I was recently browsing ‘Google Labs’ - where you can test some of Google’s latest online applications and services - and fell upon Google China Bus Search （谷歌公交搜索）. This is just the thing I have been looking for! Anybody who lives in Beijing knows just how many bus routes there are in the city and how confusing it can be to get from one place to another without taking a taxi or the metro. However, things have now got much much easier. Google China Bus Search allows you to search bus routes in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, and Nanjing. You tell Google where you are setting off from and where you want to get to and the rest is all done for you.
Google gives you all the possible bus routes (sorted by distance) to get to your location and you can also view the journey on a map. Not only does it work out changes for you but also tells you how to get from where you are to the stop you need to be at and how to get from the end bus stop to your ultimate destination (on foot).
Even better, you can share the route with your friends via Gmail and even send the route to your mobile phone for free.
In fact, there were a few sites that already provided this feature to Beijingers, notably:
http://beijing.8684.cn/
http://map.baidu.com/
However neither of these were particularly innovative or easy to use.
You can have a sneak peak at a test route below:
Well here I am, only a couple of days left before I jet off to China and finally things are starting to take shape. Not only have I got a rucksack full of stuff on the floor in my bedroom, I have also filled up a massive cardboard crate with stuff that I will be wanting during my year in China.
Many people have asked me why I need to take so much stuff with me for the year abroad. The answer is… I don’t! And neither do I plan to. The reason I am shipping stuff out for September is that for the first couple of months when I am in China, I am travelling light with a backpack and so don’t need half of the clothes, books and kit that I will nonetheless want later.
As I have mentioned in an earlier post, I am doing my shipping via the company Seven Seas Worldwide. They are an international shipping, storage and removal specialist. The procedure so far has been incredibly simple. Here is where I am up to:
- Ring up the company and arrange for them to deliver some flatpacked cardboard crates to your address (you have to pay a refundable deposit).
- Fill up as many crates as you need and seal them up using the parcel tape provided.
- Fill in all the relevant forms (box inventory lists, customs forms, contract) that have been sent to you along with the boxes. Seal the forms and a copy of your passport in the provided envelope and tape this onto the side of box number 1.
- Write your destination address on the side of the boxes in the space provided using the provided marker pen.
- Ring up again, let them know how many boxes you have filled up and arrange a pickup date.
As you can see, the procedure is very simple. Tomorrow, my box will be picked up and whisked off to some port on the other side of the globe. The great thing about the service is that you can order as many boxes as you want if you are not sure how many you will need. Any boxes that are unused are collected on your pickup date and the full deposit is refunded. When the box arrives at the port in China, they will give me a ring or an email and let me know to arrange a delivery. All I have to then do is to confirm the delivery address and schedule a delivery and they will bring it right to my door.
All in all, I’ve been very impressed with the whole procedure so far. It does however remain to be seen if my box decides to turn up in China or not - only then can I issue a final verdict on the service 
The box did indeed turn up in Beijing! Many fellow students also shipped luggage with Seven Seas - all with no problem whatsoever. Would recommend this company for anybody who is in the same situation.
Today, I finally made it down to the Chinese Embassy in Manchester to get my Chinese Visa. This piece of bureaucracy has actually caused me quite a headache due to the rather unique itinerary I have planned. Here are some of the difficulties I encountered.
Troublesome Situation:
- The university semester at Beijing Capital Normal University does not begin until September yet I will arrive in China in July. I cannot use a student visa for my travels before university begins as this must be converted to a residence permit within 30 days of entering the country. As I am travelling for more than 30 days, I need a separate tourist visa.
- During my travels I will be going to Hong Kong to meet my parents at the airport. Hong Kong is not officially a part of China so reentering China again after visiting Hong Kong either means applying for a new tourist visa or requires a double or multiple entry visa.
- Double entry visas apparently come into action on the day they are stamped in your passport. They are only valid for a maximum period of 60 days. I need to make sure that I have time left on my tourist visa so that I can apply and receive my student visa in Beijing. This means applying for my visa last minute using a same day service.
Taking all of these factors into account, I ended up applying for a ‘double entry’ 60 day tourist visa making use of the ‘rush’ same day service that is offered by the embassy. To make use of this service, you should:
- Arrive at the embassy very early in the morning, preferably before 9:00am. Even at this unearthly hour there will be a small queue forming outside the gates.
- Come with a pre-completed form with a passport photo adhered where indicated. You also need to bring your passport and the visa fee in cash or postal order. Whilst forms, scissors and glue are available in the building, you will lose your place in the queue if you decide to sort out your application on site. The form is also fairly complicated and you don’t want to be rushing it.
- Complete your application before 10:30am.
Providing you get your application in by 10:30am, you will be given a receipt and will be requested to come and collect your passport at a specified time (between 11:00 and 12:00). Contrary to what is stated on the website, you pay for the visa on collection. That means that if something goes wrong, you should not be footing the bill. The application itself consists in handing in your form and passport to an employee behind the counter who will briefly check that you have filled the form in correctly. If all is well, you will be given a ticket with your pickup time - you are then free to do what you wish for a couple of hours. Bewarned… there is not much to do in the Rusholme area! You will probably want to catch a bus or drive into the city centre. Make sure you know how to get back!
Filling in the form
I figured that you, like me, might have some small troubles or queries whilst filling in the visa application form. Below, I have covered some of the sections that might cause some trouble. Please remember that the steps below apply to a student who is applying for a 60 day ‘double entry’ tourist visa.
On this section of the form you must list a few of the provinces that you are planning to visit. This is not binding nor exhaustive, the best bet is to list large cities and common tourist destinations (e.g. Beijing, Guilin, Shanghai etc). Avoid listing places like Tibet or other sensitive areas that may cause an eyebrow to be raised!
Even if you, as I, intend to study after travelling, just keep things simple and tick the ‘Tourism’ box. After all, that is what this specific visa is being used for.
If you wish to get the ‘rush’ same day service, just tick the express box then let them know at the counter that you would like the same day service. There is a £20 charge for this.
It’s likely that you may not now which passport office issued your passport. Don’t worry, just put ‘UK’ in this box. It’s all they want.
You may not know what type of passport you have. In this case, it is more than likely that your passport is ‘Regular’ - otherwise I’m sure you would know about it.
If you are a student visiting China then you need to tick the Teacher/Student box.
If you are after a tourist visa, you need not fill in this section as it does not apply to you. Just leave it blank.
This is the total time you intend to spend in China from the date of your first entry - even if you visit Hong Kong in the middle of your stay, this time will be included in the total. The best bet is to state the maximum - just to play safe. Thats 90 days for a single entry visa and 60 for a double entry.
This is the date you arrive in China. Your visa runs out up to 60 or 90 days after this date depending on whether you requested a single or double entry visa.
Much as I would love to get my hands on a multi-entry visa, they are not easily available to tourists. The best thing you can get your hands on is a double entry visa which allows you to leave and then reenter the country once. Bear in mind that whilst a single entry visa is valid for up to 90 days, a double entry has a maximum of only 60 days once you have entered the country.
Here is what the final visa will look like in your passport. For privacy reasons, I have wiped out a lot of my personal data - hence some parts may appear incomplete.
Hopefully this might help someone else who is having the same headache. If you have any questions, please leave a comment!
Today, I finally decided to give myself a “kick in the butt” (if you will excuse the expression) and headed up to the excellent student travel agency, STA Travel to investigate further into getting a flight out to China in the summer and buying insurance coverage for my year abroad.
I was looking for a single flight from Manchester to Beijing in the month of July and the most important criteria was price. I am getting a single ticket as my return is as of yet uncertain (don’t worry - I will be coming back!) due to my longing to ride the trans-siberian across the continent back to Britain next year.
The lovely woman who served me in the agency searched around for a few minutes and came up with a relatively cheap flight from Lufthansa which goes to Beijing via Frankfurt airport, all this for a total of about £300. At least I get a chance to test my non-existent German out! I haven’t yet calculated the total time in the air as all the times given to me on my itinerary are in local times - a nightmare to try and work out. Anyway, the great thing about going via the travel agency, besides a cheaper ticket, is that I can, for a £35 fee, change dates. Likewise, should I cancel altogether (can’t think why I would), I am able to get more than half of the tickets cost back. This is well worth considering. Should I miss the transfer at Frankfurt, the airline is responsible and hence I will not have to pay a thing.
Regarding the insurance, I played things on the safe side and so I am covered for 12 months in China and I can extend this period for £50 per extra month spent abroad should I need to. The cover is highly comprehensive and allows me to take part in lots of dangerous activities - which is great. Should I get into any trouble whilst travelling or have any medical problems, I should not have to pay a penny. Likewise, I am free to travel to anywhere except the USA, Canada and my home country. For those of you interested, this is STA Travel’s 12 Month Premier insurance policy which was recommended to us by the University of Leeds.
So, I’ve taken a big step forward and there is no looking back!
I have a date, I know when I will arrive in Beijing and now I can start thinking about what I want to do with my time over there, where I am going to stay and start making arrangements. Finally, I also need to sort out the headache of getting a tourist visa then converting it to a student visa. I tried phoning the embassy today but there was no answer, I will just have to keep trying.
Thats all for now, hopefully by the time I post next time I will have made some further progress. Only a few months to go before I’m there!!
Jono
