Anyone ever bought a bike from Taobao?

[euphonius]

ChinaV's Jiangmen tip is excellent, if you can make it work. It's a city in Guangdong that still registers bikes.

You'll need to establish residency there, which you do with the local police. So you find a friend (someone in a shop?) to work up a document saying you are renting a room from them, and take the paperwork to the police station (派出所) for that district, and have them issue a Temporary Residence Registration for Foreigners for that address. You'll need to bring your passport and the Temporary Residence Registration for Foreigners for your current residence in Guangzhou. Then use the new document to register the bike in your own name and get it insured.

Then reverse the process to "move back" to wherever you are in Guangzhou. You'll be fully legal with a proper 粤 plate (rather than 渝 for Chongqing), and you'll be able to renew your registration and insurance with relative ease.

cheers