Using Chinese licence abroad

[Mouse]

While I am on Motorcycles is it possible to hire or buy a bike in Zhengzhou as I wish to do a trip through that fancy mountain cut road at Guoliang Cun in Henan next time I am there ..

[ZMC888]

Pretty sure ...I am an Officer who Tests the Drivers here ...

Sweet so all driver licensing and vehicle registrations follow the exact same system in Australia now, regardless of state?

[ZMC888]

While I am on Motorcycles is it possible to hire or buy a bike in Zhengzhou as I wish to do a trip through that fancy mountain cut road at Guoliang Cun in Henan next time I am there ..

You can't legally buy, register or rent a bike In China unless you are a resident or have a visa over 6 months (usually). They do not accept IDPs. You can however buy a bike in someone else's name or 2nd hand with legal insurance and take your chances without a license.

[Mouse]

Sweet so all driver licensing and vehicle registrations follow the exact same system in Australia now, regardless of state?

No the States vary very far from it on some rules ...but I am sure of the Qld rules ...

[Mouse]

You can't legally buy, register or rent a bike In China unless you are a resident or have a visa over 6 months (usually). They do not accept IDPs. You can however buy a bike in someone else's name or 2nd hand with legal insurance and take your chances without a license.

I see companies running Harley Tours through China now ..so please explain how they are getting around all this or have they found a flexible Official $$$ ...I have relatives there from a ( Chinese Wife) who own a bike shop ..so I can borrow ;) one ...no dramas and we have a House in China ..and I see on another Chinese web site people doing CJ sidecar trips up to Mongolia from Beijing ..so there has to be loopholes ?
Would I be able to buy a bike in my Wife's name and leave it with our relatives ?

[bikerdoc]

I see companies running Harley Tours through China now ..so please explain how they are getting around all this or have they found a flexible Official $$$

Most likely, yes. As an aside, when the Olympic Games were held in PRC, it was possible to get temporary short PRC DL's for visitors/tourists at that time issued in BJ. That seems to have ended round the same time as the Games did. Some tour operators/companies have arrangements at a local level. This applies to a number of tour operators/agents.

...I have relatives there from a ( Chinese Wife) who own a bike shop ..so I can borrow ;) one ...no dramas and we have a House in China

Great you have access to MC's and a pad from which to base yourself from. Since your wife is from the mainland then, you can get a 12 month spouse visa, so that'd take care of the minimum visa validity requirement for the visa as it applies to driver licencing. With that in mind, you could fairly easily convert your overseas issued DL with MC endorsement into a PRC one. Just have to sit a 100 MCQ theory test.

..and I see on another Chinese web site people doing CJ sidecar trips up to Mongolia from Beijing ..so there has to be loopholes ?

A number of companies and tour operators have things sorted. Generally speaking - - 'they' are big fish, sometimes in big ponds, with deep connections. Unless you are the head of say, a fortune 500 company in someplace like SH, BJ, GZ, then what they can get done may not apply or work for you. Now if you move into a smaller pond then you might scale the ladder to become a bigger fish, where you might be able to get things done. Either that, or you just rely on a local who has the guanxi needed, though it never hurts to try and dot the 'i's' and cross the 't's' 'cause the word mei-wenti 没问题 gets thrown round an awful lot when it shouldn't - just on the basis of the person being a foreigner. Don't believe all of what you're told... Ignorance, as is often said, is no excuse.

Basically, there are the rules, and then there are the rules. People lower down the pecking order or in a different area (apply area in the literal and figurative sense), (even within government) may not even know the rules, and simply base their view on hearsay. It's worth keeping in mind that while PRC is one country, it is made up of many many mini empires or kingdo0ms, each with it's own set of chieftains.

Would I be able to buy a bike in my Wife's name and leave it with our relatives ?

Sure, easy as. You'd have to insure the MC in whoever's name the MC is registered/plated to - in this case, you wife. You could sign an agreement between you and the 'owner' that assigns all responsibility over to you, as this can make it useful if dealing with anything official while out riding, especially in the case of an accident - where blame is disputed etc. In cases where blame has to be determined by the Traffic PSB, or similar, then they (the Traffic PSB) can/might require the registered owner/insurance policy holder to attend - having the agreement should take care of this. If not, easy if the owner is nearby or they are present e.g. wife riding pillion, an altogether different proposition hundreds km's apart. Don't ask me how I know this...

[hclayjones]

Seems there was, recently, a few tour companies.....Shao Yiqi in Shanghai was doing some tours (last time I saw him, he also told me he was building sidecars for HD's ....Thomas Chabrieres was with a group called Insiders Experience....Vietnam is getting HD's now and the Hog chapter of Korea has told me that Rentals will be there soon, but their are plenty of bikes to rent in V.N. China is a little diffrent .. does the temp. D.L. exist..... contact some of the tour companies and ask them ...

[prince666]

Seems there was, recently, a few tour companies.....Shao Yiqi in Shanghai was doing some tours (last time I saw him, he also told me he was building sidecars for HD's ....Thomas Chabrieres was with a group called Insiders Experience....Vietnam is getting HD's now and the Hog chapter of Korea has told me that Rentals will be there soon, but their are plenty of bikes to rent in V.N. China is a little diffrent .. does the temp. D.L. exist..... contact some of the tour companies and ask them ...

Hi
Yes the temp DL does exist here is a picture of one sorry not a good copy!

image.jpg

And before some ask it not me or my wife or my girlfriend