Shaanxi n00b with photos (and questions!)

[td_ref]

Why not buy a "D" when it can be done easily

You are not going to driver 3 wheel for living, are you?

[humanbeing]

You are not going to driver 3 wheel for living, are you?

Illiterate peasant is "their" bread & cheese a "E" is useless dl so they don't sell it.
At least in '10 can buy DL issued in Weinan http://motorcycle.sh.cn/t_624570.htm

[jape]

email sent, let me know that you get it OK

[jape]

Photography posts moved, new thread created as requested: here

[VTECsauce]

Jape, thanks for the PDF, and thanks Humanbeing for the links too! :D

[jape]

So just to be sure and summarise:
C is car
D is sidecar and solo
E is solo (2 wheels)
These above all require residence permit or work permit at least 1 year (with 90 days or more left on it).
You can take test yourself by joining school or if you have DL endorsed Mbikes for your country you just take written test 90% pass bottom limit, 2 attempts allowed.

You can get 'temporary DL permit short stay' if you have DL endorsed for bikes your own country?

[humanbeing]

So just to be sure and summarise:
C is car

The "old" C is < or = 19 seater
Current:
C1 is for < or = 9 seater / < or = 4500 kg & < or = 6 m
C2 is similar to A1 BUT AT ONLY (It's holder is very RARE )
If drives a 12 seater van (silmilar to Toyota Hiace). You will be screwed by ... (you need "B1")

[CantDecide]

You can get 'temporary DL permit short stay' if you have DL endorsed for bikes your own country?

My understanding is that temporary DL permit is for cars only, bikes are not allowed. If anyone has any information to the contrary, I would be VERY interested to hear that.

[Lao Jia Hou]

I can only speak for Beijing, but as it is the capital it supposedly sets the standard for other cities. Hahaha ... well, that is the theory.

Driving Licenses:

Correct about the C1, D, and E types. Correct about "residency registration"

Visa requirements are based on duration of visa, not visa type (e.g., working versus tourist versus business versus student versus journalist ...). The visa issue can be very complicated, so I won't get into that. What is needed to know is that the "residency permit" will be granted on ALL types of visas. People who work (legally) inside China usually get a "residency permit" stamped inside their passport for 6 months, 12 months, or whatever. But all other "visa foreigners" in China MUST register their residency (in large cities, within 24 hours of arrival at the local police station ... in rural areas, within 48 hours) and get a little slip of paper. If you arrive and stay at a Hotel, the Hotel takes care of it (you actually are unaware it is being done). If you want any driving license, you have to get the Hotel to issue you the "Temporary Residence Registration Form". The Hotel never issues these to guests, unless asked (and it frequently requires a bit of effort to get the hotel to do it). If you stay at a friend's house, you must travel down to the local police yourself and acquire your own "temporary household registration" (complicated first time, thereafter it is 5 minutes).

Essentially, the rules are:

- 3 months and less (temporary driving license)
- over 3 months (regular driving license)

Temporary DL (visa of 3 months, or less):

Issued ONLY for passenger cars that are RENTED from approved car rental locations. A temp DL cannot be used to drive ANY other vehicle, including your friend's, family's, etc. They are NOT valid for motorcycles. The ONE exception is with an approved motorcycle tour, guided by approved "foreign tourist guides" who are accompanying you. An approved "foreign tourist guide" must take a special course for this designation.

Some tour companies ignore this rule and hope for the best (at their, and your, peril). Some tour companies provide temp DLs of questionable origin (again, very risky). Some tour companies do it correctly - but I am aware of only two locations that have actually issued these (Chengde & Urumqi - although there have been very rare and special exceptions in the South). I am also only aware of two tour companies that are operating legally within China, and perhaps a third.

Regular DL (visa more than 3 months):

If you have a motorcycle endorsement on your home license, you just need to write the written exam. If you do not, you need to attend a Chinese driving school for motorcycles.

==========
How do I know this stuff? Well, a retirement project of mine was to start a LEGAL motorcycle tour company in China. After almost a year of research, meetings, dinners, etc ... and sifting through the immense amount of B.S. out there about how it has to be done ... and using some pretty powerful connections ... I realized that it is just not worth the effort.

China hasn't quite accepted the idea of recreational motorcycling - it still believes motorcycles = peasant farmers hauling pigs to market. It still believes, firmly, that foreigners shouldn't ride motorcycles. It will change, of course, but this is going to be a very tough nut to crack. Frequently, I would be told "sure, we'll help you any way we can" ... and then once I raised the issue of motorcycles, the tone changed 180 degrees ... "motorcycles? No, can't help you there. You should think about cars."

Final comment - it is damn risky to ride around without a license in the larger cities. Many cities will immediately detain you (yup, jail) and then potentially deport you. If you get into an accident, ANY accident, you're toast. And, in Beijing, if you are riding a motorcycle, drunk, without a license, and get into an accident ... well, I definitely wouldn't want to be you.

[euphonius]

Fantastic post, Richard.

Thinking out loud, if someone like Jape wanted to do a long ride through China, it seems his best option would be to arrive on a 6 or even 12-month visa, perhaps a business visa, and immediately apply for a Chinese Class D license using a Temporary Residence Registration Form to verify that the authorities (police and entry-exit bureau) acknowledge his legal residency. So he'd be tied down for a period of time while these procedures unfold.

That still leaves the bigger question of the bike itself. Would it be possible, or sensible, to buy a bike in such circumstances? Obviously not in a big city like Shanghai or Beijing, given the cost of plates. But are there cities (or towns) in China where the costs and red tape would be minimal?

If I were Jape I'd seriously consider applying for a job teaching English (and philosophy!) at a college in some small city in a beautiful place (Lijiang? Zhongdian? Xishuangbanna? Lh*sa??) where he could live out the Confucian ideal among adoring young people. I read in the I Ching that Confucius rode an XTR250. Meanwhile, Jape leaves the key to his place under the mat and those of us who can't take another day of grandma messing with our veepeeyens can fly to Oz for a week or two of beatrunning the Kinlon and cutting firewood....

cheers