eDanK

I know the China/Taiwan relationship is complicated... What I don't know is how that would impact a connection in Taiwan, especially since I'm connecting back to China!

Anybody have experience with this? Will I have enough time? What's the customs/immigration procedures?

My flights in questions are on EVA Air:
BR711 PVG-TPE (13:15-15:10)
BR871 TPE-HKG (16:35-18:25)

Thanks!

moondog

You would do exit immigration in Shanghai and entry immigration in HK, but you should be advised that there are ~20 nonstop flights between Shanghai and HK.

eDanK

Unfortunately this is part of a RTW on Star Alliance, and doesn't look like any of their partners do the direct route...

Thanks for the immigration answer!

uanj

Your question at the top asks if you go through Immigration in TPE. The answer is no, just follow the signs for international transit. As you are leaving China (or the parts under the jurisdiction of China Immigration) you will go through Immigration and exit China as moondog pointed out.

I have done exactly the same before, PVG-TPE-HKG on BR with no problem. However, once when the first flight was on CA, also part of a Star Alliance ticket, I was stopped by Air China at check-in. They pulled up some arcane law where travelers outbound from China cannot transit in TPE to a destination beyond Taiwan. Ultimately they let me board saying it was not my fault the ticket was issued. United on longer allows this routing but most RTWs are issued by LH who still do this. I doubt you will have a problem departing on BR.

eDanK

Wow, that is a bit disconcerting!! That routing is the only reasonable PVG-HKG route that alliance is giving us! I'll have to ask when booking if there is any potential for an issue...

moondog

That law applies only to Chinese nationals, and is/was in the process of being revised. Many non-Chinese transit via Taiwan on a regular basis.

uanj

You will be fine. I provided this more as an anecdote and so you can see I have experience with the same exact routing.

cxfan1960

This is one of the weirdest things. Mainland Chinese need an exit permit to Taiwan and an entry permit from Taiwan to visit Taiwan. However, that permit does not allow them to go elsewhere. When a passenger presents the BP and the permit to immigration, they have no idea that passenger is traveling beyond Taiwan until he/she returns. The passenger may not necessarily return via Taiwan. So he/she may exit on one travel document and return on another. I don't know how that works. Now I understand - they are not supposed to go to a third place.

JPDM

I asm surprised that there aren't tons of direct flights to HK with Star Alliance Partners like Air China among others.

moondog

CA pretty much ceded PVG/SHA-HKG to MU, while MU steers clear of PEK-HKG.

jiejie

Air Macau flies both SHA-MFM and PVG-MFM and these have Air China codeshare assignments. Not sure if that would qualify for Star Alliance ticketing but if possible, it seems easier to do that then get from Shanghai to HKG via TPE.

cxfan1960

I don't think Air Macau is, but Shenzhen Airlines is. If open jaw is OK, OP can fly to SZX and cross on land to Hong Kong.

jamar

Just make sure to arrive at SZX during the day. Direct buses to Hong Kong don't run late at night and I'm not sure how well taxis will work late at night.

moondog

I happen to like Shenzhen, so I often fly there on the way to or from Hong Kong. However, if my goal was to go straight to HK, I *might* consider the Taiwan connection in favor of the Shenzhen Shuffle.

@eDanK: Does your RTW permit --for lack of a better word-- unconnected dots? If so, I suggest you look into buying a separate ticket SHA-HKG, which can be as little as $50 (Spring) or around $100 on a more comfortable airline.

eDanK

That's a good idea that we'll look into. The RTW does allow it, and we were already planning on using it elsewhere. Unfortunately, it's looking like mileage availability on the flights we need is mighty poor, and at most half of our travel dates have any flights they'll let us book... :-( Disappointing, considering this is still 11 months out... May just have to suck it up and not use miles...