Hello from Toronto, Canada

[Chinadian]

Hello everyone,

My name is Bill, I was born in Taishan and immigrated to Canada in 1980. I have been back to China for vacations and visit family every few years. Just sign up with MCM to learn from riders and about riding routes in Western China. I hope one day soon that I can come home to the motherland and see all its beauty on 2 wheels. I just learned how to ride a motorcycle 2 years ago and have taken a few trip thru North America.

[euphonius]

Dear Bill,

welcome to MyChinaMoto! And welcome back to China.

To whet your appetite, start with the many many ride reports from all across China. You'll probably have questions about how to ride legally -- it's challenging for an occasional visitor without forking out bucks for guide services, etc. but it can be done with a bit of planning. If you've got any lingering kin over here that could help, especially if you end up wanting to buy and garage a bike here. (Are you from Taishan the Pearl River Delta city or the Taishan Mountain area of Shandong? I'd keep the bike in Chengdu or Kunming...) As an emigrant do you qualify for any kind of program that allows you to stay in China for extended periods? That could make getting a drivers license a lot easier. It's not how long you stay that matters, but how long of a stay is allowed by your visa....

What are those bikes are you riding in Canada and what prompted you to start riding? (I'm a late bloomer too!)

cheers
Euphonius

[Chinadian]

Hello,Euphonius

I was born in Taishan city beside the Pearl River Delta and the city is now 3 times bigger than when I left it in 1980. I currently own a SYM HD200(173cc) scooter from Taiwan and traveled from Toronto, Canada to Mount Rushmore, S.D. USA 8500km round trip for 2 months last year. I also have 2 Honda Nighthawk CB450sc (82 & 84). I bought the 82 Nighthawk in Western, USA and fly there to pick it up and ride it home thru Yellowstone National Park 6000km one way also last year. I love touring by car, van and now on motorcycle. I didn't start riding motorcycle when I was young because I really like to drive FAST! As I get older and more mellow, its much safer now for me to ride

My Chinese girlfriend (born in Vietnam) and I want to tour South Western China starting in Taishan and end at Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam for the duration of 2 months.

The plan:
-get myself a Chinese car and motorcycle license(don't know how yet),
-buy a Chinese 250cc enduro bike, title and insure it in one of my cousin's name to avoid "guide service"(is that legal?),
-stay in hostels and guest houses as much as possible as hotels are way too expansive(is there a website for that?)
-avoid big cities as much as possible
-leave the bike at the Chinese and Vietnam border for my cousin to pick up and take home.
-rent or buy another bike inside Vietnam ride from North to South.
-Fly back to Canada from Ho Chi Minh City.

Questions:
-Why do visitors in China need guided service?
-I have an international car and motorcycle license and why is it not violet in China?

Regards,

Bill

[ChinaV]

Questions:
-Why do visitors in China need guided service?
-I have an international car and motorcycle license and why is it not violet in China?

You don't really need a guide service. If you have a license, registered vehicle, and a valid visa, you can pretty much go wherever you want with the exception of sensitive areas in/around Tibet and Xinjiang.

Your international license is not valid because China is run by a peculiar bunch of people that refuse to honour laws and commitments amongst the international community. You have a very marginal chance at getting a license here because your tourist visa will probably not be valid long enough to meet the license requirement. If you still have Chinese citizenship, or family members with connections to the local government, maybe you can swing something.

Cheers!
ChinaV

[zhu]

is it a little bit ironic that a bunch of foringerres are giving advice to a chinese guy about how to ride in China.
welcome btw and have a good trip
there are many hills and valleys between beijing and western China
not saying its the right thing to do but if i had a cousin who looked a bit like me
i would borrow his license
just sayin
btw

http://www.tripadvisor.com.au/

you can check any place you plan to visit for hostels, food , bars or tailors

[humanbeing]

If reads Chinese, motorfans.com.cn / Guangdong section http://www.motorfans.com.cn/bbs/f_80.htm is a great place to ask Qs about license etc. My roots is from Zhongshan. When i "home" in '12, heard the "D" still can buy via some Wuzhou countryside officials .

[zhu]

now that's what i'm talkin about

[Chinadian]

is it a little bit ironic that a bunch of foringerres are giving advice to a chinese guy about how to ride in China.
welcome btw and have a good trip
there are many hills and valleys between beijing and western China
not saying its the right thing to do but if i had a cousin who looked a bit like me
i would borrow his license
just sayin
btw

http://www.tripadvisor.com.au/

you can check any place you plan to visit for hostels, food , bars or tailors

I am ashamed to say I have been westernized long ago. I can't read Chinese any longer but can speak Cantonese and a bit of Mandarin learned from my ex-wife from Taiwan. It would be a really bad idea to borrow my cousin's license as the officials will notice I only look Chinese the moment I open my mouth. I keep reading ride reports at ADVrider.com riders from around the world coming to China for adventures. Its looking more and more like pipe dream.

[Chinadian]

Called my Cousin in China yesterday and ask how I can obtain a moto licence and ride legally in China? The answer was LOTS OF $$$ and connections. If I decide to ride without a licence and get caught, possible 2 days in jail!

[prince666]

hi chinadian if worst come to worst and you cant get a moto licence here in china you say you have a friend who looks like you ?? in china
in my moto club we have a chinese menber who cant talk he is deaf and dumb ???? so just act the same way if you get stop by the police if worst come to worst but if you drive ok you could take the risk and not have one i did for over 20,000 km and got stop but just looked dumb and smiled and was let go not a good thing but sometimes you have to do what you have to do if you get what i mean it will be very hard for you to get the licence and no one has said about the test to need to get 90 out of the 100 question correct lol took me 3 time 88 then 76 the 98 then you can only get a car or bike licence not both so its hard here in china but can be done but you need to have a visa for 6 mouths to start with ??? well good luck hope all goes well

steve