Thorn Tree travel forum

1

Hi Troy

You should be able to get a 3 month visa from the Chinese consulate in your home country. This is certainly possible for UK citizens.

I travelled in China on a 3 month visa at the end of 2006 then spent the winter in SE Asia. Although nobody advertised it and received negative feedback on my chances, I successfully applied for another 3 month visa in the Chinese consulate in Hanoi, Vietnam.

The most important thing to remember is when you complete your visa form, write down as many places as you can fit in the box (even spilling out of the box as I did). Do NOT say you want to go to Xinjiang Province, Tibet or any other autonomous province as the Chinese government views these areas as politically sensitive, though once you get your visa you are free to go where you please.

As it happens I'm in Kashgar and planning to go to Tibet but it's pretty difficult doing the route you describe so perhaps someone else can give you better feedback here. I'm planning instead do get the train from Golmud into Lhasa, not as exciting but easier and probably quite a bit cheaper.

As far as going to Central Asia and back, someone else might be able to help a bit better though I suspect you might struggle to do all the things you want to do on just 30 days.

Anyway good luck mate and feel free to drop me a line if I can help further.

Cheers

2

OP, You didn`t state your nationality. I presume you`re American. If you`re not then you should be able to (depending on your nationality) get a 6 month multi - entry visa, from HK, that will allow you to stay in China for 6 months without leaving every 30 days. When asking visa questions it always helps to state your nationality.

Sorry, can`t help you with the other questions.

Cheers :-)

3

Thanks guys, I should have asked the questions earlier. I am Malaysian and just applied for the 6-month multiple entry visa from China Embassy here today. The officers there told me no way I can get a 3-month visa, what I can do is to extend it from police station once I reach China, however by doing so, my multiple entry visa will be void...and unfortunately, I have already put down the destination as Kashgar.

May be I will try to extend it in Hong Kong or Macau, wonder this is possible?

I find that there is a road from Kashgar to Hotan and then to Golmud, from there I can go to Lhasa, but don't know what is the actual situation, remmokov, which route will you take to go to Golmud from Kashgar?

Best regards,
Troy

4

If you leave for Hong Kong, then your visa is voided. HK is not considered part of China for the purposes of visas.

I don't think that you can travel legally on the road from Golmud to Kashgar.

The Torugart Pass is officially only for Chinese but foreigners can pass through it although it is expensive. Irkeshstam Pass is about half the price I believe. Take a look or ask on the Central Asia branch.

Lhasa to Nepal is possible but the reverse is difficult because of visa issues.

You will need a Tibet permit.

Why not rearrange your plans, spend a month, leave the country and when you reenter, plan to spend a month and extend.

Ruth

First check: Everbrite's travel pages, the New RU sticky,and New RU train sticky

Since I have taken the time to answer your question, it would be nice if you took the time to respond as to whether the information was helpful.

5

Thanks Ruth, just found that there are another 2 possible ways to get out of Kashgar, one is as you said, through Irkeshstam pass to Osh in Kyrgyzstan (anywhere to get the Kyrgyzstan visa in Kashgar?), another is through Khunjurab pass to Pakistan (visa for Pakistan?), maybe if I go from Lhasa to Nepal, I will take a flight back home from Kathmandu.
Do you know normally how long can we extend the visa? another 30 days?

Troy

6

To reach Golmud from Kashgar, you will have to travel along the southern end of the desert all the way to a place called Ruoqiang (several days trip), where there is a road into Qinghai. However, as far as I have gathered, there is no bus going that route between Ruoqiang and Golmud. You will have to rent a car with others, preferrably a 4WD, as the road condition is pretty bad.

7

Kyrgyzstan visa can be obtained in Urumqi or Beijing and that is it. Pakistani visa can ONLY be obtained in Beijing and reportedly is not always routinely granted.

Visa extensions add 30 days but not to the end of the 30 days but rather to the point at which you request it. So if you enter of the 5th with a 30 day visa, don't request it until the first of the next month. Be sure to request the extension with several days to remaining in case there are problems. Extensions are NOT available everywhere and are NOT available in Tibet.

Ruth

First check: Everbrite's travel pages, the New RU sticky,and New RU train sticky

Since I have taken the time to answer your question, it would be nice if you took the time to respond as to whether the information was helpful.

8

Thanks Ruth, found that I don't need visa for Kyrgyzstan, and Pakistan visa can be ready in 2 working days here, it is easier for me to settle all these here before going.

Troy.

9

Hi Troy

It's very easy to travel between Kashgar and Ruoqiang as I did. Each town is well connected : Ruoqiang-Qiemo-Khotan-Yarkand-Kashgar : that was my route, buses ran daily and reasonably on time, although we did travel through a (spectacular) sandstorm shortly after leaving Khotan. The folk on the southern silk road route are friendly and curious, the towns nothing special. There isn't so much to see but it's a rare opportunity to get off the beaten track and enjoy the journey for its own sake.

What I'm not so certain about is the route between Ruoqiang to Golmud. I did however receive an email today from an on-the-road friend who tried this very journey. Here's what he had to say:

"Sh*t man, you guys made the right move heading down from Kuerla. The Southern Rd. beyond Ruoqiang was a nightmare. I pulled in there to a crazy sandstorm got my hotel and the next morning when I came to see about a jeep heading East to Huatugou, there was Ken in the bus station. Said he'd been stuck in town two days and was just about to switch his plan and head up to Kuerla instead. Well, the skies began to clear and mr. jeep told us he'd take us. Then he stuffed the jeep as full as possible (of course) and we headed out. Ken has the Rough Guide and his map only shows Mannai (no Huatugou) so we went with Mannai cuz it looked farther along. It wasn't. Jeep lets us off and tells us we can get a bus to Huatugou tomorrow - two hours away. We paid 10kwai apeice for the worst accomodation I've had even including my time in Nepal. Nasty place. Got out of there this morning and somehow everything connected up just right to put us in Dunhuang tonight."

So more questions than answers but hey, you have the most up-to-date account you could possibly hope for.

On a more personal note, I have gone a bit cold on the idea of going to Tibet due to the current climate there. I've travelled through the wider Tibetan plateau regions of NW Yunnan, Western Sichuan and the wonderful monastery towns of Langmusi and Xiahe in Gansu. By all accounts these regions possess a stronger Tibetan culture than in the TAR and I promise you that they are absolutely spectacular in spirit and beauty. I'm currently revising my plans to explore the Tibetan towns and landscape in Qinghai province instead.

This is purely my opinion and like I say, I have never been to the TAR so I'm sure you'll do your own research.

Cheers

10

Sounds very interesting!! Abe, thanks very much for the update.