I cannot find any direct flights on these routes leaving before October. Are you sure there are direct flights?

Any of what options? We have already left and returned to China multiple times since COVID-19 started. I have a direct flight option that is essentially extortion. We have been paying that price. However, someone else in here is saying there a business class commercial direct flights for $8K. I would happily happily happily pay that price over what I have been paying so far.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...743d95f3a.jpeg
Here ya go.

Well as long as he's got time and money to burn, maybe he will find some loophole for the rest of us who are too timid to try :)

He is referring to options that entail entering from a country other than the US, which simply isn't allowed at present. We can only choose from the list of flights he posted, though EWR-PVG and another SEA-PVG (AA) have supposedly received tentative approval as well.

Another crappy part of the policy is that you need to get your PCR test in your gateway city, so if I were to book JAX-DTW-PVG, I'd need to spend two days in Detroit (apparently, the Chinese are worried about me catching COVID on the JAX-DTW flight).

Yeah that's why I would like to book direct. Thank you!

Thailand is a lot cheaper than Shanghai, one my biggest clients is based there, and I kind of like it...so, I am considering that option.

Can an American enter China from Thailand? Can an American even enter Thailand without doing the stupid Phuket sandbox circus?


If you want to come back to China, you need to plan to fly LAX-CAN or LAX-XMN and likely pay $6k+ for the ticket. They sell out months in advance so keep that in mind.

SFO-PVG is a high likelihood of rejected HDC.

What does this mean?
I thought SFO-PVG was THE most common way to get to China nowadays.
:confused:

Chinese requirement for covid test/vaccine traveling from NYC to CAN
 

Hi, I desperately need the herd knowledge and insights. My dad is flying to China in a few weeks. He is based in EWR. He will need to get to CAN. He has booked his flights. Now we have to figure out what he needs to do to satisfy the chinese government covid requirements.

Here is the detail:

EWR-LAX (on UA) - Sunday 3PM-5:45PM
6 hour layover @ LAX
LAX-CAN (on CZ) - Sunday 11:50PM

The problem is that we learned that a negative PCR covid test 2 days and upload the negative test report to get a green code with HDC mark before he departs LAX.

With that as the premise, that would mean my dad would need to
1) Friday 11;50PM - Get his covid test done at an authorized lab (which is somewhere in NYC)
2) Saturday - Results back in 24 hours (hopefully it will be back evening of Saturday; upload the results and then get the green code
3) Sunday - Depart EWR. Board the CZ flight without the green code expire

As you can see, it is just not possible to get a COVID test done on Friday at midnight. That would mean he needs to get his test done on Saturday. And that would mean he won't get his results back on Sunday (day of travel). Who knows how long it would take to get the green code (being that it's a Sunday).

So, guys, I really need some help here to decipher what I (my dad) needs to do.

TIA!

I’ve heard that SFO is bad for issuing visas but ok for the HDC code, provided they give you the pre approval. The other poster is right though, it seems LAX is the easiest at this time for getting both pre-approval and the code.

He must take his predeparture covid test in the metro LA area at a pre approved lab.

He cannot have a layover that short, he needs to spend a day or two in LA.

Check the China section of the forum for more details.

CareCube in NYC offers COVID PCR tests with a stated time of 4-12 hours.
https://carecube.clinic/covid-19-testing/

That might work first thing Saturday morning.

Edit: I don't have experience with China so GloballyServiced may know more about entry requirements and testing locations.

For this situation, the test can NOT be taken in the NYC area. It HAS to be done at U.S. departure airport location (i.e. LA)

If NY was my origin, I'd definitely focus on the MU flight. While bookings are heavy, I know a number of people who have scored it with Eastern Miles in both directions. I don't know anyone who has been successful with partner miles though. Cash prices are quite high.

Read the page about testing on the Chinese Consulate in LA website.

Just one data point:


I was able to get pre-approval from from San Francisco Consulate, then went through the required tests at a designated lab in Northern California, received the green health code, and took the UA flight to PVG, and now is the middle of my 14+7 quarantine in Shanghai before going to Beijing.

Make sure you do the test at the city where the direct flight is departing. I lived in DC, so spent three nights in California in order the do test 48 hours before the flight.

Please follow the consulate and lab instructions to to dot, and also diligently prepare and submit all the required documents online to receive the green code.

There was an anxious wait for my green code, but that was negligence on my part for not reading the online instruction properly and had to resubmit the information.

I uploaded the requirement documents (after receiving the test results) online around 10 pm, and received an orange code within half an hour telling me to submit a missing document. I resubmitted around 11 pm, and got my green code at 9 am next morning (26 hours before the flight).

Hope the above information is useful.

Thanks for the data point! Many of us would appreciate your comments on the hotel {e.g. did you have any choice on where to stay (I guess location doesn't matter so much since you're stuck in your room, but maybe you angled for a part of town with nice views)? can you order waimai? how's the internet? is it clean? big room? bathroom quality? do you have any tips on specific Costco items to make the experience more tolerable?}.

AFAICT DL has been operating routes like DTW-(ICN)-PVG several times per week. It's a direct flight with a "technical" stop at ICN to change crew, who immediately fly back to ICN without entering mainland China. This should not be confused with trying to connect at ICN with different flight numbers, including a different DTW-ICN flight that departs around the same time. This would require a COVID-19 test near DTW, not ICN. In fact, passengers don't deplane at ICN at all, not even to use lounges and certainly not to enter South Korea (ROK). It's not a connection or a stopover at ICN, just a technical stop.

Yes, AA, DL, UA...and a bunch of other foreign airlines are still doing the ICN drill (UA and AA were planning on stopping this practice July 1 but that didn't happen). The Chinese airlines fly true nonstops.

There is no choice of hotel. It is at the mercy of the officials at the hotel assignment station. Each bus takes 20 passengers, and you only find out the identity of the hotel when you reached there.

This is my second time going through this process. Last year, I got to stay at a hotel near Yunan food street. There was no food provided, but waimai was allowed.
This time, I got assigned to a hotel near the Hongqiao airport (I can see and hear the planes from my window), and three meals are provided, but waimai is NOT allowed.
Both hotels allow Kuai Di. you can order packaged dry food and packaged milk and bottled water. I was able to order bread from Aldi as a kuai Di package this week.

I went Costco shopping in the US before each quarantine. I got instant coffee, tea, protein bars, canned tuna, snacks, big jar of nuts, and instant oatmeal. I brought six avocados with me this time. I know some people brought a case of cup noodles, but I am not a cup noodle fan. You can order additional snacks as kuai di packages.

The hotel serve three Chinese meals a day. They seem to stick to a three-day menu rotation. I have found food to be tasty, but some are too salty and oily for me, so I rinsed them in hot water first. If you don't like Chinese food, then you are out of luck. Last year when I was in the hotel that served no food, I ate well as I could order waimai and tried different cuisines and healthier options.

I got lucky both time with clean rooms. Wifi can be unstable sometimes with Zoom, Team or WebEx. it is a hit and miss experience throughout the day. Regular surfing and checking emails are fine. Both hotels have no English channel, so need to download movies and shows on your devices before the trip.

Hope this is useful.

Wow that’s great news about the SFO pre approval. Are you on residence permit or special entry visa?

I was rejected 3 times by SFO earlier this year but maybe things are getting easier.

If you have the single entry visa issued after the pandemic then you’re fine. Disregard that. You will get the green code if you follow the testing and submission instructions.

If you are traveling on a residence permit, it is a black box of mystery as to whether or not the consulate will give you the green code even if you do follow the instructions. The success rate varies from consulate. For DC (responsible for the Dallas AA flight), the success rate seems to be 0%. For LAX it seems very high. SFO seemed more challenging as myself and many other coworkers have been rejected there.

I'm curious when you applied for the code when you were rejected by SFO? Before you left China or after you arrived to the USA? Also are you traveling with your work permit and is it a Type A or Type B?

I entered into China using special visa last year. Once I got into China, I obtained the new resident permit.

My plan has always been seeking pre-approval before I leave China to ensure I can get back in.

I applied back in Feb for pre approval, but got rejected, so I stayed put.
Once I received both shots of Sino-Vac, I applied again, and was approved. Based on that pre-approval, I left for the US for a couple of months.

This was Jan/Feb when the rules changed and things were super tight. But I’ve still heard about recent rejections from SFO.

I was in the USA and the pre approval wasn’t a thing at that time. I just did the testing and applied for HDC and got rejected citing “due to severe pandemic please delay.” I got pre approval from LA in March and experienced quarantine in Guangzhou.

Im in China now but will be flying back to the US in 2 weeks. Then back to China in September. I have a flight booked out of SFO and a backup flight out of LAX. Im planning to ask for pre approval mid August once already back in the states.

I don’t have any interest in a Chinese vaccine and I am still TBD on whether I’ll get Pfizer while I’m back. Starting to lean towards yes.

Did you just upload a screenshot of the pre approval response into your HDC application? You could probably sell that screenshot (joking).

The pre approval I got in LA was just a brief copy paste in Chinese and my gut tells me they didn’t actually keep track of anything. Meaning I could just use that screenshot again likely.

Thanks UA_Flyer for all the detailed information! Since I am in a somewhat similar position as you, this is all very helpful.


Not 100% sure, but I thought they now REQUIRE proof-of-vaccine before [re-]entering China, no?

No, a Chinese vaccine skips you the PU Letter but no vaccine is required to enter. And none of the vaccines allow you to skip the quarantine process or give you any special treatment.

There _may_ be preferential treatment given to Pfizer (assuming approval goes through) but there may not. No one knows. [MENTION=10088509]GloballyServiced[/MENTION] if you do get a vaccine in the US obviously get Pfizer not Moderna or J&J.

I’m halfheartedly looking for a country that gives the Chinese vaccine to tourists to skip the PU letter but since it doesn’t give you any preferential treatment I’m honestly not sure what the point is.
If anyone is actually interested in this here is probably a good place to start:
https://covid19.trackvaccines.org/vaccines/7/
https://covid19.trackvaccines.org/vaccines/5/

Okay, understood, thanks for the clarification.

Got it - thanks for the clarification.

Alright I’ve got another question that may or may not be answerable.

When I fly back to the states next week, I could feasibly get the 2 dose Pfizer regimen during my time there, however I will by flying back to China before 2 weeks after the final dosage.

Presuming I test positive for IgM antibodies for my HDC application due to the vaccine, will I be rejected because it hasn’t been 2 weeks since the final dose? If so, I’m going to just remain a hated unvaccinated scum.

See this document https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...h.wommaldudiwk
It's from the pinned post on the top of /r/chinavisa on Reddit.

Specifically see the sections:
"How long will it take for my IgM results to turn negative"
"What if I test positive for PCR, IgM Antibodies, or the N Protein"

The question might be better asked there, the mods know a lot about the process.

thanks for linking that, can’t imagine the time it took for that person to make the document.

The answer I was looking for is whether or not you need the full 2 weeks of wait time from your final dosage of vaccine before being able to get a green code. Obviously nothing is clearly laid out by China but I saw a few tidbits of info that insinuated YES you do.

So I will likely get the JJ vaccine since it is a single dosage and I can clear the “fUlLY vAcCiNaTeD” status when I apply for GHC. Apparently China views the moderna, Pfizer, and JJ as equivalent even though they probably aren’t.

Why didn't you just get the Chinese ones which they view as the best?

The potential improved odds of China HDC approval didn’t offset the concerns of hassle, efficacy, safety, and recognition by other countries. I’ll find out in a month or so if that was a mistake. I’m going to get the same paycheck if I’m stuck in the US anyway.

Pfizer is more equal than the others.

Again, as indicated in my earlier post, this is just one data point:

1. I took two shots of Sino-Vac, and applied and received pre-approval from a Chinese consulate in the US (to return to China) before l left China for the US.
2. I took my second shot of Pfizer 7 days before I took all the required Covid tests as required by the Chinese Consulate (at the city where the direct flight originated), and received the Green Code 8 days after the second shot of Pfizer. I took my flight to China 9 days after taking the second Pfizer shot.

As I indicated in my earlier post, I was rejected pre-approval earlier this year, so I stayed put in China, After getting Sino-Vac shots, and I reapplied, and received the pre-approval and I left China and stayed two wonderful summer months back home in the US. Now I just completed my 14-day quarantine in Shanghai and ready to go back to work.

It is just personal opinion here, basing "what ifs" scenario with no certainty how thing will turn out to choose between JJ or Pfizer is something I would not consider.

I was thinking exactly the same thing. It saves all the hassles and uncertainties and all the "what ifs" considerations.

So there is no risk of the Covid test going wrong if you have the sino vaccines and then take the mRNA ones? You simply only tell them about your Sinovac and don’t mention the second vaccine?

I believe in transparency (I know it is ironic what we are dealing here), so I declared I had taken both Sino-Vac and Pfizer. I uploaded both as part of applying for the Green Code.