In California, the DL test is offered in Chinese, as well as a number of other languages.

I would expect it in a diverse community like California. In such a homogeneous culture such as Taiwan, it was a pleasant surprise (though I still took it in Chinese for fear that the translation might be bad enough to cause confusion).

Will check this next time at PEK or PVG.


Short visa holders (< 3 months), it is possible to get a provisional driver's license at the PEK airport or the transportation police stations in the city in minutes. You need to provide your passport as well as your foreign driver's license, and do a small examination(just to confirm you don't have physical or visual disability that effect the driving security), then you can get the provisional driver's license in minutes. With this license, you can legally drive cars in China. Ask any information desk at the airport for the direction of applying such a provisional driver's license.

It's available in multiple languages, including English (at least in Beijing).

tb

Seriously, you want to drive in China???

I grew up in New York, where I learned to drive. Sure, why not?

Driving in BJ is not as bad as some make out. However, note that for both BJ and SH, car ownership is not easy or straightforward. If you have a lucrative expat package, that may include leasing a car+/- driver, otherwise, you can long-term rent a car (pricey) once you have your license. md has outlined some alternatives to getting a car under the table.

tb

Provisional License Caution
 

In reality, this may be of very limited use only. Check the following thread:
http://www.thebeijinger.com/forum/20...ly-meaningless
While the last entry was over a year ago, I believe nothing has really changed on this. Anybody wanting to try this gambit out should first contact the local office of a car rental company in the Chinese city you want to drive in. Also check if there is a provisional license for that jurisdiction, since these licenses seem to very location-restricted.

Clearly, this device was not meant for tourists who want to use the car for any sort of intercity driving or extended trips. It is not a substitute for a regular, "permanent" Chinese license.

New York is civilized driving compared to China, no comparison.

The worst city for driving - DALIAN - hands down. You take your life in your hands crossing the street with the green light in your favor, crosswalks are a joke, the sidewalk is unsafe as cars drive on it honking at pedestrians - NEVER stopping, and totally clueless, it is unheard of for a driver to actually look in the rear view mirror before backing up. ...just a few of the risks .... actually too many to list completely. Good Luck!

+1

It's not so much about being able to drive that is the problem. I'm sure you'll survive. It's dealing with the headache when (not if) you get into an accident. Plus dealing with parking and traffic. Worse than NYC, trust me. Esp in BJ.

Having lived in Shenzhen (but really, it could've been any Chinese city), I saw many a traffic incident/something worse. One thing that stuck out was that no one was ever fighting or cursing at each other. Instead, they just did what every contemporary mainlander (human?) does and used one of their three (or more) mobile phones to call someone, anyone. If cigarette vending machines were on highway shoulders, vendors would make a killing.

Though, something that was a bit more unusual to me happened every now and then on Shennan Blvd. in the Luo Hu district of Shenzhen. Someone on crutches would walk up the middle of the road, coming from Xinxiu towards the city center. Now it's not possible as there's a (more and more ubiquitous) fence in the way, but beyond not having a kuai to pay for a bus, what other reason would there be?

i have just decided that i would like to get a chinese drivers license; i live in NZ but my wife is mainland chinese so we will be in china for a month or two every year for the forseable future. father in law has cars we can borrow so ownership is sorted. I am also Chinese national with HK PR with Home return permit so thats my residency requirement sorted. I have NZ drivers license only.

I am currently in Zhuzhou/changsha area for another two weeks, and i was wondering if its worth doing a conversion of NZ-HK license first, or just going straight for the NZ-chinese conversion? i missed that boat cos we were in HK a few weeks ago but wont be going back before heading home. I can read and to a limited extent write chinese so taking the multichoice test (if i have to) in chinese wouldnt be much of a problem. as far as i can figure the only advantage in getting the HK license first is that i wont have to get my NZ license officially translated.

advice anyone?
Cheers

Just try to do the test and direct conversion during your current two weeks. The toughest part about the test is some of the bizarre questions you may be asked, so try to cram for the exam for few days before going in to take it.

i just did the test here
http://jxks.jxedt.com/exam/exam.asp?type=c#Bottom

got 80/100, i guess just have to keep working on it...yes some of the questions are pretty out of the leftfield. and now i know that you can drive 120 on the highways.....