Parkway have quoted me 280 for a PCR, the only thing putting me off is they will not confirm if their tests meet the UK performance standard, just that "our test results are honored by most countries"

I ended up going to Shanghai University Hospital on Xianxia Road because it is close to where I'm staying now. The cost was only 80, and I'm positive the results will meet all conceivable standards, but I can't recommend it because I need to go back 6 hours later. (Other hospitals are much faster these days.)

Im assuming you just got a basic throat swab NAT test.

Throat + nasal (neither was painful).

Switching topics, my online registration to enter the US failed, so I ended up printing out the form instead:

https://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/pdf/a...ion-2021-p.pdf

Also off topic, if you want to change your AA address to China, just call them at 400 818 7333, This will net me 2500 more miles (that I probably won't be able to use).

Have a great trip and enjoy your summer! :)

Anyone with recent experience on how transiting through PVG to a third country works now given that you have to exit customs to connecting flights at the airport? Official sources give no hints.

No hints needed, it’s 100% not allowed.

Assuming you are able to enter China your transit through PVG would involve landing, being sent to a hotel prison for 14 days and then 7 more days home/hotel based isolation before finally being allowed on your merry way to the third country of your choosing.

What the Chinese call the NAT (or NAAT) test is exactly the same as what is known as a PCR (or RT-PCR) test in the US.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019...lab/naats.html

In any case, how you obtain the sample does not change the type of the test. The sample is typically taken from the nose, or the throat. However, the Chinese have been known to take anal samples from time to time. The US CDC does not appear to specify where the sample should be taken, so theoretically an anal sample would work :D

The US CDC also allows rapid antigen tests to be used to satisfy the pre-flight test requirement. However, rapid antigen tests are generally not available in China as they are less sensitive which makes them pretty much useless when the country is under a zero-Covid policy.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019...travelers.html

I feared as much. In all likelihood that effectively eliminates PVG as a connecting airport for the entirety of the year. At least HKG and PEK doesn't have the same set up which keeps them (in theory) as options, but I'm not sure I'd want to take any chances with the PRC.

I'm currently at pvg waiting for aa128. There was no line at check-in but the entire drill from curb to gate took almost an hour!
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...a9754e2cd1.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...f457dc06d9.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...64d9abd15d.jpg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...85014f1eca.jpg

What proof did you show for your test? WeChat digital or paper or what? Level of seriousness of that process?

Piece of paper chopped by the hospital. AA checked it carefully and a health officer made us apply for special exit health codes with Wechat. This showed Vaxes and pcr tests.

There are differences between PCR Tests and NAT or NAAT Tests. For one the later can be much faster (ID NOW) whereas normal PCR Tests do take a while.

https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/tr...ng-into-canada

1,,. Get your vaccines before you leave from an actual hospital
2. Show up to the airport an hour normal than your Sop
3. Reserve middle seat if flying Y
4. Biz is cool if your company is paying but 3 ,seats in Y is okay with me

You're confusing the NAT test with the antigen test, they are completely different.

I am not. Rapid NAAT Tests through ID NOW are available at select Walgreens in the United States. On the website it says 1-2 days, but it actually takes 1-2 hours. NAT stands for Nucleic Acid Test. NAAT stands for Nucleic Acid Amplification Test. Both look for the Virus RNA rather than Antigens. Antigen Tests can be as fast as 15 minutes, but they have a higher rate of False Negatives. Please look at the Wikipedia Article for NAT where PCR is listed as a method of amplification. Please also look at the timing of the ID NOW Rapid NAAT Test which took 26 minutes at Walgreens. Please also look at the CBSA Website where NATs and NAATs are listed as separate from PCRs.

Yes both PCR and NAT / NAATs are completely different from Antigen Tests, but there are differences between PCR and NAT / NAATs, which I stated...

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...c35cba14c1.png
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...351873f2a1.png
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...b74fab7de0.png
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...806a9f4a1d.png

PEK is not an option either.

This is just a difference in terminology. In China, all of these tests are referred to as NATs. Clearly parts of Canada use the phrase NAAT for something more specific but that's not the case in the USA:

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019...lab/naats.html

NAATs can use many different methods to amplify nucleic acids and detect the virus, including but not limited to:

• Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR)
• Isothermal amplification including:
  • Nicking endonuclease amplification reaction (NEAR)
  • Transcription mediated amplification (TMA)
  • Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP)
  • Helicase-dependent amplification (HDA)
  • Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)
  • Strand displacement amplification (SDA)

OK? It's been half a decade since I was there but from what I recall direct transfers was possible at PEK without going through customs.

In theory, that could still be possible in some cases, but TWOV has been suspended, you need permission from your consulate in order to board the flight to China, and I doubt you'd be able to avoid quarantine.

Forget everything you knew pre-clownvid about getting onboard a plane that will physically touch down in China. Or really any part of asia, even for transfers.

I had a chuckle to myself last month when I was heading from PEK T3 arrivals to the Airport Express Subway into town. There is a long walkway to get from the terminal to the subway station and they had rotating advertisements lining the corridor. One of those was touting the 144 hour Transit Without Visa option for the Beijing/Tianjin region, saying how welcoming it was. I guess they haven't been able to find a new advertiser for over 16 months now!

Yeah let’s see if that policy comes back in our lifetime.

https://fortune.com/2021/07/12/taiwa...-tsmc-foxconn/

Remember when we thought Pfizer aka BioNTech would get approved in China in July?

hahahahaha...

One more month.

Bit of an administrative imperative for travellers between China and Australia as Australia has said they will not recognise non-TGA vaccines for home quarantine.

I've been hearing August 15 approval date for the past three months, but some hospitals /clinics already have doses.

Ah ok good to hear.

I’m tentatively planning to enter China around Q4, need to sort out paperwork and visa and stuff.

If Pfizer aka BioNTech booster is available by then hopefully the process may be easier.

As of now I’m still planning to not get the vaccine in China or in the USA. It seems like it provides me zero travel benefit. And I certainly don’t care about it from a health standpoint enough to offset the hassle.

I’m flying PVG-SFO August 2 and then SFO-PVG Sep 1

Getting vaxed in China (well, Shanghaied for at least) is now pretty easy, and I do derive some sense of calm from the fact that my travel health code from the fact my travel health code reflects this.

The immigration attorneys that manage my travel have had dozens of people who were vaccinated in China denied their green health code when applying to return to China.

And my unvaxed coworker just flew on the SFO-PVG flight less than 2 weeks ago.

It seems like it really isn’t part of their criteria

Could you share which hospital/clinic that offer them?

Since the vaccine is not approved for use in China I would be very surprised if any clinic or hospital would be willing to break the law and supply it to someone.

The key issue with leaving and coming back to China is not the vaccine, it's the magic 8 ball that is the QR code to board the flight. Your entire career and life in China rests on someone deigning you worthy to return, despite meeting all the written requirements.

Looks like Pfizer approval might come sooner than expected! https://www.scmp.com/news/china/scie...ccine-approved

Are there any direct, commercial flights going into China rn from the USA? Not willing to deal with this extortionist "pay what you can afford" China Eastern hidden commercial flight scheme

Sure there are. They are all expensive, it’s not China Eastern causing the price rise. It’s the policy of the government of the PRC limiting flights. Expect between $3k-$5k one way for economy. $8k plus for biz.

What direct flights are there? Genuinely can't find any. China Eastern is operating direct flights that don't seem to be indexed even on their site but the pricing is way more outrageous than the 8K for business you listed (which is not extremely far from pre-covid pricing for NYC <-> Shanghai)

I've recently started looking for JAX-PVG (late Sep/early Oct), and there are lots of sub $1000 options IF I connect in places like Canada, Korea, or Hong Kong. But, the US and Chinese airlines are all $3k plus as you point out. I'm now thinking about trying to go Thailand for a month or so before China. I'll make some phone calls when my dates get closer; I don't need to be in China badly or urgently enough to justify throwing away $3k.

SFO-PVG, SEA-PVG, DTW-PVG, DFW-PVG, JFK-PVG, LAX-CAN, LAX-SZX, LAX-XMN, LAX-PEK. There you go. Happy searching.

You are living in a pre-covid world if you think you'll be able to enter China with any of those options. It seems you left without really understanding what it takes to get back in, I hope you'll be ready to pay that coin for the direct flights if you want to get back.