TravelMore&More
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Posts posted by TravelMore&More
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There is no need to join a tour. You just need transportation to get there.
There are many places to see the Great Wall (a lot more than 2-3 or 4 as said above). Here is a copy of my response on another thread on a similar question:
Badaling is the most crowded as it is closest to Beijing and easy to reach by bus. It only takes one hour by public bus. It is also the cheapest way to see the Wall. Close and cheap means busy. See this video:
Next is Mutianyu which not as easy to get to by public transportation and is 1.5 hours away. Not as busy but getting more busy than before. A cable car can take you to the top. Less tiring than walking up.
These days, for less people and a good experience, I would go to Huanghuacheng
You will need to hire a driver to go to places other than Badaling. cost is 600RMB plus or minus 100. Drivers can be found here: http://www.thebeijinger.com/classifieds/cars-drivers
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Badaling is the most crowded as it is closest to Beijing and easy to reach by bus. It only takes one hour by public bus. It is also the cheapest way to see the Wall. Close and cheap means busy. See this video:
Next is Mutianyu which not as easy to get to by public transportation and is 1.5 hours away. Not as busy but getting more busy than before. A cable car can take you to the top. Less tiring than walking up.
These days, for less people and a good experience, I would go to Huanghuacheng
You will need to hire a driver to go to places other than Badaling. cost is 600RMB plus or minus 100. Drivers can be found here: http://www.thebeijinger.com/classifieds/cars-drivers
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A letter of invitation is not a requirement. It is one of the options that can be used to get a visa. Such a letter of invitation must come from someone legally residing in China (friend or family) who is inviting you. Other documents need to accompany the letter. these are explained on the visa center website.
I doubt that this applies to you. Use the other option which requires you to show your itinerary with hotel booking. In your case, a copy of your Shanghai hotel booking.
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Sure you "can" visit temples in shorts and sleeveless shirt and only in a few places will they stop you but understand that it really upsets the locals who, most of time, will not say anything as they are too shy to do so.
It is just the right thing to do to respect they religious beliefs and customs. You can buy the cheap "alibaba" pants sold in all the markets and it's not warm at all.
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I've been looking at Asian cruises that stop in Tianjin for a trip to the Great Wall and other attractions of interest. Also, I think I've have seen that Beijing is a stop for the same attractions ? It seems that from Tianjin to the attractions it is a long 3 hour ride and an over night, or two night excursion is offered which is expensive. Is it better to stop at Beijing or Tianjin, does one bring you closer to the Wall? Are there local attractions at these stops as well?
There is no port in Beijing. You will arrive in Tianjin and have ti make your way to Beijing, so this adds to the time if you wish to base yourself there. But there are certainly more things to see or do in Beijing. From Beijing city center to the Wall is one hour to 1,5 hours depending on which section of the Wall you visit.
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Definitely bare foot in Myanmar. at the Shwedagon Pagoda you remove your shoes at the bottom of the stairs much before entering the actual temple part.
Socks were ok in Sri Lanka but not anywhere in Myanmar.
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It depends on what country and what temples you are referring to.
While in Myanmar recently, I saw many insensitive tourists who just had shorts despite the signs at the entrance that gave clear instructions.
In some places they take this issue more seriously than others. Just have something light, even better, something that you can remove when leaving the temple.
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I was looking at the photos above and thinking, wow, these look fake. Then I read that the poster already knows that. Do not expect to get anywhere as close as this when going to see the real thing. The soldiers are in a pit and you are 100 feet+ away with three rows of people in front of you.
I am not sure that the OP realizes how far the Warriors are from Shanghai. This is definitely not a day-tour. With some luck, the OP can make the 9h30 flight (will be tough) and this one arrives in Xi'An at 12h15. Otherwise the next one departs at 12h20 and arrives at 15h15. Too late to see anything on that day. Flights to Xi'An depart from both airports as both have international and domestic flights. It just depends on the airline used
Just some corrections. Uber does not work in China. They have something similar but you can't use it as a tourist, even if you read Chinese and speak Mandarin. Nothing wrong with taxis though. Pudong airport is not connected to China's rail network. They have a subway and a Maglev (a commuter train). And the population is nowhere near 30 million.
"...Private ones can easily close down, disappear & disconnect their online presence by flipping a few switches ... leaving you & others stranded and travel "investment" worthless..." - I have never heard of this in China in the many years that I have traveled there and lived there. Most, if not all, are reliable. The only problem is those shopping stops.
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I am having trouble with your post....the link you supplied goes to the Shanghai General Website and the last topic on the left hand side is about the 72-hour visa free transit....
Right. Pay attention to the dates. The old 72-hour exemption was replaced about a year ago. And this is not a general website but an official website of the immigration authorities in Shanghai. One should rely on this website rather than the website of Chinatravelguide who is a travel agent that has nothing official about it, is not up to date and even contradicts itself on the same page.
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There is no such thing as a 72-hour visa free transit in Shanghai. It was replaced a year ago with a 144-hour one. If you look at the link in the post above, you may notice that Shanghai is not on the list.
Here is a copy of the official policy: http://www.sh-immigration.gov.cn/listPageEn.aspx?lx=40&id=4421
You need to check with your cruise company to make sure that they are ok with this and that the cruise meets the requirements.
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When it comes to tipping in Asia in general, there is a saying "service is included except for Americans who are expected to tip". The point is, locals would never tip but Americans tourists insist on it. Actually, in many places you are expected to pay less than the posted price (bargain), so someone who pays more than the posted price is considered strange and certainly not very smart (in their eyes) while in your eyes you are being generous. I even had a friend once bargain down the restaurant bill. Their perception is quite different.
People will rarely refuse the extra money but it creates bad habits. Other travelers would prefer if the Americans did not import this bad habit.
With respect to the use of US$, I would not count on it. Sometimes it is possible to pay in US$ (not in Japan), but it makes everything complicated and you get a lousy exchange rate. However, it will be quite easy to exchange your dollars as long as your bills are in pristine conditions, recent and not folded. In the end, using ATMs is an easier solution.
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We just finished a 10-day trip in Myanmar and in every place that we visited, every taxi driver randomly picked on the street spoke enough English, even in smaller towns.
We did not use guides but we could hear some with their clients while we were visited and were impressed with the quality of their English,, french, Italian, Spanish, etc. which they often spoke with nearly no accent. They most probably lived abroad for a while.
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Booking a tour is certainly not a requirement of the Chinese immigration authorities.
It is easy to do Shanghai on your own, assuming that you can speak English.
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Quote from the website "need to enrol in a tour group". This is taken from the explanation and answer to question 2.
I am sure you will offer your apologies and refrain from lecturing.
My comment is about the topic discussed here.
Your link goes to a Chinese webpage and even with my limited reading abilities of Chinese, I still see no reference of what you are talking about on that page.
The topic of this thread is the 144-hour exemption. Links to the official rules were given in a previous post.
If you wish to introduce another topic, at least give us a working link to it.
I'd be interested to know of cruises ships who park themselves in Shanghai for more than 6 days.
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This is new and allows cruise passengers in tour groups an exemption from visa requirement.
See official Shanghai Immigration website
sh-immigration.gov.cn
Incorrect information again. One does not need to be in a tour group. Please read your own reference again and tell me where it says that joining a tour is a requirement? Please do not spread wrong information and mislead people.
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Not in zip pouches but some other plastic container. Not the original packaging and not including a copy of the labels.
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I have done this on my many trips to China and they don't care.
Actually it has never been an issue anywhere in the world over my many years of travel.
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Third world country??? Ha! Ha!
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I think some of you might want to see this information, especially if you are flying into Shanghai and cruising out of the city within 6 days
https://www.travelchinaguide.com/embassy/visa/free-transit-144hour.htm
This has been widely discussed on this board. The application of the not so new policy is not widely followed by cruise companies and almost no airlines for air-to-sea transits.
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Sorry no visa free entry. Looks like you'll need a multiple entry visa too. There's back and forth comments here on CC if you need a multiple entry visa, but better safe than sorry.
Port of call after Shanghai must be another country.
Also the 144 hr rule requires you to stay within the Shanghai area ;);) the entire time until you transit to another country.
Actually not. You can visit the province of Jiangsu and Zhejiang and can even exit the country there.
But if you are going to Beijing then it is not a transit, it's a trip to China, so you don't qualify.
Note that Beijing is inland and has no port. So the cruise is not going to Beijing. It is going to Tianjin a city of 10 million people 125 miles away from Beijing.
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"...On the website it showed that you have to leave the country by plane and were very specific about the 144 not being good if you were leaving by ship...." - the official website clearly says the contrary and the website of some airlines has also been updated in the same manner.
The rules are very clear. The only problem is the ignorance of some airlines or some cruise operators. Some but not all.
So to determine if you qualify is pretty simple: country A - China - Country B. The real question is will YOUR airlines let you board the plane.
Understand that this visa exemption is used by several thousand visitors each year. It's not like it is some obscure loophole.
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My question would be, is the rate any good compared to just using ATMs.
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Wnhat do you need it for? Calls, data or both?
If you just want to make calls and some SMS, these simple cards can be purchased everywhere. Ask your hotel for the nearest place.
If you need internet the it gets more complicated. You need to go to an official China Mobile or (better) China Unicom store. These are hard to find and the staff never speaks any English there. Plus you'll waste valuable time.
You can pre-order your SIM and have it waiting for you at your hotel. The advantage is that you'll know your phone number before you leave home and can let your family know.
There are two sources that I know of:
https://www.mychinaunicom.com/toProdisplayPage.dhtml
or
China visa for 1 day port in Shanghai on Princess or Celebrity
in Asia
Posted
It is not possible for us to tell if you qualify or not. You need a qualifying transit. Read the official rules here: http://www.sh-immigration.gov.cn/listPageEn.aspx?lx=40&id=4421
Not all cruise companies are aware of the rules so you need to check with your cruise company to see if they will let you board, they are the ones making this decision.