Renting in China
 

Since you can get a Temporary Drivers license for China pretty painlessly these day (you can get it at beijin airport) I was thinking about flying in and renting, instead of dealing with painful border crossing bureaucracy.

Has anyone here done something similar? Seems pretty straight forward? Mainly interested if I can use the same licence + rental in many provinces?

Not recent; but 14 years ago (ish), I got the temporary licence from Beijing airport, BUT it was only valid for cars, NOT motorbikes. Hopefully this has changed now. Also, back then, while possible to rent a car, it was unheard of to rent a bike. If you have found a company renting bikes for self-touring; I would be extremely interested.
Cheers.

Thanks for the info. If I can't get a bike a car will have to do... I'll update and see what I could find once in China. (probably in a few months)

Renting in China is not an option unless on a tour. Very few and I think mostly around Tibet area. In 2017 I thought I would rent in multiple Chinese cities then fly to the next city and repeat. An English man living in China informed me of what I could do. I flew into Kunming, China and bought a new Shineray 250 cc motorcycle-$1300. I rode it 3 weeks and sold on the street for $300 before returning. I rode without Chinese license. It is only given in Chinese and if you could translate would be very confusing. I heard there may have been a way around that if flying into some airport. I've been told that only a handful of people have ridden unescorted in China. Maybe I stumbled on to the loophole.



Reading my ride report on ADVrider would help your search.
advrider.com/f/threads/renting-my-way-through-asia.1208680/page-4



The China ride starts 1/2 way down page 4. Previous pages were rent/ride in Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar.

I am researching renting a bike and getting a Chinese driving license for a solo trip in 2026.

Does anyone have any new information on bike rentals and getting the license?

I would love to do China as I have been to Kunming with my friends in 2023 on a non-bike trip and the views were fabulous.

Appreciate any information that you might have.

If I can't do it solo, I can consider tagging on with a group depending on the costs, dates etc.

Thanks

:scooter::scooter:

From what I found out it is possible to get a provisional motorcycle driving license in China for foreigners which is valid up to 90 days provided you have a valid motorcycle license in your home country.


https://www.registrationchina.com/ar...cense_in_China

https://www.travelchinacheaper.com/c...-license-guide

China to ease application of temporary driving licenses for int'l travelers - Xinhua | English.news.cn

There is a requirement that the age limit for a Chinese driver's license being between 18 to 60 years old.
I turn 58 in a few days so I really want to tour in China before I turn 60 as I may not get the chance to ride in China again. If the info is correct I only have till 2027 to do this tour.

As for bike rental, I've only got 1 company who rents bikes.

https://ridechina.com/motorcycles/ZF...otorcycle.html

They have the Kove525X for rent and the price is USD$100 per day. As far as the deposit etc. I did not ask yet.
They only offer this bike for rent.
I am looking for something lighter and cheaper though.

Will continue to search.

:mchappy:

I have been through China twice (Kyrgyzstan to Laos, largely different routes) with RideChina. First time was on my own bike and the second on one of their rented Koves. Both times were on organised tours with other riders. So can't comment on independent riding. All I can say is that Jah (RideChina main man) is a good guy and trustworthy. Riding independently, I would imagine that Tibet and Xinjiang are out of bounds, but other regions "should" be possible. Fascinating country to ride in. I will follow your progress with interest, as I would love to return and ride independently.

@ouroboros2015,

Did RideChina get your provisional motorcycle license on your 2 occasions in China?

My intention is to do a 2 to 3 weeks ride in mainland China only. From my limited knowledge of China, I would like to ride in the Yunnan province and fly in to Kunming.

It seems that RideChina's name pops up frequently. I follow the travels of a Aussie who rides a lot overseas on rentals and he recently rode in China also with RideChina.

I would prefer to rent a smaller and lighter bike as I have a bad back and with about 15kg of luggage in the waterproof bags, a smaller bike is much better.

And the age limit for the provisional license makes it more urgent for me to do this tour!

:rofl::innocent:

Yes, RideChina sorted out the provisional licence (valid for one month). I could well be wrong, but I heard that China had abandoned the 60 year age limit. Contact Jah @ridechina to confirm.
RideChina is based in Kunming (I believe?), and Yunnan is beautiful. No police checkpoints, unlike Xinjiang and Tibet.

@ouroboros2015,

Thanks mate.

In lieu of China, I am also doing some initial groundwork for India. I have to plan ahead at least 6 to 9 months to score cheap flight tickets.

:mchappy::mchappy:

Update:

Using Google I found https://www.yunnanexploration.com/mo...n-lijiang.html

Not sure how reputable they are but I contacted them through whatsapp and was told that foreigners cannot rent motorcycle in China. They advised me to rent in Lao Cai, Vietnam which I was there in 2023 for my North West tour.
Or alternatively rent at Boten, Laos.
If I could do that they would assist with the provisional China driving license.

So far only RideChina will rent bikes to foreigners but the price is USD$100 per day.

I am not giving up though as I have a friend who lives in China and will reach out for more info on renting bikes to foreigners.

I posted above, #4, a year ago. I bought a Shinery 250 in Kunming-new $1300. I was 67 in 2017 and rode without a Chinese DL for 3 weeks. My China ride starts about 1/2 way down the page.
https://advrider.com/f/threads/renti...1208680/page-4


I also rode India in 2018. https://advrider.com/f/threads/ridin...field.1336198/ More cheats, liars, and slight of hand people in India than any place I've ever been. Leaving India I flew to Nepal and rented a bike.

@doogle,

Yes, I have followed your adventures on ADVrider. And you are bad ass bud!

I have to be legal while riding as my travel insurance will not cover me in the event of any eventuality.

And I promised my wife that I would always wear full riding gear (jacket, pants. helmet, boots. gloves) and have travel insurance.

That's why I need to have a China provisional license if I want to ride in China.
And just to go off tangent a bit, I would love to ride in Taiwan but Taiwan does not recognize the 1949 Geneva IDP so I have to rule Taiwan out. Pity......

I too have heard about that part of India. :helpsmilie::helpsmilie:

I would still want to do it and India is a huge country. It would take a few tours to cover the whole country.

And honestly I wouldn't mind to have a riding buddy for China and India. But it's difficult to find a wingman!

Your route looks similar to some of mine. We rode farther north hoping we might be able to ride through a small section of Tibet. Talked with the police and they said absolutely not. So we backtracked a day. I may have posted this already. But half way down the following page is where we went through Tiger Leaping Gorge.

https://advrider.com/f/threads/renti...1208680/page-4