Driving Into China
 

Every time this question comes up on an English-language forum, it seems that the answer is that it's essentially impossible. There's a self-proclaimed "definitive" thread over at the Thorn Tree that says you must hire a guide and pay US$5,000 in various fees, and even then, it probably won't happen. A few random blog posts I've found on Google seem to concur with this assessment.

It seems the most common reason cited for all of this mess is the need for a Chinese-issued driving licence, visas, or, in the case of routes that would traverse Tibet, the usual TTP issues. Presumably, you'd need a carnet de passage, or some other type of import paperwork, but I can't find anything clear on exactly what is needed. Searching in Chinese turns up a few results, but almost all of them (for obvious reasons) deal with driving a Chinese-registered car out of China, and not the other way around.

At least two of these issues don't apply in my case: I have a valid Chinese driving licence, and a valid Chinese residence permit. Logically, if one can legally drive around China unaccompanied while driving a Chinese registered vehicle, it would seem that the same should be possible with a non-Chinese registered car once any customs issues were cleared up. Moreover, I've personally seen the odd Laotian, Mongolian, and Russian-plated vehicle in China, further indicating that there's some way to do this.

I tried phoning the Urumqi customs office, and while I finally managed to speak with someone who assured me that they understood exactly what I wanted to do and that it was theoretically possible and entirely legal, they hadn't the faintest idea what paperwork was needed or how to go about getting it. The woman I spoke with suggested that I might contact a travel agent. Maybe the PSB. Or was it the 交通运输部道路运输司? She wasn't sure. :rolleyes:

Does anyone here perhaps have an idea of how to do this? I've been toying with the idea of entering the 2013 Mongol Rally, travelling through Kazakhstan, entering China via Korgas from Almaty, and then exiting China to Mongolia at the Takashiken/Bulgan crossing. According to the Rally organisers, this has never been done, which makes it seem all the more enticing ...

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

I've heard that WFE's are permitted to import one or two cars per year, tax free. Any decent PRC lawyer would be able to advise on this. But, in your case, buying a car in China would be a lot easier, no?

I have a car registered in China, which I could easily drive to Mongolia (the regulations on this are clear). But the rules of the Mongol Rally stipulate that the same vehicle must be driven from London all the way to Ulan Bator.

Creating a WFOE solely for the purposes of a stupid adventure seems somewhat excessive, but I'll keep that in mind if I can't figure out another way to do this (and insist on pursuing this crazy scheme). Thanks for the suggestion! ^

Don't worry about the WFE; if you can figure out how this stuff works, I'd be happy to let you use one of mine.

Yes, it should theoretically be doable for you without the usual obstacles that tourists/non-resident foreigners encounter. The main issue would be Customs, and that is that the car is temporarily imported then exported again, no intent of sale involved. My understanding is that Chinese Customs requires a sizeable bond be deposited, which will be refunded once the car actually leaves China. The exact mechanisms by how this happens, and time frames for putting up deposit and then getting the refund, is murky.

I'm not sure if they would give reprieve from emissions/technical standards and inspections...possibly.

As Xinjiang is a bit of a sensitive location, this might be an addition obstacle that traveling from say, Laos to Mongolia might not encounter. However, there's probably no point in being untruthful about this, as your paperwork if approved, will have to have entry and exit points delineated.

Since dealing with a travel agent is going to produce advice that may not be impartial, I'd suggest heading straight for the lion's den--Customs HQ in Beijing--and work your way through the bureaucracy until you find the right person who can give you the right forms. Something akin to a chopped "permission letter" might not be a bad addition to the paperwork pile, if you can swing it.

There are two separate issues that you need to deal with:

1) Getting the car into China through Customs.
2) Registering said car so that it can legally be driven on Chinese roads.

Here are some links (in Chinese) dealing with this in Xinjiang:

http://www.cnlaw.cc:88/showcontent.a...elR3JyOMiySnl=
http://www.xinjiang.gov.cn/wsbs/kstd...011/200483.htm

Since you intend to enter and leave China through Xinjiang, you should probably contact Customs/Vehicle Registrations in Urumqi as a start.

A chopped official form from some customs dude in Beijing wouldn't be enough for me to try and import a car into China via a border crossing in Xinjiang. I'd be much more comfortable with some letter written by an official from Xinjiang, preferable accompanied by letters from the head of the PSB in the town where you are entering and the town you plan to exit from. I'm sure your plan is possible, it's just a matter of whether or not you think the legwork is worth it.

Ideally, you'd have paperwork from both Urumqi and Beijing. I wouldn't dismiss the impact of Beijing permission so lightly. Yes, I know the old saw about "the mountains are high and the Emperor is far away" but for something like this, it's equally possible that Urumqi will be OK with but still want an OK from the bosses above.

If the political/unrest situation in Xinjiang were not so fragile and were not being monitored at the highest levels in China, I'd say Urumqi Customs alone would be OK with calling all the shots. But right now, I'd cover all the bases.

In HKG our corporate motor pool has dual plated (HKG/PRC) vehicles as well as drivers with license/documentation and insurance to operate them in PRC.

Another idea--got any "insider access" to a fake Chinese plate-maker and document forger? Or for that matter, somebody inside Customs? :p

Me too!

You could also try the Taliban, I'm sure they'd know a few unguarded spots along the border. Maybe they'll even throw in an armed escort :D

Hong Kong-registered vehicle seen near Shanghai
 

While not strictly related to entering China via Xinjiang, it's still a sign that things are getting easier:

http://ww1.sinaimg.cn/large/4c08bff5jw1droo53pq9vj.jpg

I still would avoid driving in China, with cabs so cheap (relatively compared to western standards) why face the hassle?

Because I don't think the organizers of the 2013 Mongol Rally (reference to original post) have provision for taking cabs in the rules. :p

I want to thank everyone for all the advice on this issue (and especially moondog for generously offering to potentially "lend" one of his WFOEs for this purpose). These suggestions have definitely helped point me in the right direction!

After spending entirely too many hours on the phone with various Chinese bureaucracies and Baidu-ing for info, I believe I've worked out how to do this. I'm going to share what I've found here, in the hopes that others may eventually find it useful. Much of this is in Chinese, however, as I don't make the best translator when it comes to regulations...

The official law governing the temporary import of foreign-registered motor vehicles is entitled 临时入境机动车和驾驶人管理规定 (something like "Provisions on Administration of Vehicles and Drivers for Temporary Entry"), which is 公安部令第90号 (Ministry of Public Security Decree #90). The full text of this is on a bunch of various provincial PSB websites, but the cleanest version can be found on Baike here.

There are a number of things required under this regulation to drive the foreign vehicle in China:

• Original Vehicle Registration (w/ Chinese translation)
• Customs Entry Approval
• Valid Chinese Driving License
• Insurance
• Vehicle Inspection Certificate
• Temporary License Plates

I ultimately ended up speaking with a young woman at the Xinjiang PSB Traffic Management Bureau, who clearly found the idea of a Mandarin-speaking foreigner driving from London to Mongolia via her province to be the most fascinating thing that had ever come across her desk (she spent nearly an hour asking me questions about the whole thing out of pure curiosity). She assured me that this initially daunting list of requirements wouldn't be nearly as bad as they may appear.

Apparently, the first hoop of getting customs entry approval is straightforward: show up at the border and fill in a few extra forms. This goes into a computer somewhere, and if I try to leave China without the car, I'll have to pay the standard import duty. There is apparently an office at the border to buy temporary insurance if you don't already have valid liability coverage for China.

Because I already have a valid Chinese driving license, I am then allowed to simply drive straight into China with my car. However, I'm not allowed to leave the municipality closest to the border until getting 1) the inspection certificate and 2) the temporary plates, which I have two days to do.

There is a form (临时入境机动车号牌、行驶证申请表) to fill in (available online here) and turn in at the local PSB, which will collect a fee (she thought 200RMB) and issue a set of paper temporary plates valid for up to three months. Assuming I stay within Xinjiang (which I plan to do), there's nothing else required; there's more mess to deal with if driving through multiple provinces, but I didn't get into this since it doesn't apply to my scenario.

At first, I thought that this couldn't be right (just drive around without plates for two days?) but the law confirms:

Apparently, this is all that needs to be done. Supposedly, my new friend from the PSB is going to dig around for the specific customs regulations and get back to me with a link detailing the exact laws applicable to that portion of the process as well. Also of note was that people living in countries bordering Xinjiang can seemingly apply for permanent black plates like those used for HK/Macau-registered vehicles.

IF this whole thing turns out to work as described above, I might just be able to pull off this crazy scheme! I'll definitely post back if I do!

I'd certainly agree with you (within cities), but even for those not trying to participate in crazy adventures like the Mongol Rally, a car can provide real value when it comes to exploring interesting, off-the-beaten-path destinations, such as the Tibetan areas of Sichuan or Qinghai. While Chinese driving may be rather bad compared to the US or UK, it's really not (in my opinion) that abysmal by global standards.

Nice to see more potential Ralliers for 2013! What route were you thinking of taking? I'd love to go via Iran, but as a US citizen this is, unfortunately, quite impossible. :(

Mongol Rally 2012 is go!
 

To the OP, if you do decide to do the 2012 Mongol Rally, you might be interested to follow our adventures as we take on this year's event. We're not going via China - it's just too expensive and too bureaucratically difficult, and believe me we're dealing with plenty of both those things thanks to our own visa-intensive route, through Iran and all the 'stans of Central Asia - but there will hopefully still be something of interest. Let me know if you have any questions!

I'll attempt to update our trip report thread from time to time, or you can read about it in more detail at our team website or follow us at our facebook page. I still can't believe I'm really doing this...

PS: We're also raising money for two very worthy charities, and we'd love your support. Find out more here.