|
Originally Posted by moondog
(Post 35310500)
Correct. And, if you try to scan an expired QR code upon arrival, you will be instructed to generate a new one.
I suggest one doesn't let that happen: the app is good and remembers your previous inputs, but it is a little finnicky with logging in. Better to generate the QR code before departure well in advance. |
Is entry to Mainland China easier from HK versus from North America or even Tokyo? I'll be flying to Tokyo twice over the next 6 months. I'll also be in HK at that time. I wouldn't mind taking a two-day trip to Shanghai. I'm trying to avoid taking another RAT if possible. I do have a valid visa that I got pre-pandemic. I also wouldn't mind registering for the e-channel that [MENTION=4346]moondog[/MENTION] mentioned earlier. I also want to try to get that elusive Chinese bank account and set up Alipay.
|
The odds of anyone asking to see your RAT upon entry are extremely low, maybe even infinitesimal. However, consider your completed test a $2 insurance policy (probably even free, assuming you still have some spare US government issued RATs lying around) should you find yourself in a pickle at some point during your visit.
|
Originally Posted by lsquare
(Post 35310963)
Is entry to Mainland China easier from HK versus from North America or even Tokyo? I'll be flying to Tokyo twice over the next 6 months. I'll also be in HK at that time. I wouldn't mind taking a two-day trip to Shanghai. I'm trying to avoid taking another RAT if possible. I do have a valid visa that I got pre-pandemic. I also wouldn't mind registering for the e-channel that [MENTION=4346]moondog[/MENTION] mentioned earlier. I also want to try to get that elusive Chinese bank account and set up Alipay.
|
Originally Posted by travelinmanS
(Post 35311645)
I’m pretty sure you need to have a residence permit as a foreigner to access the echannel in China. Maybe something to get in touch with Vincent about!
|
Originally Posted by moondog
(Post 35310989)
The odds of anyone asking to see your RAT upon entry are extremely low, maybe even infinitesimal.
I've only ever had to show test results at boarding flight to China, never when in China for the last few years. |
Originally Posted by narvik
(Post 35312556)
But what about boarding the plane to China?
I've only ever had to show test results at boarding flight to China, never when in China for the last few years. Here is my personal approach to RATs that I've employed ever since RATs became okay, which I've surely mentioned in this conversation. I simply keep a new RAT kit in my carry-on that I'm prepared to use pre-flight or upon entry. I am NOT encouraging others to use this approach because I would feel awful if any of our forum members/readers ended up in a worst-case scenario situation, based on my account., but I am PERSONALLY willing to accept the risk of "worst-case scenario". |
Arrived at PEK a couple of hours ago.
RAT: yeah, I self administered a RAT before filling out the declaration, but also took an unused test with me, just in case. No one asked to see the RAT or its result, other than the QR code of course. E-Channel: signed up for e-channel at PEK (after Immigration). Quite a bit of confusion by staff on how to do it, but it only took 10-15 minutes. Let's see if it actually works though, on next exit. |
Originally Posted by narvik
(Post 35313323)
Arrived at PEK a couple of hours ago.
RAT: yeah, I self administered a RAT before filling out the declaration, but also took an unused test with me, just in case. No one asked to see the RAT or its result, other than the QR code of course. E-Channel: signed up for e-channel at PEK (after Immigration). Quite a bit of confusion by staff on how to do it, but it only took 10-15 minutes. Let's see if it actually works though, on next exit. |
Originally Posted by lsquare
(Post 35313849)
What did you do to get approved? What did you provide? I'm assuming once you're approved for e-channel, you can use it at PVG as well? I mainly enter the Mainland via PVG and PEK in that order.
Oh, and I had to fill out & sign a consent form "to collect data, images, biometric data, etc.". (Have a 5-year RP) |
Originally Posted by lsquare
(Post 35313849)
What did you do to get approved? What did you provide? I'm assuming once you're approved for e-channel, you can use it at PVG as well? I mainly enter the Mainland via PVG and PEK in that order.
|
Originally Posted by lsquare
(Post 35313849)
What did you do to get approved? What did you provide? I'm assuming once you're approved for e-channel, you can use it at PVG as well? I mainly enter the Mainland via PVG and PEK in that order.
|
Originally Posted by travelinmanS
(Post 35314620)
You won’t be able to get approved unless you possess a residence permit for the PRC with more than 6 months validity remaining. I understand from your previous posts that you’re on a visa, not a RP, so you’ll be politely told it’s not possible and sent to the line to get your passport stamped.
Yesterday, I did a bit of googling on this topic in both Chinese and English. RP does, indeed, appear the only legit way to pull it off. That having been said: 1. I didn't find any sources I regarded as fully legit; and 2. I will guarantee you that there is at least one foreigner on a visa who has pulled off eChannel. |
Originally Posted by narvik
(Post 35313323)
Arrived at PEK a couple of hours ago.
RAT: yeah, I self administered a RAT before filling out the declaration, but also took an unused test with me, just in case. No one asked to see the RAT or its result, other than the QR code of course. E-Channel: signed up for e-channel at PEK (after Immigration). Quite a bit of confusion by staff on how to do it, but it only took 10-15 minutes. Let's see if it actually works though, on next exit.
Originally Posted by narvik
(Post 35292102)
Dang! That reminds me of what used to happen to me pre-Covid: on exit it used to fail more often than not.
There is a work-around for this - namely to tell the person manning the e-channel gates (there to tell people who don't know to first scan the boarding pass) that you are registered but have a foreign name so need a manual override. At Beijing T3 I had a 100% success rate doing this - at Beijing T2 (only tried twice) they simply refused and told me to use the regular lines. |
Originally Posted by tauphi
(Post 35276384)
The only limitation of an unverified account is that you can't buy train tickets for Chinese ID holders. You can however buy tickets for up to five passport holder (including Chinese nationals).
So verification is only necessary if you need to buy tickets for lots of people, and in particular, Chinese nationals without passports. |
Originally Posted by GinFizz
(Post 35316094)
That's good to know - thanks! I am leaving for my first trip outside China since Jan 2020 next week, and will need to re-register for e-channel when I return later in June (new passport issued last year).
That is probably a different problem - the issue on exiting China is that (at least at airports) the system is set-up to associate the exit through emigration with a boarding pass. The problem with that is that it requires the name on the boarding pass to match exactly the name entered into the e-channel registration system - so if you have a longish name it is likely that it is truncated on the boarding pass, or maybe the flight is only booked using first and last name, but for e-channel registration they used all names in your passport. There is a work-around for this - namely to tell the person manning the e-channel gates (there to tell people who don't know to first scan the boarding pass) that you are registered but have a foreign name so need a manual override. At Beijing T3 I had a 100% success rate doing this - at Beijing T2 (only tried twice) they simply refused and told me to use the regular lines. You’ll definitely need to reregister when you next arrive to China. Or if you’re in Shenzhen you can take care of it at one of the border crossings without leaving China. The airports don’t seem to have this option unfortunately. |
Originally Posted by travelinmanS
(Post 35316223)
They had fixed this problem in 2019 at least at the Shanghai airports. I had no issue using it to exit back then. Unfortunately it seems the relaunch may have brought the problem back.
You’ll definitely need to reregister when you next arrive to China. Or if you’re in Shenzhen you can take care of it at one of the border crossings without leaving China. The airports don’t seem to have this option unfortunately. At this point in time, PEK-T3 and PVG-T2 definitely have enrollment capability. Dozens of others presumably do as well, but I've yet to see confirmed reports. |
Originally Posted by GinFizz
(Post 35316094)
That's good to know - thanks! I am leaving for my first trip outside China since Jan 2020 next week, and will need to re-register for e-channel when I return later in June (new passport issued last year).
Originally Posted by GinFizz
(Post 35316094)
That is probably a different problem - the issue on exiting China is that (at least at airports) the system is set-up to associate the exit through emigration with a boarding pass. The problem with that is that it requires the name on the boarding pass to match exactly the name entered into the e-channel registration system - so if you have a longish name it is likely that it is truncated on the boarding pass, or maybe the flight is only booked using first and last name, but for e-channel registration they used all names in your passport.
There is a work-around for this - namely to tell the person manning the e-channel gates (there to tell people who don't know to first scan the boarding pass) that you are registered but have a foreign name so need a manual override. At Beijing T3 I had a 100% success rate doing this - at Beijing T2 (only tried twice) they simply refused and told me to use the regular lines. But if I recall correctly, at PEK T3 there was a pre-E-Channel machine you had to first go to and have the passport checked, and it would give you either a YES or NO for your ability to use the E-Channel? It was at this machine that I used to get a 'NO'. Am I remembering this wrongly? |
Originally Posted by GinFizz
(Post 35316101)
That's useful to know - thanks. I'll try this next month and will see it if works. I already have an account registered to an old passport, but replaced that passport last year - I will try first though to see if the same thing is possible (use without verification) using my permanent residence card ID.
Apparently any ID (including passports and Home Return Permits) that is issued by China will be verified instantaneously. It's only the foreign passports that have to be manually verified at a station. So if you have a permanent residence card you may be able to use that as your account ID and verification should be automatic. |
Originally Posted by narvik
(Post 35316860)
You've been here since Jan 2020? Wow!
Yeah, definitely some funny business going on somewhere; the name could be it, for sure. But if I recall correctly, at PEK T3 there was a pre-E-Channel machine you had to first go to and have the passport checked, and it would give you either a YES or NO for your ability to use the E-Channel? It was at this machine that I used to get a 'NO'. Am I remembering this wrongly? The YES/NO pre-channel check requires both passport and boarding pass scan - that's where things get screwed up if the name on the boarding pass doesn't match exactly the e-channel registered name (usually your full passport name). Even more annoying as the name check is really unnecessary, as boarding pass bar code should contain passport number (I think it does ..), and that could be used instead to verify the link between passport and boarding pass. And yes - almost three-and-a-half years since I last left China ...! Very excited for this this trip (currently in the Air China lounge waiting for my flight ... Not a big fan though of the new security--train--passport control--customs arrangement). |
Originally Posted by GinFizz
(Post 35321861)
You remember correctly - but incompletely ... 😀
The YES/NO pre-channel check requires both passport and boarding pass scan - that's where things get screwed up if the name on the boarding pass doesn't match exactly the e-channel registered name (usually your full passport name). Even more annoying as the name check is really unnecessary, as boarding pass bar code should contain passport number (I think it does ..), and that could be used instead to verify the link between passport and boarding pass. And yes - almost three-and-a-half years since I last left China ...! Very excited for this this trip (currently in the Air China lounge waiting for my flight ... Not a big fan though of the new security--train--passport control--customs arrangement). Ah, you are so right, yes. My BP name always matches the passport....or does it? In typical Chinese fashion it may be truncated on the BP and therefore "red flags" it...I'd have to check a BP....okay, not truncated, but missing the space between FIRST and MIDDLE name....maybe that's it? Passport: LAST FIRST MIDDLE BP: LAST/FIRSTMIDDLE Good luck with the trip and enjoy! Yeah, I am not a fan of the new exit system at PEK either. Hope that's not permanent. |
Originally Posted by narvik
(Post 35322256)
Ah, you are so right, yes.
My BP name always matches the passport....or does it? In typical Chinese fashion it may be truncated on the BP and therefore "red flags" it...I'd have to check a BP....okay, not truncated, but missing the space between FIRST and MIDDLE name....maybe that's it? Passport: LAST FIRST MIDDLE BP: LAST/FIRSTMIDDLE
Originally Posted by narvik
(Post 35322256)
Good luck with the trip and enjoy!
Yeah, I am not a fan of the new exit system at PEK either. Hope that's not permanent. |
Originally Posted by GinFizz
(Post 35324000)
Very envious that you are one of a select few who have a full name that is still short enough to not be truncated on offical documents here in China! But yes, even that extra space is likely to trip things up (annoying also as it is easy enough to strip out spaces from a string for comparison purposes). Let's home that as [MENTION=18316]travelinmanS[/MENTION] says this will be fixed also here in Beijing as well as in Shanghai (it certainly wasn't in Dec 2019 when I last flew out of PEK or Jan 2020 when I flew out of PKX).
Yeah. I can test next week...providing it's already 'active'; anyone know how long it takes for eChannel to work after signing up?
Originally Posted by GinFizz
(Post 35324000)
Well now I get to enjoy the new system all over again - boarding for the Thai Airways PEK-BKK flight yesterday was delayed 2 hours due to a technical problem, then after boarding they realized the problem was not fixed, so cue another 3 hour wait. Eventually the crew went out-of-hours so we were all herded back through immigration and to the Hilton near the airport. Rebooked today on an Air China flight (onward flight to the UK for the main part of this trip is tomorrow so that should still be okay).
Ooofff, sorry to hear. Never fun when that happens. :( |
Originally Posted by narvik
(Post 35324113)
It does get truncated some places....on the Credit Card I think....last letter missing.
Yeah. I can test next week...providing it's already 'active'; anyone know how long it takes for eChannel to work after signing up? And some good news is maybe that it will work - as today I had a good view of the e-channel as I went through passport control, and I could see that the boarding pass scan was no longer being used (just someone checking boarding pass name against passport manually before being allowed into the e-gates. Hope in any case that it works! |
Could anyone confirm (or better yet, have personal experience) if this is correct regarding the visa policy for Hainan?
Nationals of X with a normal passport arriving at Haikou (HAK) or Sanya (SYX) for a maximum stay of 30 days. They must: |
This policy was previously only applicable to tour groups but has now been expanded to individual travel as well
https://www.china-briefing.com/news/.../#hainanHeader Seems you're correct - this is possible now. |
Originally Posted by Kilian Zoll
(Post 35324270)
Could anyone confirm (or better yet, have personal experience) if this is correct regarding the visa policy for Hainan?
Nationals of X with a normal passport arriving at Haikou (HAK) or Sanya (SYX) for a maximum stay of 30 days. They must: |
Originally Posted by Palal
(Post 35330444)
This is correct.
|
Originally Posted by Kilian Zoll
(Post 35330492)
Including the point that you still need a certificate from a Hainan based travel agency?
|
Originally Posted by Palal
(Post 35271664)
Buy rail tickets from trip.com They have a small surcharge but it should do the trick. Just make sure to enter your passport number correctly. You should not need the printed tickets - your passport is your ticket.
maybe now, 2 years later, all stations are OK with passport but be prepared for a small hassle outside of bigger cities and busy HSR lines. |
Originally Posted by mcjava
(Post 35339430)
Just 2 years ago, I found out the hard way that not all stations or HSR lines allow just a passport. I was so used to just a passport but in Changchun had to go to the ticket office and get a small receipt or a ticket otherwise they wouldn’t let me enter the station.
maybe now, 2 years later, all stations are OK with passport but be prepared for a small hassle outside of bigger cities and busy HSR lines. Although I did have an irritating time getting a bus ticket from Zhengzhou. I was told to go to security office first, register, and then get a chit which would allow me to buy the ticket. This is from a non-resident foreigner 's perspective. |
Originally Posted by mcjava
(Post 35339430)
Just 2 years ago, I found out the hard way that not all stations or HSR lines allow just a passport. I was so used to just a passport but in Changchun had to go to the ticket office and get a small receipt or a ticket otherwise they wouldn’t let me enter the station.
maybe now, 2 years later, all stations are OK with passport but be prepared for a small hassle outside of bigger cities and busy HSR lines. |
I can comment on backwater train stations.
You will likely have to do some talking with whoever is manning the national id scanners. I've never had a problem getting through, typically I just show them my passport and they manually open the gate for me... sometimes they have a mobile device they can check your passport number on and sometimes they just chabuduo you through without checking. Exiting the train stations big or small typically entails the same process since they've put exit scanners in now too. |
Originally Posted by j223
(Post 35344127)
I can comment on backwater train stations.
You will likely have to do some talking with whoever is manning the national id scanners. I've never had a problem getting through, typically I just show them my passport and they manually open the gate for me... sometimes they have a mobile device they can check your passport number on and sometimes they just chabuduo you through without checking. Exiting the train stations big or small typically entails the same process since they've put exit scanners in now too. |
I was at one station where the gate itself actually accepted a passport.
Of course passports aren't really made for this constant handling, three times on just one train trip. |
Originally Posted by 889
(Post 35346547)
I was at one station where the gate itself actually accepted a passport.
Of course passports aren't really made for this constant handling, three times on just one train trip. Passports are among the most durable items in the world... |
Originally Posted by YuropFlyer
(Post 35346641)
LOL? I know of plenty of people who use their passports daily (5x weekly) to exit Malaysia, enter Singapore, and back..
Passports are among the most durable items in the world... |
Originally Posted by 889
(Post 35346547)
I was at one station where the gate itself actually accepted a passport.
Of course passports aren't really made for this constant handling, three times on just one train trip. Most of the gates accept passports now. |
Well, in four trips = 12 gates two months ago, only one gate had a slot that accepted my passport. (A couple more had the slots but didn't work.)
|
Confirming that e-Channel worked at PEK for EXIT (two weeks after signing up).
The attendant did take one look at the length of my nose, and was first wanting to direct me back to the other passport check area. But I insisted and she eventually let me through. (No pre e-channel passport machines anymore!) I think my passport has readability issues as it took a few goes to read it - had this happen in other countries too, so not a unique experience. (They did confiscate my USB car charger, as they felt the +12V tip was too 'weapon like'. 😃) Will be interesting to see if it works on entry in a month or so. |
| All times are GMT -6. The time now is 10:03 am. |
This site is owned, operated, and maintained by MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. Copyright © 2026 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Designated trademarks are the property of their respective owners.