Thorn Tree travel forum

1

I can only answer the visa question. Your visa permits 30 days in China. This can be extended for an additional 30 days. The first extension is pretty much guaranteed. The cost will be about 100 USD to be paid in Chinese yuan.

Several points about visas and extensions.
1. The extension generally adds 30 days from the time when the application is made so wait until towards the end of your first 30 days.
2. The general rule of thumb is that the larger the city, the longer it takes to get the extension.
3. Second extensions are NOT guaranteed and often are granted only for 5-10 days or a sufficient time to permit you to exit the country.
4. Leshan, a 2 hour bus ride from Chengdu, is considered a great place to get a visa extension and one of the only places where people consistently report getting 30 days added to the end, not from the time of the request. People go there early for a day trip, hand in their passport, see the sights, pick up their passport and return to Chengdu.
5. Assuming that you have a multiple entry visa, you can go to Hong Kong or Macau and reenter China and start the process over again. Also with a US passport you could easily go to Mongolia as you don't need a visa there either.

For your second question, perhaps try searching the internet for the airport's website. It should have information on how to get downtown via public transport.

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.

2

If you can try to get your visa in any place other than Hong Kong, I would do so, and ask for a 60-day tourist visa, single entry, assuming you don't need to leave the country and return. You would then not have to bother with dealing with extensions once inside China, nor pay that extra $100. At this time, for USA passport holders, Hong Kong Consulate and therefore the agencies that feed applications into it are being stingier about granting more than 30-days at a time, definitely for business visas and possibly for tourist ones as well.

3

Really? Is it even possible to get a 60 day visa within China? Well of course I have to go to Hong Kong first which is where I'm getting my visa, but how come they gotten stingier about getting another 30 day extention? That only applies to Hong Kong, correct? Well it kind of sucks for me as I am a U.S. citizen, well will getting a extension in Shanghai would be possible?

4

No you cannot get a 60 day visa within China (you can't get visas within a country), nor can you get a 60 day extension. You can usually get one 30 day extension and sometimes on rare occasions a 2nd 30 day extension.

You may be able to get a 60 day single entry tourist in some consulates, but definitely not in Hong Kong.

Getting an extension in Shanghai is possible but unless you are going to be there for most of the time that you are in China, I would not recommend getting your extension there. Try to find some smaller town not too far away. Your chances of getting it faster are greater in a smaller town/city. I think in Shanghai it takes about 5 days to process your extension. This means going to the PSB about 22 days after entrance and thus you lose about a 5-7 days of your original visa length.

The situation of getting extensions has NOT changed. What has changed is that it used to be possible to get 60 days for the original entrance and then a 30 day extension. This is no longer the case from the consulate in HK and a few other places.

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

Your best way to get to Wuxi from Pudong airport would actually be by direct bus. No need to go to Shanghai city proper. Departures are at 1120, 1220, 1320, 1420, 1520, 1620, 1720 and 1820. Fare is 100 RMB. What time does your flight arrive?
Cheers!