bribe/"fees" in china
 

hi all.
I have read a different messages from travellers who tried to get in China by own bike without any guides. Many persons - many thinkings. But I understood that the most complicated problem to cross chinese border. This question in prticular for travellers who got on. Anyone paid some "fees" for PSB or for customs officers or for some one else in China? Is it really work there? I read Lonely Planet short story obout "fees" in China. There was written you are basically paying "fee" that will allow you to travel.

Alex

as you may have read on other posts here, there s the official way and the unofficial way.

henri was there officially one week ago, minimum 3 days trip in china cost 680 usd (from kirghistan to pakistan).

see http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/ubb.../000291-2.html

unofficially, people have done it apparently and then you could be prepared to pay some fees/bribes at the borders or inside china to make things easier.

since you re russian, i d say that it does not work exactly like in russia : officials in china seem more strict and more difficult to "buy" than russian officials, without willing to hurt any susceptibility with this kind of comparison.

good luck



[This message has been edited by vincent danna (edited 13 August 2005).]

G'Day,

how will you travel in PRC with a foreign license plate? you will stick out like a sore thumb. as in another answer regarding biking in China without proper PRC documents, they have you by the ba$$s in case your involved in an accident, your life -- your choice!

there are no guidelines or regulations regarding any "business transaction" in PRC = Peoples Republic of Changes! but see my personal business rules listed below....

TIC = This is China!

1. Everything is possible in China.

2. Nothing is easy.

3. Patience is the essence of success.

4. The answer "yes" is not necessarily an indication of agreement or confirmation.

5. "You don't understand our country" means they disagree.

6. "Provisional regulations" mean they can change the rules any time they want, even retroactively.

7. "Basically, no problem" means a BIG problem.

8. "Signing a contract" means the beginning of the real negotiation.

9. When you are feeling optimistic, think about rule number two.

10. When you are feeling discouraged, think about rule number one.

Best Regards, Seeya in the pub or on the road....
Butch


[This message has been edited by butchman (edited 13 August 2005).]

China is going into big changes. I will wait with my trip to china a few years, I am sure everthing will be much more easy in the furture.

Thanks for your answering.
Have you heard about the truck method of getting bike into China? What you think about it? I will try this method first at Erenhot. If I will not succeed in it I will go to Zabaikalsk and try there again. I am russian and have more chances to cross the border at Zabaikalsk than at Erenhot. But inside China I will ride without guide. I have only international driver license and passport + chinese visa. I am ready to pay some "fees" for my riding across China but within limits. The rules you sent I know in part. Because I live in Russia and some rules work here too )). Excuse me for my english please but I can not read your message well. If it not complicate you use more simple sentences please.

Best regards
Alex

G'Day,

simple and straight forward!

DO NOT enter China without proper documents, you could end up in serious trouble in case of an accident.

furthermore your bike / passport (travel documents) could be confiscated, etc... etc...

International / overseas Driving License are not accepted in Mainland China.

best regards, seeya in the pub or on the road....
Butch

hello,
a frenchman has been driving recently in china for a few months on a bike that he bought in china (is he still there now ?) : i don t know more about the administrative part of his trip (driving license, numberplate, license, ownership ...). i read an article about him in a french magazine in feb or march 2005 and met his brother who works at the Federation Francaise de Motocyclisme. he has been travelling for 20 years around the world, almost non stop.
his name : fred. you can email him directly at : fredtranduc at yahoo dot com
hope it helps


[This message has been edited by vincent danna (edited 04 October 2005).]

Alex,

what I think would also be useful for you is to ask your people livin in any border town on the russian side to China. I just saw a very interesting TV report on this area and apparently there is much low-level trading between China & Russia on private basis, meaning that the people livin in these boder towns must have lots of experience with crossing the border and getting along with the chinese officials.

Just a thought. And good luck!
Hans

Hi.
I sent some e-mail to bikeclub in Ulanude and to customhouse in Zabaikalsk. But I think the Zabaikalsk border crossing possible only for russian and chinese citizens. There are a lot of russians merchants who cross the border every day.
Alex.

Hi.
I sent some e-mail to bikeclub in Ulanude and to customhouse in Zabaikalsk. But I think the Zabaikalsk border crossing possible only for russian and chinese citizens. There are a lot of russians merchants who cross the border every day.
Alex.

apparently, he (frenchman) is in china now with bike (french bike), coming from central asia :
http://www.moto-autour-du-monde.com/

there s no administrative details on his website yet on how he managed to import his bike but maybe you can email him

Hi
thanks for your link. I sent email him. But I not very good french speaker. I only saw "Messages" button and clicked it. ))

Butchman is rite, dont take chance to ride a bike without chinese document. police doesnt speak any foreign language. if you can speak mandarin, maybe u can negoaite with them. if not, u better buy a guide to accompany with u.

P.S: butchman, i like ur rule. it's exact for china. just different life style and principle as western. that's it.

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by vincent danna:
apparently, he (frenchman) is in china now with bike (french bike), coming from central asia :
http://www.moto-autour-du-monde.com/
there s no administrative details on his website yet on how he managed to import his bike but maybe you can email him


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

his direct email : -
i m not sure from where he managed to enter china : kirg, kaz, tajik ?
but he managed without paperwork, guide, big money offer.

an other frenchman who was travelling with him until uzbekistan (they split since) has just entered china same style (no paperwork, no guide, no money needed) from druzba in kazakstan :
his direct email : christophe dot arnaud at tiscali dot fr

good luck


- "Jean-Loup's address removed as per his request, by Vincent. Sorry".



[This message has been edited by vincent danna (edited 19 September 2005).]

Hainan last week
 

I rode in Hainan Province last week, on a bike I borrowed from an ex pat Canadian who lives there. It had Chinese papers and license plates. I only had a passport, medical cover and an international driving license.

The point is, on anything above a 125cc, you stand out. Villages turn out to see you. You are very conspicuous indeed.

I risked it and was lucky, but I'd not recommend it to anyone else.

China, been there
 

The information below is ONLY valid for Xinjiang province which is an autonomous region. Other provinces may, more than likely differ.

As of June the 1st this year, new procedures are in place for vehicle importation to China (Xinjiang).

It really aint simple and you will need an import agent to handle the customs side of things. (for a fee).

You can get a "provisional driving licence" like mine:w00t:. Its supposed to be used as a translation to you home license.

You can get a registration number for the bike but its the size of a credit card so you run with your existing plate.
You can get insurance - its required.
You can get "accident insurance" - not sure what this was but we were forced to buy it.
4 photos of the bike are required.
4 passport photos are required

ALL of these docs have VERY finite duration. You say you want 10 days, that's all they are valid for.

Just so you know what they look like the images below are, in descending order: license front, registration plate front, insurance card front... followed in order by the reverse sides.

One other thing. If you exit at Tashkorgan for the Karakoram Highway, they will insist on your import documents. We tried for hours to convince them that what we had was all we were given on entry. No chance. They can sit there until your visa expires and then lock you up. Fancy that?

John

sweet
 

Thanks for that last bit of info! planning trip from vietnam into china and north to mongolia/russia then west. Looks like we will be purchasing bikes in vietnam and heading off april next year. my dad lives in saigon so starting from there. Any other info on getting into china would be grand, just hoping with the olympics and all that it will only get easier! (fingers crossed)

China
 

Hi John,

How much did your paperwork cost?
How long did it take to arrange?
Where/from whom did you get the paperwork?
Did you have to have a guide for the duration of your trip?
Do you think I'd be able to get such documents if I want to enter from Pakistan and travel across to Shanghai?

Regards

If you're going to buy bikes anyway, I would strongly recommend flying to Kunming, buying bikes there (with all the stuff you need for less than 1000US each) and then riding up.

I know some people insist on taking their own bikes and must go through the border hassle. If you don't have to though, fly in, get a bike and save yourself the hassle. You can even come back out with it if you want.

CrazyCarl

mine is from thai-laos-china-pakistan, is that possible?

cheers:thumbup1:

Buying in China
 

[QUOTE=CrazyCarl;151236]If you're going to buy bikes anyway, I would strongly recommend flying to Kunming, buying bikes there (with all the stuff you need for less than 1000US each) and then riding up.

There's a report from a guy who basically did just this over on Advrider.com

He entered China from Laos, on a Chinese registered bike,

But when he got stranded somewhere on his first bike, he just sold it,bought a new one, and got a welder to prepare the thing for overlanding. All ridiculously cheap.

Detailed accounts of expenses etc at this link: China or bust... - ADVrider

SAluti,

Giacomo.

China paprework
 

Hi HA, sorry for the late reply

Our original costs were supposed to be 1500 USD for 2 bikes/riders and thats what we paid... up front - more later

About a month. So all the docs were sent off in good time.

The person we used has gone to ground. Known as Janet. Avoid her like the plauge!

The deal was that we would NOT. A guide to get us through the border procedures and escort us to Irumqui was the deal. When we arrived there
we were met by someone from the agent that we had never heard of or dealt with, our contact having gon to ground. This guy said he wanted another 3200 USD for the guide etc to complete the rest of our trip. Caught said we!
However, he had the import docs for the bikes that would be required for exiting China. Anyway, the next day we took of real early on our own and did not follow our intended itinerary in case he tried to intercept us:) It was all a big mess and it ended up costing us another 1500 USD to get the papers to exit to Pakistan:(

[QUOTE]Do you think I'd be able to get such documents if I want to enter from Pakistan and travel across to Shanghai?[QUOTE]

Yes. Contact Abdul on +86 132 797 143 01 or abdultour "at" yahoo.com Mention John & Mick that he met in Korgos and Kashgar and he will know what you are after.
The difficult bit is inter-province travel. You may, (will) have to pay for permits for each and every province you travel through.

Bets of luck. Its a fantastic place and I want to go back!:mchappy:

I think I would use Crazycarls idea of buying in China and riding out for the next one:)

John

[quote=Giacomo;151728]Yeah that's Robert. I helped him buy his new bike in Chengdu. He crashed out, went back to Thailand for RR then came back to China and after a bout with altitude sickness ended up heading straight back for Laos.

It is possible, and the bike he got was a QingQi 200cc Chinese made with a DR200 engine. Was just looking at them this past weekend. As far as China is concerned, I think they are currently the cat's meow.

Anyway, I still suggest people consider this option as long as they are:

a) not too tall
b) don't pack the kitchen sink
c) are okay with moving at 70kph

I suspect it won't be possible to do this for long so timing is critical to take advantage of the chaos and poor organization.

Also worth mentioning is that the extreme ruggedness and beauty of China is world class. As every year goes by tourism becomes a HUGE industry and slowly permeates into even the most remote corners of the lands. Sooner is better than later, methinks...

CC

I've been considering this. Just parking my Ducati somewhere, buying a bike (I'm amazed at how much faster it goes!) and seeing China.

My Duc is a 250 so maybe I can just buy a Chinese wreck and switch plates.

Thanks bro sounds like a good option!

I'd like to also say that there will be a little bit of wheeling and dealing to do but hey this is the bribes thread right! :)

If you wanted to land yourself in the heart of China's motorcycle production fly to ChongQing to get your fill of bikes and hot women then head west or wherever (although I recommend west and as fast as possible).

CC