Registering bike in Shaoxing?

Hi all,

I'll be moving to Shaoxing for a year in Aug/Sep and I really want to get a bike and go through all the steps to legally register it. I am just realizing though, that it may not be possible as Shaoxing has banned motorcycles 禁摩 within the 2nd ring road for several years now. As a Shaoxing resident, will I be able to register a bike here or is that definitely a no-go? I know I should wait until I get there to figure this out but I am just too anxious!

Say I lived outside the 2nd ring road in Shaoxing, would it be OK then? Also, it's not a 24/7 ban, its something like 7 AM till 6 PM, so shouldn't that mean that its OK to register and own a bike as a SX resident, but just not to ride it at illegal times?

The place I'm supposed to live at is less than 1 KM from the 2nd ring road...

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Originally Posted by bmold

...The place I'm supposed to live at is less than 1 KM from the 2nd ring road...

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Dear Bmold,

I don't know the specifics of Shaoxing, but I'd wager that if you live outside the 2nd ring you'll be able to legally register a bike there. Are you saying your residence will be inside or outside the ring? Do you have any contacts in Shaoxing who can check this for you?

cheers

If you live within the bounds of the 2nd ring road (i.e. your registered place of residence with the PSB) then unless you pull some curly's you won't be able to license the motorbike or proposed motorbike, irrespective of the hours of operation of the aforementioned motorbike ban in Shaoxing, unless you have the bike licensed in the name of someone registered outside the boundary. If you live outside the boundary of the motorbike ban then all should be ok, you'll likely be able to license/plate your ride.

I got caught out in Shaoxing 2 months ago, having ridden there from Ningbo via mountain routes (Jingshan-Simingshan-Yuyao west mountains-Shaoxing south mountains) to meet a medical student at the medical Uni there. I took the friend on the back of my motorbike, into the city center completely forgetting the motorbike ban was in place! I had been through the outer parts of Shaoxing quite a few times over the years riding between Ningbo-Shanghai-Ningbo etc. Also a fellow riding companion lived and rode on the outskirts of Shaoxing when the ban was implemented - resulting in him eventually moving his business to outer Ningbo.

Anyway, back to my story...
We were approached by a couple of traffic police at an intersection where I was waiting for the traffic lights.
Parked the motorbike up on the pavement at the officer's request, produced the licenses and so forth, whereby the officers were going to write me a CNY200 fine, but were having problems working out my drivers license number attached to an ID card number since my drivers license has my passport number which seemed foreign to them (no PUN intended). Their uncertainty and resulting discussion left the door open for me to proclaim my innocence and argue that I didn't know that Shaoxing had a motorbike ban. An officer asked which way I entered the city, and I replied from the mountains, to which they acknowledged the lack of relevant signage. This helped them out of their difficulty in working out how they were going to fill out the ticket, so I was let off with a warning. They allowed me to park the bike outside the small police prefab, though I moved it a few streets down so we could walk across the main road to shop and do lunch. I rode the parallel side streets to get back to the uni later.

Such is life in China.

Thanks bikerdoc and euphonius! Although, my dreams have been dashed... I don't think I'll be able to pull off having a bike in China even though it is my dream. The place where I'll be is about 800 meters just inside of the 2nd ring road. It is the Shaoxing No. 1 High School and they probably won't take too kindly even if I did have a bike and tried riding it in and out of the school campus... I guess I'll either have to haggle with them about giving up my rent free super nice furnished apartment and go rent my own place 1 km down the road just past the 2nd ring road or go make some random friends outside the 2nd ring road and convince them to register a bike in their name and keep it at their house for me... hehe

Now I'm wishing Shaoxing had special A plates like Shanghai and Beijing (at a Shaoxing sized price) that allow city center entrance for local residents. Who knows, maybe they will. I shall enquire further upon my arrival... I guess I could have a dealer or friend register it for me and then pay someone at a nearby apartment complex a monthly fee to keep it parked there as well... I'm just beginning to realize that the majority of people on this forum must be doing business this way because all the members on this forum can't possibly be living in random towns with no moto restrictions or buying outrageously expensive Shanghai and Beijing A or B plates....

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Originally Posted by bmold

Now I'm wishing Shaoxing had special A plates like Shanghai and Beijing (at a Shaoxing sized price) that allow city center entrance for local residents. Who knows, maybe they will. I shall enquire further upon my arrival... I guess I could have a dealer or friend register it for me and then pay someone at a nearby apartment complex a monthly fee to keep it parked there as well... I'm just beginning to realize that the majority of people on this forum must be doing business this way because all the members on this forum can't possibly be living in random towns with no moto restrictions or buying outrageously expensive Shanghai and Beijing A or B plates....

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Dear Bmold,

You are getting ahead of yourself. In places like Shaoxing, i.e., small places with strong local traditions and relatively few foreigners, there's almost always a way. China is attempting to display a veneer of "rule of law" but the reality is often far more flexible, for better and for worse. Shanghai is furthest down this path toward having a system that appears transparent and reliable. Don't be fooled. When you give absolute power to a self-anointed few, there's someone, somewhere, who holds the key.

Yes, it's true that a great many foreigners in China, and far greater numbers of Chinese, ride pretty much outside the confines of any law. Fake plates. No legal registration. Fake or "purchased" license. Bike of dubious provenance. The great challenge is to "get legal" in the specific constraints of your city, and this often requires creativity and squishiness around the edges. You don't want to ride outside the confines of the law, but it may take some cleverness to achieve this, and this is one of the (acquired) joys of living in China.

Be patient. There will be a way.

cheers

We've a similar situation here in Ningbo. Ningbo city centre has a motorbike ban/exclusion zone, so if one lived inside the boundary of that zone then theoretically the individual buying a motorcycle wouldn't be able to license/plate aside from not being legally able to ride it within the zone - unless there's some leeway, e.g. if such motorbike ban/restrictions are not applicable 24/7 then the city might allow registrations on the proviso that one understands the restrictions - though I'd doubt this given the average locals observance and adherence to rules, laws and regulations.

The guys inside the Ningbo motorcycle ban/exclusion zone area, have had their motorcycles licensed in nearby districts/suburbs where no such bans or restrictions exist, so it can be done - you will have to explore the ways to do so. Just one caveat though, is, rather than have the motorcycle licensed in another parties name, it would be better for you to arrange temporary residence outside the exclusion zone/banned area so long as you can get the motorbike licensed/plated. This is doable and a better solution since the motorbike is in your name, which in the event of some need for the registered owner to front up, you won't be in the predicament where you have to rely on someone else.

Just be sure to research this thoroughly though, since you might find that even living outside or being registered as residing outside the motorbike ban/exclusion zone helps not in getting you the registration/plate. You might need to reside some distance outside the city on the outskirts where motorbikes can be licensed.

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Originally Posted by bikerdoc

...The guys inside the Ningbo motorcycle ban/exclusion zone area, have had their motorcycles licensed in nearby districts/suburbs where no such bans or restrictions exist, so it can be done - you will have to explore the ways to do so. Just one caveat though, is, rather than have the motorcycle licensed in another parties name, it would be better for you to arrange temporary residence outside the exclusion zone/banned area so long as you can get the motorbike licensed/plated. This is doable and a better solution since the motorbike is in your name, which in the event of some need for the registered owner to front up, you won't be in the predicament where you have to rely on someone else.

Just be sure to research this thoroughly though, since you might find that even living outside or being registered as residing outside the motorbike ban/exclusion zone helps not in getting you the registration/plate. You might need to reside some distance outside the city on the outskirts where motorbikes can be licensed.

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This is precisely what Andre555 did to avoid the downtown ban in Kunming. He reported a change of residence to the police, thereby securing a document listing his registered address as being outside the verboten zone, used the document to register his bike in his own name at the acceptable address, then went back to the police and registered that he'd moved back into the forbidden zone. Police even called to ask about the rapid address changes, and understood when his wife told them this was done solely to get his bike legally registered. :deal:

But Kunming is Kunming, and Shaoxing is Shaoxing. Your mileage may vary. Do your due diligence.

good luck!

Well, I did some scouring and posted a question on the Shaoxing Traffic Police online Q+A system, and to my delight, they report that the place where I'll be living does not fall within the banned area. I hope they're right!

一个跟“禁摩托”有关的问题

提交人：bmold 状态：已发布 创建时间：2011-06-04 09:25:58

你好， 我是一个外国人，今年8月搬家去绍兴。摩托车是我很大的一个爱好，我也打算到了绍兴之后去买一辆摩托车，办 摩托驾照。最近我有查到绍兴市区有禁摩托的规定。禁摩托的范围好像是在二环路以内。我将会在绍兴第一高中工 作，也会住在那里。我怕因为绍兴第一高中已经在二环路以内我都没办法考摩托，买摩托，开摩托，做任何跟摩托 有关的事了。 是不是这样？我知道禁摩托的地方就是不能开摩托车的地方，可是，住在绍兴第一高中我到底能不能去买摩托车， 注册，合法的上牌，早上或者晚上不禁摩托的时间去开？或者到了周末开摩托去旅游？ 谢谢！

回复内容：
您好: 欢迎您浏览绍兴公安网上服务中心，您的信件已收悉，现回复如下： 绍兴市区摩托车禁行区域为以绍兴市老城区环城河为界，环城河以内禁止摩托车通行，环城河以外允许摩托车通行 ，在禁行区域内5月1日至9月30日，禁行时间为7:00-19:00；10月1日至次年4月30日禁行时间为7:00-18:00，外地摩托车（不含绍兴县浙DA、浙DF）全天24小时禁止驶入。胜利路（鲤鱼桥至解放路口）、 解放路（胜利路口至鲁迅路口）摩托车禁行时间为全年每天7:00-21:00。你所说的绍兴一中高中部属于环城河以外，不是禁摩区域。考取摩托车等情况，请致电车管所881 50009进行咨询。 感谢您对公安工作的关心和支持!衷心祝愿您身体健康、工作顺利!

He shoots! He scores!

Congratulations on cutting through the rumor and gossip and laziness, and getting the dope straight from the man. And getting a good answer. In fact, this reply (was it from the Traffic Management Bureau or Public Security Bureau?) actually does not directly address your question about whether it's legal to register a bike if you live within the restricted zone. It merely gives a clear delineation of where the zone is, and notes that your future address lies OUTSIDE of that zone. So the question is moot. This would seem to leave open the possibility that you could legally reside inside the restricted zone and register a bike there, just not ride it there except during those overnight hours when the restrictions are relaxed FOR LOCALLY PLATED BIKES ONLY.

So looks like you are sweet. Seems it was only a week ago that you'd already thrown in the towel! Dude, this is China. We don't throw in the towel.

cheers!

Excellent news bmold now all you need to do aside from getting relevant licenses and so on, is get permission for your intended ride from the High School you'll be employed with.

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Originally Posted by euphonius

He shoots! He scores!
Congratulations... So looks like you are sweet. Seems it was only a week ago that you'd already thrown in the towel! Dude, this is China. We don't throw in the towel.
cheers!

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Euph is right on the money, never throw in the 'towel' ... either hide it, repackage it, or don't refer to it or if you must - just call it by another name!

Yeah! I feel pretty happy... Not sure why all the places I checked listed the banned moto area as being within the 2nd ring road... oh well. Looks like the situation is much better! I got the question answered through the 绍兴公安网上服务中心 website, then clicked on some links to 警民沟通 and then 在线咨询. I wasn't really expecting a response, but they were actually very timely. I'm guessing that if Shaoxing has this kind of convenience for asking the police questions online that other places do too, so it would be worth checking out for those who live in other cities that can communicate with Chinese (also saw how you can now email the Beijing traffic police or whatever related party to get questions answered about traffic laws in English). Good stuff! I shall not throw in the towel.

Still drooling over potential bikes, mostly focused my search on the 新大洲本田 Sundiro Honda and 五羊本田 Wuyang Honda CB and CBX 150 国三 models, also recommended by some others on this forum. I really was wanting a Shineray Long March or a Jialing 大白菜 250 but those seem like they're not going to be legally registrable and the Shineray maybe hard to get parts for? Can't wait. Thanks for everyone's help.

Yes, I do need to work it out with the high school. I have a feeling they won't really take so kindly to the thought of me having a motorcycle there, but I'll try my best to sweet talk them. If push comes to shove I can find another place to park it.