China announces visa-free travel for Australians visiting up to 30 days (previously 15 days)

[Flashback]

It is BS 99.998% of the time, for 99.9998% of the visitors who enter; but ask the 0.0001% of foreigners who got caught, like:
- The two Michaels from Canada
- Five AstraZeneca staffs detained by China
- People who work in finance
- other industries

So, it is a bit of a pain to carry a passport; but is the hassle worth risking going to gaol for the next 10 years? It is up to each individual to decide. For me, it's not worth it.

And specifically, I had been asked multiple times for my passport when buying train tickets in China in 2018 2019. Not having passport would have been a pain, since I could not buy train tickets online as a foreigner.

And this doesn't just apply to China. You should exercise the same level of caution when going to any third world countries where corruption is common, and any police or authoritarian state where government officials are always looking for ways to justify their jobs.

Yes, this happened to me in Madagascar. A night in jail was not fun at all, take my word for it.

 

[elanshin]

I mean you can also pick up a wife with your passport although its a lot less of a thing now.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

I mean you can also pick up a wife with your passport although its a lot less of a thing now.

You don't need a Passport for those activities - a foreign face and wallet full of cash and you are off to the races - so I have been told

 

[Chicken]

So what is a normal train ticket?

Non high speed cross city. Just normal train services. For example: Haining 海宁 to Shanghai. It is intercity, but you can take normal train / non high speed to save money, since it's only 90 minutes.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Non high speed cross city. Just normal train services.

Yes that is correct then - any train which extends beyond originating city limits will require Passport to purchase tickets - that has always been and still is the case

 

[SYD]

This is the chit from the paper landing card given back to you by immigration. Note point #4.

Someone visiting on business might be able to ignore that, but a tourist would be crazy because almost everything (admission tickets, trains) etc is linked to your PP and they either scan it or check the details.

 

[elanshin]

You don't need a Passport for those activities - a foreign face and wallet full of cash and you are off to the races - so I have been told

But a chinese face and an aussie passport is even bigger

 

[Flashback]

Have some points that are due to expire (hard expiry) and thinking of a 1-1.5'ish week trip late July. Into PVG and out of PEK/PXK (or vice versa) or just in and out of one of them and do the areas surrounding (train within 1-2 hours of the destination)? Open to recommendations but need to book in the next day or 2.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Have some points that are due to expire (hard expiry) and thinking of a 1-1.5'ish week trip late July. Into PVG and out of PEK/PXK (or vice versa) or just in and out of one of them and do the areas surrounding (train within 1-2 hours of the destination)? Open to recommendations but need to book in the next day or 2.

Shanghai you can easily fill up a week. Do a free walking tour to get your orientation. Even with only one or two museums over the whole week, your time fills up pretty quickly with food and other sightseeing. You can do a day trip out to Suzhou by train,

Extending beyond that, i think people go to the great wall on the way to or from beijing. And spend a couple days in beijing. Or do a day trip to the wall from beijing.

I wouldn’t go out of my way to go to beijing, but YMMV

 

[Flashback]

Shanghai you can easily fill up a week. Do a free walking tour to get your orientation. Even with only one or two museums over the whole week, your time fills up pretty quickly with food and other sightseeing. You can do a day trip out to Suzhou by train,

Extending beyond that, i think people go to the great wall on the way to or from beijing. And spend a couple days in beijing. Or do a day trip to the wall from beijing.

I wouldn’t go out of my way to go to beijing, but YMMV

Thanks, I'm pretty anti big city and only plan to spend a night at the relevant one for the first night and last night. I'll keep PEK for when Mrs FB comes with then so we can visit the great wall together, so looks like PVG then and need to find a circular route to head out on from there....?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Thanks, I'm pretty anti big city and only plan to spend a night at the relevant one for the first night and last night. I'll keep PEK for when Mrs FB comes with then so we can visit the great wall together, so looks like PVG then and need to find a circular route to head out on from there....?

errr lol… I think a small city in china is around 20 million?

 

[elanshin]

Thanks, I'm pretty anti big city and only plan to spend a night at the relevant one for the first night and last night. I'll keep PEK for when Mrs FB comes with then so we can visit the great wall together, so looks like PVG then and need to find a circular route to head out on from there....?

I think you would then need to readjust your concept of big city. Even tier 2 cities can have populations that are up with Sydney. Shanghai and Beijing have the population of Australia living in the city.

Also the problem to consider is that any touristy place is full of people as well (domestic tourists) and countryside places will be almost 0 English. They'll be friendly enough and curious why you're there but will need language translation apps.

Oh and July weather wise is absolutely terrible. Hot and humid that makes the South East Asians feel uncomfortable as well. I make a point of never visiting China in July August unless i absolutely have to and even then I hesitate.

 

[BjJames]

destinations available from AustraliaHave some points that are due to expire (hard expiry) and thinking of a 1-1.5'ish week trip late July. Into PVG and out of PEK/PXK (or vice versa) or just in and out of one of them and do the areas surrounding (train within 1-2 hours of the destination)? Open to recommendations but need to book in the next day or 2.

Having done business in China for 25 years, and lived there for 13, I would say that it is quite easy to fill ten days from landing in either Beijing or Shanghai and an easy seven days in/from any of the other direct Chinese destinations available from Australia. They all have differences and some people like/dislike them according to their own tastes. I would suggest you just Google the "(city) tours" and you will find lots of attractions to suit yourself.

Even with my long experience, there are still places I want to visit in China.

Load the "Alipay" app on your smart phone and link it to a credit card or two, and you will find the system great, once you figure it out (easy).

Despite the nay-sayers, China is safe, clean, and efficient, and the locals are friendly - with excellent food variety -- go with an open mind and you will find that it is an amazing place.

 

[elanshin]

Having done business in China for 25 years, and lived there for 13, I would say that it is quite easy to fill ten days from landing in either Beijing or Shanghai and an easy seven days in/from any of the other direct Chinese destinations available from Australia. They all have differences and some people like/dislike them according to their own tastes. I would suggest you just Google the "(city) tours" and you will find lots of attractions to suit yourself.

Even with my long experience, there are still places I want to visit in China.

Load the "Alipay" app on your smart phone and link it to a credit card or two, and you will find the system great, once you figure it out (easy).

Despite the nay-sayers, China is safe, clean, and efficient, and the locals are friendly - with excellent food variety -- go with an open mind and you will find that it is an amazing place.

But would you want to really go be a tourist in mid July instead of sheltering in aircon places.

 

[Flashback]

But would you want to really go be a tourist in mid July instead of sheltering in aircon places.

Beijing seems better in this regard?

Thanks for all the suggestions, time to look at flights now and that may end up dictating accordingly!

Doing a routing similar to #4 on China 1-Week Itineraries: 5 Travel Ideas for Incredible Trips seems like a good taster.

I don't have much leeway on time to visit as I can't book travel too far out as I'm never sure if some work might drop in.

Off the beaten track is more my vibe and using translation apps is fine, have done in many other places before. By small cities, I refer to those less trafficed by tourists.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Beijing seems better in this regard?

Thanks for all the suggestions, time to look at flights now and that may end up dictating accordingly!

Doing a routing similar to #4 on China 1-Week Itineraries: 5 Travel Ideas for Incredible Trips seems like a good taster.

I don't have much leeway on time to visit as I can't book travel too far out as I'm never sure if some work might drop in.

Off the beaten track is more my vibe and using translation apps is fine, have done in many other places before. By small cities, I refer to those less trafficed by tourists.

Yes… all of those tour suggestions are ok, they’re the general tourist trail, and referenced in my post.

If a town is off the tourist trail, there’s probably a reason for that

 

[elanshin]

Beijing seems better in this regard?

Thanks for all the suggestions, time to look at flights now and that may end up dictating accordingly!

Doing a routing similar to #4 on China 1-Week Itineraries: 5 Travel Ideas for Incredible Trips seems like a good taster.

I don't have much leeway on time to visit as I can't book travel too far out as I'm never sure if some work might drop in.

Off the beaten track is more my vibe and using translation apps is fine, have done in many other places before. By small cities, I refer to those less trafficed by tourists.

Done most of #4 personally.

Suzhou and Hangzhou are nice cities but they're just as populated as Sydney. Huangshan is also nice but not sure how busy it is in July. It's another one of the big domestic tourism locations so there may br a lot of people visiting as its school holidays. Try for at least weekdays over weekends.

By all means explore these parts of China. Just keep in mind that they're still likely to have lots of people around and it'll be hot. We did a a 35k steps walk day in Hangzhou all around XiHu (west lake) last year in 31 degree weather.

Prepare your Alipay and/or wechat pay apps beforehand (do the verifications and have your card linked). Book your high speed rail tickets 2 weeks before travel as well or as soon as you know - they can get full. Get to HSR stations at least 1.5 hr before train departure on your first time.

 

[Flashback]

Actually, BA doesn't fly to Beijing anymore - so looks like PVG it is. Plenty of availability.

I've done Japan in late July, which was hot and humid, so not averse to it. It's all part of the fun of travel, right?

 

[elanshin]

Actually, BA doesn't fly to Beijing anymore - so looks like PVG it is. Plenty of availability.

I've done Japan in late July, which was hot and humid, so not averse to it. It's all part of the fun of travel, right?

Yeh it'll be similar to Japan (potentially worse in some parts potentially better in others).

Huangshan i definitely think is under travelled by foreigners (but definitely loads of domestic travellers). Suzhou and Hangzhou are nice different cities that are day trippable fron Shanghai. If you like tea the Longjing (dragon well) in Hangzhou is very very good - just be careful with imitation ones.

I also quite liked going to Jiuzhaigou up a bit further past Chengdu but thats a multi day trip (i think i spent 3 days there last time and it wasn't anywhere near enough). Half a day was spent adjusting to elevation.

 

[Flashback]

Yeh it'll be similar to Japan (potentially worse in some parts potentially better in others).

Huangshan i definitely think is under travelled by foreigners (but definitely loads of domestic travellers). Suzhou and Hangzhou are nice different cities that are day trippable fron Shanghai. If you like tea the Longjing (dragon

I also quite liked going to Jiuzhaigou up a bit further past Chengdu but thats a multi day trip (i think i spent 3 days there last time and it wasn't anywhere near enough). Half a day was spent adjusting to elevation.

Booked for 7 full days on the ground (so +-/ the travel in and out). Need to firm up my itinerary now and get the trains booked. May as well use the easy visa free entry while I can (hence the post on this thread)!

Is it worth setting up WeChat too?