Originally Posted by
Majuki
No, I was thinking of an itinerary like Abroad -> Beijing (via valid entry point) -> Train that travels on a direct service but passes through areas outside of the TWOV area along the way -> Shenzhen -> Abroad (via valid exit point).
While I'd like to see data points to support this, would travel by high speed rail on a direct service be treated differently than flying?
Urumqi wouldn't be covered since not only is it outside of the 240-hour TWOV area, but it's not defensible to say that you were going between Beijing and Shenzhen by way of Urumqi.
Well I don't know if the data points here would be representative. I guess you would need to be stopped by the police in that non TWOV area and for that police officer to be aware of the immigration policies, which I don't think most of them are as when I go to police to register they are always not sure where should I go and start making phone calls.
I ve only encountered a visa check when taking domestic transport once and that was in Mangshi (LUM) close to the border of Myanmar. There is no such thing (at least routinely) in other places like Heihe (HET) on the Russian border (where one can get a border area pass to wander around the city, and more surprisingly none in Haikou, as the island is visa free for many passports and one can theoretically wander off to the "mainland". Not sure if airlines/railways booking engine sends data to PSB either because I often use my old passport to book tickets (mainly because it's worn out and for some FFP you need to register the passport at the airline office), it does not have a visa, unlike the new one. Did not have problems after visiting the 33 provinces/administrative regions of China.