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Old Aug 16, 2023 | 5:11 am
  #16  
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Originally Posted by boat stuck
Well, "China" is not a monolithic entity. Like any other county, there's factions with different motives and interests.
Very, very true.
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Old Aug 16, 2023 | 5:23 am
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Originally Posted by Duck1981
Still have in my mind that draconic lockdowns can be implemented any minute - thank you, I go to Bali.
You can do both because the Chinese airlines are finally playing ball again

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Old Aug 16, 2023 | 6:01 am
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Well, I'm a foreigner and I'm technically going to China (Hong Kong). Airfare on CX is already booked. Can't wait!
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Old Aug 16, 2023 | 7:08 am
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I believe part of the reason why fares to ASEAN are cheap is partly due to capacity dumping given that the West is sparring with China over trade disputes and overflying Russia
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Old Aug 16, 2023 | 7:11 am
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Just try to book a stopover of a few days in China on those EUR-SEA fares. The cost'll go up quite a bit.
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Old Aug 16, 2023 | 7:20 am
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Originally Posted by discoseal
I believe part of the reason why fares to ASEAN are cheap is partly due to capacity dumping given that the West is sparring with China over trade disputes and overflying Russia
Grounded irplanes don't generate any revenues, so they are flying to places where they are welcome (e.g. Europe and SE Asia).
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Old Aug 16, 2023 | 11:29 am
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Originally Posted by valdor
I think another major issue is that China does very poorly when it comes to exporting its culture. Japan and Korea absolutely dominate the international cultural scene in pretty much every Asian countries I've lived in, and most people as a result want to visit there more than they want to visit China. That is unlikely to change any time soon given how censorship in China severely restricts the development of the cultural scene the country would need to compete.
This is very true but does not explain the 2019>2023 drop. I recently heard about https://www.wuxiaworld.com/ where people are translating Chinese light novels into English
Korea and Japan do a good job at this and I view Kpop as a form of soft power.
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Old Aug 16, 2023 | 7:46 pm
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Originally Posted by 889
There are also the new visa difficulties: have to visit for fingerprinting, have to make an appointment for it long in advance, and have to fill out an exceptionally invasive visa application.
My colleague from the U.S. went through a visa agent last month. No fingerprints necessary.
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Old Aug 16, 2023 | 7:51 pm
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Originally Posted by boat stuck
Visa hassles has to be at the top of the list. Adjusted for GDP, I think the Chinese visa is probably the worst in the world for "how annoying is it to get" for a major country. US visas are more hassle by absolute value, but the all countries in China's peer group (and most higher HDI countries) have better visa policies.

A e-visa system that lets people who just want a 30-day single entry tourist visa skip the consulate visit would do wonders, for example. But there won't be any improvement while the trade/tech war is in progress.
China has a rather generous TWOV (transit without visa) scheme. Also, there are a bunch of countries for which visa-free tourism is permitted; Serbia, Brunei, Japan, Singapore, and Bahamas come to mind.
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Old Aug 16, 2023 | 7:55 pm
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I applied for a visa in April with no agent and didnt get fingerprinted

the application is also not that invasive compared to a US or Schengen visa (yes, many people need a visa to go to Schengen countries)
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Old Aug 16, 2023 | 8:14 pm
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Originally Posted by gudugan
I applied for a visa in April with no agent and didnt get fingerprinted

the application is also not that invasive compared to a US or Schengen visa (yes, many people need a visa to go to Schengen countries)
Agents that can bypass the consulate visit completely (I.e not just fingerprinting) are useful. Since you live near a consulate, the visit/appointment isn't a big deal for you, but many people don't have time to fly off to SF or NY for a few days just to get a visa they might use once or twice per year.
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Old Aug 16, 2023 | 9:05 pm
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Several Chinese embassies have this month posted a notice that the fingerprinting requirement is being suspended till year-end for those applying for one- or two-entry visas.

Notice on the Latest Adjustments on Fingerprints Collection of Visa Application
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Old Aug 16, 2023 | 9:06 pm
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The real reason is that China has gone out of its way over the last 5 years to position itself as a country few people want to visit.

2008 was peak China. People were coming here and raving about it. Everyone I told I live in China was impressed and talked about the awesome Olympics, incredible growing infrastructure and economic growth.

When I tell people now I live in China the most common response is Why? Or I hope you can get out of there soon.

Very few tourists want to visit China now.
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Old Aug 16, 2023 | 10:43 pm
  #29  
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Originally Posted by travelinmanS
The real reason is that China has gone out of its way over the last 5 years to position itself as a country few people want to visit.

2008 was peak China. People were coming here and raving about it. Everyone I told I live in China was impressed and talked about the awesome Olympics, incredible growing infrastructure and economic growth.

When I tell people now I live in China the most common response is Why? Or I hope you can get out of there soon.

Very few tourists want to visit China now.
I think the poor perception of China is the number 1 issue, not visa. If you look at HK and Japan, both don't require Visas for most developed country visitors. HK tourism has rebounded to only 40% of pre-pandemic levels while Japan numbers has rebounded to 70% of 2019 numbers despite lack of Chinese group tourists (only recently restarted).

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/...bour-shortages
https://www.tourism.jp/en/tourism-da...o%20May%202019.
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Old Aug 17, 2023 | 12:03 am
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Don't forget that with modernization and urban renewal, China isn't the interesting and very different place to visit that it was in the '80s.
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