ZMC's Attempt to get a Chinese License Blog

[ZMC888]

Day 2 -
-Got the stamped letter from my employer
-Photocopied my home license, and my resident visa and passport photo page
-Went to foreign affairs office
-Got license translated, cost me 200 RMB
-Went to police office to find out about next stage

Will need:
-Special police photos (some place 10KM away)
-Medical check (not sure where this is).

Time thus far spent (including travel) - 4 hours
Money spent - 214.6 RMB
Weeks/months spent getting license - 12 days

[CrazyCarl]

Day 2 -
-Will need:
-Special police photos (some place 10KM away)
-Medical check (not sure where this is).

Sounds more complicated than Sichuan (at least once you actually got someone to administer you the test).

The police photos thing sounds strange. A photo is a photo and I'm not sure why you need a "special" one from a particular police station or what the difference may be. Be interesting to find out!

The medical check is pretty much a quick and dirty vision check... nothing to worry about. In Chengdu it was performed in the licensing office... which I though made an unusual amount of sense and was almost too convenient.

CC

[ChinaV]

A photo is a photo and I'm not sure why you need a "special" one from a particular police station or what the difference may be. Be interesting to find out!

There is a national database for photos here now. When you get photos for a visa, license, etc., the photo store you go to will log into a special website and upload the pics to the database. They give you a small CD and a paper that has a special code that relates to your pictures. I think it was about 60 yuan with 6 printed pictures included. You need to have this paper when you apply for your residence permit, health check, etc. No more printing your own, that was far too inexpensive and convenient .

TIC and YMMV

Cheers!
ChinaV

[ZMC888]

There seems to be some confusion about where to go to get the health check and the police photos. Until we can resolve this, the process has stalled!

[SabineHartmann]

I remember this very well! Us Expats they send to a Clinic (lost the Name) along 5.Ringroad, close to Fragrance Hill. This Clinic is very new and specialised for Visa-Health-Check for Foreigners. There I have got the wrong Form.
Afterwards they told me, that you can go to every Hospital doing the Health-Check for Driving Licences, even we Foreigners.
Consist on the right Form, a A4 single Paper.
Wish you luck!
Sabine

[Taimur]

I believe it was any 'provincial level' hospital for the exam.

[culcune]

If the Chinese drivers are anything like how I remember the Asian drivers were in the 1980's in Los Angeles then they should be begging "foreigners" to get licenses to show the locals how to drive!!

[ZMC888]

Day 3

School finally figured out where to go to get special police photo and health check (was only and eye check in the end). Took all the information to another traffic police department. License is ready to be issued.

Have to go to do a multiple choice test in English on Friday, so it means I may have a license by next week.

Time thus far spent (including travel) - 6 hours
Time thus far (not including travel) - 1.5 hours
Money spent - 354.6 RMB
Weeks/months spent getting license - 28 days

[Nick in PRC.]

Day 3


Have to go to do a multiple choice test in English on Friday, so it means I may have a license by next week.

The questions and correct answers were on the net at one time..........I think the Police updated the questions though. However, I remember some of the correct answers were not what you would have expected them to be even after 25 years driving experience.

[ChinaV]

I was pondering the traffic situation with tokyokid the other day and concluded that a significant portion of the road traffic in China is people shuffling around trying to find the right place to get things done. Your statistics support the theory

Good luck with the test, tell them you don't understand the dialect of english the test was translated in, they will probably let you slide .

I'm sure you will be flashing that new license soon

Cheers!
ChinaV