Visa for China - How many nights to be booked ?

Hi,

When I check on the website of the dedicated China Visa Application Service Centre in my home country (Belgium), I see you need to have a booking of an accommodation as usual but I have a specific question regarding the number of nights.

Is someone received a tourist visa with only few nights booked (2 or 3) in only one place (hotel/hostel) ?

I will be there for a little less than one month, with a tourist visa, only in Yunnan but I have no fixed itinerary.

I know I must provide an itinerary but it will be more a theoretical one than a “real” one.

Thanks for your advice.

Michel

You just make up an itinerary and book on line hotels with it. Do it for instance on booking.com and make sure you can cancel these bookings for free. After getting the Chinese visa you cancel the bookings. Once in China nobody is going to check your itinerary and bookings. So once in China you can travel everywhere you want to go.

Thanks.
You think one (accommodation) is not enough ?
I'm agree to book but I prefer to stay where I will do it.
I can't book for all the trip because I will see there where and when I will go...
Best regards.

Michel

I just told you you don't use the hotel bookings you make for the visa application. You cancel them. That is the way I always do it. And you are free to stay where you want, once in China. You can choose your hotel or guesthouse day by day wherever you are on that day in China.

You think one (accommodation) is not enough ?

That is enough.
Last time I applied for Chinese visa they required copy of flight ticket and confirmation of hotel booking, just the first night(s). The latter is probably required for registration purposes. All visitors to China must register, technically with the police, but that is done by the hotel/guesthouse where you stay.

In Holland and I believe also in Belgium, where opener lives, they ask to give the hotel bookings for the whole travel. Just give them what they ask for. The bookings are easily made on line and cancelled again.

It depends on the consulate/embassy/booking center, on your nationality, and on the discretion of the chinese official.

Best bet is to book every night in large canceleable blocks and have them ready if they ask.

Thanks for your helpful advices.
I will book for the different places and cancel them after.
To be honest, it will be the first time I will use booking because when I must book in advance (for a visa or because I'm arrive late in the first city of my trip), I contact the GH/hotel/hostel directly and I use the booking...
I'm an old style traveller...

Michel

You can be an old style traveller once you are in China. No problem at all.

I will book for the different places and cancel them after.
To be honest, it will be the first time I will use booking because when I must book in advance (for a visa or because I'm arrive late in the first city of my trip), I contact the GH/hotel/hostel directly and I use the booking...
I'm an old style traveller...

I am too. I tend to decide where I am going a few days before I go. I also only really stay in most places for 1-3 nights unless it is really interesting.

But to get my visa, I book solid 7-10 day blocks in 2-3 cities. Then I cancel after I get the visa and book only my first few nights arrival to get over the jet lag, leaving hte rest open.

I have a stupid question regarding the cancellation.
Is it possible for all the places and for all the nights on booking or on similar website ?
Or you use always booking because it's more easy than with another one ?
And for free...

Michel

I always use booking.com. But you have to take care when booking a certain hotel it says the cancellation is for free. In most cases it is free but not always. So watch out for it.

Thanks. I will check carefully...

Michel

Have a good travel in Yunnan Michel. It's a beautiful province. I myself travelled there last October (after been there two times before).

My first visa was for 60 days and I had to supply a full itinerary. Had us going all over China but in large blocks to make it easier. We only went to the SW, entering from Los and exiting into Vietnam. I then copy and pasted it onto a sheet with a travel agents header.

Old-style travelling doesn't work too well in China these days. There are hotels everywhere, but many don't accept foreign guests. You can waste a lot of frustrating time looking for a place that will take you.

Try to book by phone -- if you can even get a phone number -- and you'll probably encounter a language problem.

In short, on-line booking while not perfect makes travel in China quite a bit easier and less stressful.

Just to add to the post above: occasionally, even after having booked on-line, you will strike a hotel that, theoretically, won't take foreigners (Or, at least, one where the staff don't know what to do about accepting foreigner guests). I've encountered this on a couple of occasions in the last year or so and although it ended up not being a problem (I speak Mandarin) for one of these instances I had booking.com ringing me up and sending me messages apologizing and making alternative arrangements (That I, obviously, didn't use).

If you want to lessen the potential of this happening to you, don't book very cheap hotels. Both of the incidents that come to mind happened in branches of chain hotels (1 a Hanting, the other a 7 Days). If you go up-market a bit you'll be less likely to have a problem.

That said: Yunnan (Kunming/Lijiang/Dali in particular) has lots of International Youth Hostels. You'll not have a problem if you want to stay in any of them.

And on booking.com and Agoda, read the notes carefully, especially booking.com. Both list no-foreigner hotels on their English sites, with a warning note placed somewhere.

Supposedly ctrip and elong only list foreigner-friendly places on their English sites. But like I said, it is not perfect.

And regardless what you read in the papers 30 years ago about China opening up, the situation has in fact gotten worse in the past few years.

I think I will split my trip in 4 or 5 places and book by blocks.
No backpackers places but more upmarket options and cancel after.
Thanks.

Michel

I understand your point of view but I don't know, in advance, where I will go.
As I will travel at day time, step by step, I'm not too stressful about finding an accommodation there but I will buy a "new" guidebook with some names inside it.
Until know, I have the chapter of the Rough Southwest China and the Bradt one.
Thanks.

Michel

I understand your point of view but I don't know, in advance, where I will go.

That's also my preferred travel style, but, you have to be aware that on some routes you need to book train tickets in advance, which is quite an incovenience if you travel with a loose itinerary and no precise time schedule.
On many routes there are also busses as a second option.
Others on here, with recent experience, might help with some practical suggestions on this.

I will see.
First of all, my visa, the bookings and my itinerary.
It's always possible to use a local travel agency and check with it, when I will be there, which train I can use.
Buses are fine for me too.
I'm ready with that.
Thanks.

Michel

Just go for it Michel and don't be afraid. You will be okay and have a great time!

I'm coming back from the Chinese Visa Centre with my touirist visa.
I've booked by blocks in five different places and I will cancel few of them now.
Everything was fine except my name was missing for few booking and finally, they used only one accommodation (three nights) with my name well indicated.
Thanks for your help and advices.

Michel

I'm coming back from my trip two days ago. Doable without a smartphone and without booking your accommodations in advance. I was around a part of Yunnan, on my own, between the 9th of May and the 6th of June.

Michel

Good to hear all went well. Thanks for the feedback.
Personally, I've never had any issues with Chinese regulations and visas, having visited the country over different periods of time.

I will going back there.
Yunnan or other parts in the Southwest of the country.
Very interesting.

Michel

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