Hong Kong and Macau - Staying in Shenzhen visiting HK, doable?

I'm thinking about staying in Shenzhen and visiting Hong Kong (the hotel prices in HK is basically insane). How long would it take from JW Shenzhen to Lok Ma Chau MTR?

I would probably get an entry permit when I visit HK on my own and visa for the kids. Is it difficult to get a multiple entry visa to China?

Thanks in advance!

You need a multiple-entry visa for CHINA, not HK, as you'll return to Shenzhen from HK multiple times. Assuming this is your first time visiting China, the probability of obtaining multiple-entry(more than 2) is next to nil.

You need a multiple-entry visa for CHINA, not HK, as you'll return to Shenzhen from HK multiple times. Assuming this is your first time visiting China, the probability of obtaining multiple-entry(more than 2) is next to nil.

Why? I have family in Hong Kong, that should give my husband sufficient reason to 're-enter' China as many time as he needs to.

As for me I don't think it's a problem since I'm HK permanent resident.

I'm thinking about staying in Shenzhen and visiting Hong Kong (the hotel prices in HK is basically insane). How long would it take from JW Shenzhen to Lok Ma Chau MTR?

I would probably get an entry permit when I visit HK on my own and visa for the kids. Is it difficult to get a multiple entry visa to China?

Thanks in advance!

According to the Shenzhen Metro website, about 16 minutes including transfer.
Board Luobao Line, Chegongmao station transfer to the Longhua Line, Futian Checkpoint.

http://www.szmc.net/cms/page?arg=en/index

I thought that if you had the magic HK Residency Card, all you need to do is flash and dash at the border (no visa required)? If your kids have US passports, best to get visas before leaving. All of them are US$140, whether single, double or multiple entry. Not sure how difficult it is to get a multiple entry visa with other passports...

According to the Shenzhen Metro website, about 16 minutes including transfer.
Board Luobao Line, Chegongmao station transfer to the Longhua Line, Futian Checkpoint.

http://www.szmc.net/cms/page?arg=en/index

I thought that if you had the magic HK Residency Card, all you need to do is flash and dash at the border (no visa required)? If your kids have US passports, best to get visas before leaving. All of them are US$140, whether single, double or multiple entry. Not sure how difficult it is to get a multiple entry visa with other passports...

Thanks! That sounds doable. He called the visa service today and he was told it's possible to get a multiple entry for this purpose. Now we have to weigh in visa fee towards savings at the hotel.

How long is your stay and how many times are you planning to cross into HK during that time? Keep in mind that for those using a passport, they earn four stamps for each roundtrip. And from Lok Ma Chau or Lo Wu, it is still 50+ minutes to Tsimshatsui and over an hour to Central. Add the time at the crossing and commute between hotel and the border, you're spending 3 hours on mostly crowded trains each day. Is that okay for you and the kids?

How long is your stay and how many times are you planning to cross into HK during that time? Keep in mind that for those using a passport, they earn four stamps for each roundtrip. And from Lok Ma Chau or Lo Wu, it is still 50+ minutes to Tsimshatsui and over an hour to Central. Add the time at the crossing and commute between hotel and the border, you're spending 3 hours on mostly crowded trains each day. Is that okay for you and the kids?

I'm thinking about staying there around 2 weeks or so, my choice is either SkyCity or JW Shenzhen.

If my husband has a multiple entries visa then he should be able to get in and out as many times as he'd like. We normally travel inside Europe and as EU citizen you don't get stamped, so our passports are pretty empty.

We're thinking about putting 2 kids at my parents' home in Hong Kong and my husband and I and the youngest stay in JW Marriott in Shenzhen (close to Heung Mat Wu resort). We stayed at Courtyard Hong Kong and SkyCity Marriott and both are at least 1 hr from where my parents live.

I guess if I do that I'll be using Lok Ma Chau crossing which seems to be less busy than LoWu.

Again, where isn't crowed in Hong Kong? My siblings who live there have given up on going to Mongkok or TST, even CWB.

Even though I grew up in HK and live here right now, I still find the crowdness of the East Rail trains and the transfer at Kowloon Tong highly unpleasant. At least from Lok Ma Chau, you have a chance of grabbing a seat...

Even though I grew up in HK and live here right now, I still find the crowdness of the East Rail trains and the transfer at Kowloon Tong highly unpleasant. At least from Lok Ma Chau, you have a chance of grabbing a seat...

I know and that's why I try not to go to Shatin. I do feel that HK is much more crowded than say 8-10 yrs ago.

Going to Ocean Park with the kids is bad, not just mainland tourists that are not following the rule, we met some Indians that tried very hard to jump the queue when we were queuing for cable cars. No matter what you told them, they said, 'yes' and still did it. :td:

Just a "wild" idea or thoughts instead of dealing with multiple visa fees, lines for border crossing & long train rides - I know of friends that've done extended stay at the Harbour Plaza Resort City at Tin Shui Wai in (Yuen Long area) N.T. - it's a short 3 to 5 minutes walk to the MTR Light Rail Ginza Station, that will connect to the West Rail & main lines going everywhere in H.K. Depending on your travel dates - there are ongoing specials - quoted online rates for late May averaged $145 USD per night including service charges (no taxes or surcharges, as you know) for the deluxe room at 400 sq.ft. with a sofa, mini-dining & kitchenette.

http://www.harbour-plaza.com/resortcity/Accommodations-en.htm

There are photos & reviews on tripadvisors . com about the property to read about.

"Commute" time should be a little bit shorter but at least you will not need to do daily border crossing. HPRC, from what I understand, isn't in the same tier as the Marriott - but it seemed well managed, comfortable & spacious by H.K. standard. Rates for H.K. hotels keep going up each year as mainlanders continue to "flood" it and shop until they drop - our accountant's family just visited and their packaged (air & hotel) nightly rates were $350 USD+ for an older & remodeled property on Nathan Road in TST, go figure :rolleyes:

The last time we visited post Shanghai Expo, we took the midday MTR/KCR rail toward Lo Wu with the intention of crossing over to Shenzhen for a quick lunch & tour, and it was still crowded and got off at Sheung Shui - not so sure if it's going to fun and/or worth doing it over 2 weeks, YMMV. :D

Interesting reading locals describe the train system as being crowded, I am only in HKG once each quarter, and i find the system brilliant. I often stay at Shatin on extended stays as I can't afford the Island for long periods. As HKG doesn't open till late each morning and I am used to 7am starts, it all works well for me.

All of them are US$140, whether single, double or multiple entry. Not sure how difficult it is to get a multiple entry visa with other passports...

US passport holders get 12-month multi entry by default, as long as they apply in the US. This can be done by mail (though passports and applications must be hand delivered to the consulate) from abroad as long as there are no arrival stamps unmatched by exits (not an issue in many countries).

For almost the exact reason as OP stated, I stayed in Shenzhen and day trip to Kowloon and Hong Kong on numerous occasions (whenever HK hotel rates are sky high), most recently during New Year. It is quite easy and I didn't find the trains to be particularly crowded at that time. Sometime ago, before they change TST East, I used to train from Lok Mau Chau direct to TST East Station and walked 4 minutes to the Ren Kowloon (since demoslished). Now I alight at Hong Hum and move on from there.
JW is my favorite hotel in Shenzhen. They treat elites very well. Exec Lounge is fantastic. Elites will have breakfast on 2nd floor restaurant. You would not believe the spread of western and Chinese food! Reminds me of the Le Meridien in Bangkok.
From the JW, get in a cab. 12 to 15 minutes and 25 RMB later, you are at Futian border crossing. The corssing is peprhaps the best (not been through all of them) in that it is all under on roof. Chinese on one side of the river, and HK on the other.
Be sure you get a card from the hotel with Chinese address of the hotel for the cab driver. Some driver may pretend they don't know where it is.

View from the JW Exec Lounge
http://stefanofoto.smugmug.com/Travel-China/Shenzhen/12626867_nnDN94#!i=907303921&k=iEz7o

I'm from HK so I should be able to get around very easily. I can also see the JW is fairly close to MTR (within walking distance), I guess I'll use it to get to HK.

Did you have to queue for very long to cross the border? I think the border crossing at Futian is the least busy compared to the others.

If the destination you go to in Hong Kong has direct buses from Huanggang, you should look at those options too, even if the crossing is more messy and crowded. At least once you clear, you get a seat on the coach all the way.

And to answer the others, yes, the East Rail trains can really be crowded - morning and all evening - and unpleasant. I live near Yuen Long and use public transportation all the time, including the West Rail apparently, but East Rail is something else.

Anyhow, which is why many people prefer taking buses instead, myself included, even if may take longer and the cost basically the same. You have more chance of getting a seat, and even if it's on a packed bus (like taking 968 from HK Island back to Yuen Long), once I find a spot to stand, I am pretty much set all the way into YL. Unlike on the trains where you get shuffled around at EVERY stop for people to get on and get off.

Anyhow, which is why many people prefer taking buses instead, myself included, even if may take longer and the cost basically the same. You have more chance of getting a seat, and even if it's on a packed bus (like taking 968 from HK Island back to Yuen Long), once I find a spot to stand, I am pretty much set all the way into YL. Unlike on the trains where you get shuffled around at EVERY stop for people to get on and get off.

That's true if you live in HK, and that the bus route has little/no traffic. My parents live in Kwun Tong and there is an 'express' bus going to TST. It was pretty express until after Kai Tak Tunnel, then it got stuck in traffic for at least 30 mins. Then that 'express' trip from Kwun Tong to TST that is supposed to take 20 mins now ended up with at least 45 mins.

If you take any bus using the West Harbour tunnel then there is no problem.

My sis, bro and mum refuse to take MTR unless it's the ONLY choice, my kids prefer the bus ride because they like the seats on buses.

For me time is precious. Any minute I loose on the bus I can't use it on anything else - I don't visit HK as often as I'd like.

Time on the bus is time to relax and to surf the web, catch up with emails, etc. Much harder to do on a packed train. It's not wasted.

Time on the bus is time to relax and to surf the web, catch up with emails, etc. Much harder to do on a packed train. It's not wasted.

I agree (especially when you can get a seat). It's a thousand times nicer if you can sit down and get from point A to B without much traffic than being in a packed train. Changing train is troublesme, in particular if you go from Lam Tin to Tak Koo - that's like 5 stops or so but you need to change twice.

My husband would like to see China, and I think Shenzhen is a good starting point (we can combine it with visiting Hong Kong). It was long time ago since I last visited Shenzhen - I was a kid and it was in the late 80s.

Why? I have family in Hong Kong, that should give my husband sufficient reason to 're-enter' China as many time as he needs to.

As for me I don't think it's a problem since I'm HK permanent resident.

You can dream on. China Travel Service does not operate the way you imagine, HK permanent resident or not.

We failed to get a permit despite we both hold HKID and I was born in HKG.

We were told that our applications for the permit would be sent to China for evaluation, and the result would be know in 3 to 6 months. The lady also told us as others told you, if this is your first time to apply for the permit, the chance of getting a multiple entries 10 year permit is next to none.

Your best bet is to get the Chinese Visa from abroad via an authorized travel service. What Moondog said by mail is a bit misleading - because China no longer allows application done by mail - all paperwork must be hand-delivered to the Consulate that governs your locale. (for example, for us in Florida, the Consulate would handle our applications would be the one in Houston, TX. We cannot walk in the Consulate in, SFO, and do our applications - must be done in Houston's location.) You can mail your passport and application to the travel agency which in turn would do the application by its staff in person. I have no idea about the requirement of matching of entry and exit stamps.

If I was the OP, I'd post my dates here and let the board do some digging. HK Is expensive but bargains can still be had - www.baholidays.co.uk has had some great rates on offer recently.

If your kids have US passports, best to get visas before leaving. All of them are US$140, whether single, double or multiple entry. Not sure how difficult it is to get a multiple entry visa with other passports...

Because OP's location is CPH, plus the various Euro FF programs, I hate to assume OP and family have US passports, hence the difficulty of obtaining multiple-entry visas.

Nope we are not US citizens. I have SAR passport and HKID, so I should be able to get a 10 yr visa pass to go to China. My family is in HK and I also have a bank account there.

Mr. Nacho called the Chinese Visa issusing centre and they told him that they could issue him a multiple entry visa. So we could stay in Shenzhen and visit HK.

I'm really interested to try out the JW in Shenzhen because I can't afford the JW at PP in HK and SkyCity is a big disappointment and Courtyard was ok.

I guess China doesn't like American so much, it seems that US citizens pay more for getting a visa into China too.

I guess China doesn't like American so much, it seems that US citizens pay more for getting a visa into China too.

We pay more, but we get better visas than most other nationals by default.

To me, the extra cost is well worth the trouble.

We pay more, but we get better visas than most other nationals by default.

To me, the extra cost is well worth the trouble.

What do you mean by better visa? I can see a list of visas China is offering to foreigners and I don't see any special privileges for US citizens except they pay more.

What do you mean by better visa? I can see a list of visas China is offering to foreigners and I don't see any special privileges for US citizens except they pay more.

The default for US citizens is 1 year, multiple entry, and 2 year visas aren't that hard to fetch these days either. People from other western countries, by contrast, are lucky to score 6 month multiple entry visas unless they resort to an agency that charges far more than the $140 we pay for visa fees. And, people from SE Asia and Africa tend to get really crappy visas.

What do you mean by better visa? I can see a list of visas China is offering to foreigners and I don't see any special privileges for US citizens except they pay more.

I recently got a new China visa for a Canadian passport and I had to pay $150 for a 1-year multi-entry. I previously held a 6-month multi F and 1-year multi F visa, but for some reason the consulate (sigh China) wasn't cooperative and said I could either get a 1-year multi L or double-entry F. I'm not paid by a Chinese company so I just gritted my teeth and took the L and I plan to just check "tourism" on the arrival card next time I enter. This is all despite my frequent visits to China and family ties (albeit not immediate family). With all that being said, I'd love to save some money and get a 2-year multi visa like some Americans are getting!

Regarding the original post... personally, I would never even think about staying in SZX and travelling to HKG everyday. I know there's people who do this for work, but it's totally not worth the hassle imo. There are some decent hotels in HKG which will not destroy your bank account without the inconvenience.

Lucky you're not American, staying in Shenzhen may be possible, but I don't think it's worth the time it takes to commute back and forth.

What Moondog said by mail is a bit misleading - because China no longer allows application done by mail - all paperwork must be hand-delivered to the Consulate that governs your locale .

"YOU" do not need to go to the consulate, "ONE" needs to go to the consulate. An agent, a secretary or whoever. I just obtained my new two year ME visa and I certainly did not step into any consulate (and I am not at all anyhow ethnic Chinese).

How long is your stay and how many times are you planning to cross into HK during that time? Keep in mind that for those using a passport, they earn four stamps for each roundtrip. And from Lok Ma Chau or Lo Wu, it is still 50+ minutes to Tsimshatsui and over an hour to Central. Add the time at the crossing and commute between hotel and the border, you're spending 3 hours on mostly crowded trains each day. Is that okay for you and the kids?

Agreed and + exit and entry forms to fill out each time. The entry and exit stamps take up the passport pages very fast.

Lowu crossing is a zoo in the best of time. There is always the option to ride the first class carriage on the East Rail but it doubles the cost. The interchange stations along the East Rail are also not the most user friendly.

When one leaves for Hong Kong, it is not a practical option to return to the hotel in Shenzhen during the day for a short rest, drop off shopping stuff, etc.

Using Shenzhen as a base to visit Hong Kong, I wouldn't do it personally for logistical and other reasons.

Nope we are not US citizens. I have SAR passport and HKID, so I should be able to get a 10 yr visa pass to go to China. My family is in HK and I also have a bank account there.


HKSAR passport is not valid for travel to mainland China. One has to apply for a Home Return Permit which may take several weeks to process.

Issuance of the HRP is at the sole discretion of the Chinese authority, not an entitlement even if one meets all the requirements for one.

Your best bet is to get the Chinese Visa from abroad via an authorized travel service. What Moondog said by mail is a bit misleading - because China no longer allows application done by mail - all paperwork must be hand-delivered to the Consulate that governs your locale. (for example, for us in Florida, the Consulate would handle our applications would be the one in Houston, TX. We cannot walk in the Consulate in, SFO, and do our applications - must be done in Houston's location.) You can mail your passport and application to the travel agency which in turn would do the application by its staff in person. I have no idea about the requirement of matching of entry and exit stamps.

For any sort of standard visa category, there is NO requirement to use the Chinese Consulate that officially covers the region where your home address is located. (Some of them say this, but it is a "suggestion" not an absolute requirement.) You can use any Consulate in the USA or the Embassy in Washington. Somebody located in New York can certainly apply for the visa in Houston or Chicago or LA or whatever. Or use a visa agent anywhere in the country. It is true that for a number of years, Chinese missions have not allowed mail-in visa applications, so either yourself or a friend or professional agent must walk in the paperwork. Some Chinese missions will do mail return service, though.

For any sort of standard visa category, there is NO requirement to use the Chinese Consulate that officially covers the region where your home address is located. (Some of them say this, but it is a "suggestion" not an absolute requirement.) You can use any Consulate in the USA or the Embassy in Washington. Somebody located in New York can certainly apply for the visa in Houston or Chicago or LA or whatever. Or use a visa agent anywhere in the country. It is true that for a number of years, Chinese missions have not allowed mail-in visa applications, so either yourself or a friend or professional agent must walk in the paperwork. Some Chinese missions will do mail return service, though.

I used to live in Houston, and the Consulate there refused to process my friend's visa when I brought her passport in. Reason - her address is in New York. So, while an agent can take care of clients from all over the country, a friend cannot.

I used to live in Houston, and the Consulate there refused to process my friend's visa when I brought her passport in. Reason - her address is in New York. So, while an agent can take care of clients from all over the country, a friend cannot.

Anyone can be an agent, friends or otherwise.

I think jiejie is correct in that there are no official prohibitions about people using consulates in regions other than where they live, but I've also heard of cases like yours. If you really want to play it safe, simply write down an address in the consulate at hand's domain. Proof of residence is not on the list of required items by the PRC visa people.