Originally Posted by Jenbel
I actually meant having to get a visa... my nearest Chinese consulate is a 200 mile round-trip away. And here, we have no same day service - so having travelled 200 miles, you then have to go back three days later to collect... it's a lot of extra hassle. And generally, China just struck me as being more bureacratic... forms and receipts for everything!
I thought, if you were 200 miles away, you could get your visa by mail. Fortunately, since I've been travelling to China, I've always wound up living in a city with a Chinese Consulate, so it's been easy for me.