/

 

I found this part interesting.

 

Note that the countries of origin and destination cannot be the same. For this reason a ticket Rome-Shanghai-Milan won’t allow you an exemption; you’ll need a ticket such as Rome-Beijing-Tokyo or Rome-Shanghai-Seoul. The final destination can also be Hong Kong, Macau or Taiwan.

Since we are arriving on a cruise that started in Singapore and our flight out ends in the USA I would think we are ok.

This is totally wrong. The countries of origin and destination are irrelevant. All that matter for this visa exemption is the country where you immediately come from before entering China and going to immediately after China. The rest of the trip is irrelevant. It also means that the cruise cannot have other stops in China before heading out to another port.

OP is good (checked sources) - that $400 to $500 USD saved for 2 visas plus processing fees, etc. good for meals & lodging and ground transfer, etc.

https://www.travelchinaguide.com/cityguides/beijing/144hours-visa-free.htm

 

Sidenote - it is good for anyone flying into Guangzhou/Guangdong's 3 airports, stay & then exit to Hong Kong or Macau (continued onward ... i.e. to cruise/fly out of nearby Hong Kong or even Macau). It does not extended to cruises that disembark in Guangdon (not that many, if at all) - nor, help for anyone disembarking or stopping in Hong Kong & wish to make a day trip across the border into mainland China. Effective date of GZ's implementation has not yet been posted, as of this date.

https://www.travelchinaguide.com/cityguides/guangdong/144hours-visa-free.htm

 

Just make sure that the cruiseline is aware of the newest policies & exemptions, as they should. Money saved ($400 to $500 with fees & agent/broker's processing) is very good to be applied to ground transfer, lodging & meals for sightseeing ... or, to do a bit of local shopping. It's a win-win for all.

Note sure what your point is. If one flies to Guangzhou visa-free and decide to go to Macau or HK, they need to do so by flying (which is a bit ridiculous).

Understand that this website is a tour agent. Nothing official and while it has been talked about, there is no such thing as a 144-hour visa free transit for Guangdong.

Thanks so much for the alert. That is exactly what we were planning to do this coming October--spend a few days in Japan, fly to Shanghai for a couple of days, then board a ship and the first scheduled port stop is Okinawa. One option is to get the Visa. The other is possibly fly Japan-Hong Kong- Shanghai. Does that fit the parameters to avoid the need for a visa? It is a nuisance but could be done at minimal cost.

If you go to HK then you are fine as HK is considered a different country.

As of December 2017 the 144 hour visa free is now in the Beijing/Tianjin area too. We will be on a cruise with the following itinerary:

Singapore

Phu My, Vietnam

Chan May port, Vietnam

Hong Kong

Incheon, Korea

Tianjin, China

We planned to leave the ship and spend three days in Beijing before flying home to Seattle Wa, USA.

 

This should qualify as we start in Singapore and end in the US.

Right?

It does not matter where it starts, it is the last stop before China that matters. Korea-China-US is fine.

"...However, beware of how the Chinese authorities interpret the term “destination”..." - The rules are pretty clear. This itinerary clearly did not qualify. Japan-Shanghai-Japan is not a transit, it is a return trip. You must go to a different country than the one that you came from. Pretty simple. you can't blame China immigration for applying the very clear rules. This is a mistake by the travelers.

When you book your transfer, you'll need to be more specific as there are 3 Hilton hotels in Beijing. You don't want to end up at the wrong location.

Just stating the obvious here but the Science and Technology subway market is the biggest market for fakes in Shanghai.

Well that is a problem. Japan-Shanghai-Japan is not a transit. You need a visa for this.

Where are you before & after Shanghai? TWOV rules are pretty specific about A-B-C routing (arrive from Country A - B is Shanghai - and depart to Country C). You don't just get 144 hours in China without a visa. There are other parts to the rules.....

The cruise is clearly compliant if the cruise company tells the poster that no visa if required if they go on THEIR excursions. Just a money grabbing thing.

Clearly going on THEIR excursion or not is not an issue for the Chinese government and does not have anything to do with the visa exemption. They are trying to force you into their excursion.

Interesting answers above. I hardly recognize this country that I have traveled to over 20 times. I will not address all the points above but let's correct a few things.

Nearly all hotels where I stayed had AC, even some where I paid $10 per night. A ton of people speak English but those, generally better educated, usually do not drive taxis or wait at tables. Regarding toilets, older building (such as a temple built a few hundred years ago) will not have great toilets but hotel, shopping malls, restaurants, will have clean "sit-down" toilets.

Understand that when visiting tourist attractions, you are not meeting locals. While they look Chinese they are mostly tourists like you from other parts of China or other Asian country.

The food will be different. Not even like Chinese food back home. But you also have tons of McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Huts and many nice western restaurants.

But, yes, it will be a shock. Everything is written in Chinese and people generally speak Chinese, you are in China after all. But signage if the subway, airports and tourist attractions is bilingual. Restaurants have menus in English or with photos.

Keep an open mind and you'll have fun. To get a feel for it, check on Youtube. There are tons of videos about various aspects of China.

I assume that the above is just a joke.

I don't know where your hotel is in Beijing but I can't think that a taxi from anywhere to the south train station would cost more than $7 to 8.

Depending where your hotel is, the subway is also an option.

Vending machines take bills, or cards. Coins are not an issue. Maybe they have some but I never saw coins in Japan.