Until slightly more than 2 years ago, I bought into the idea that Shanghai was a place that other cities in China looked to for guidance (especially with respect to beneficial policies that have almost zero downside). But, like you and some of the others here, I was given a 2-month period to profoundly reflect upon that notion (and concluded Shanghai really isn't the pants-wearing beacon I thought it was). Furthermore, I've become more acutely aware/observant of the lingering presence of horribly inefficient relics of the bureaucracy even in neighboring provinces, let alone the hinterlands.

Getting back to the chopping topic in isolation, many cogs in the machine really seem to derive joy, satisfaction, and/or a sense of purpose from the process. As such, they don't seem to have a great deal of incentive to move into the 21st century.

In the end it's still "China" with all its oddities.

Found this out this week once more: needed to provide signed documents for changes to the business structure of a company here in Beijing.
I took the liberty of combining the documents' text with the signatures all on one page, as opposed to have all the signatures on a separate page.
Well, it was rejected.

They insist that whoever signs, signs on a completely separate page.
I was thinking of changing the text of the first page to include "I hereby sign over to 'narvik' 100% of the shares" once I had it signed by all the shareholders.
Ridonkulous!

Sorry for the OT...

Exiting PVG today I experienced something I never have before with echannel. The line to use echannel was longer than the foreigner line and the reason was there were two immigration police at the front of the line, before the gates, asking every single user to look at their passport and questioning why they were leaving, where they were going, etc. It was meant just for Chinese citizens as when I reached the front of the line they just waved me through without any questions.

Has anybody seen this before? It will put a small crimp in my �show up an hour before the flight� plans if it becomes a common thing.

No.
Sounds like a one-off thing....hopefully.

I still have trouble entering, as they never want me to enter. I must not look "eChannel eligible".
On last exit at PEK, I not only had the regular line attendant keep calling out to me, but also the eChannel person make hand gestures indicating I should be going somewhere else.

Very interesting - never encountered this, wonder if they will step up random checks like this.

Exit checks have become tighter for Chinese citizens. Ostensibly it's to make sure they're not being tricked into going to Southeast Asian countries like Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam etc. to be forced into working in telecom scams. At least this is what I can glean from my Chinese social media feed.

Or possibly to stem the flood of refugees crossing into the USA from Mexico.

Ecuador was the major starting point for that route, and that has been clamped shut, at least for now. Ecuador suspended visa-free entry for Chinese citizens in July. But there remains Surinam and Bolivia (visa on arrival).

How does this relate to auto gates? I guess it's that the authorities can set certain criteria for manual review.

Perhaps they'd like to filter out the potential illegal immigrants and stop them from leaving China?

It slows up the exit line as they question every Chinese citizen before they get to the machines. At least this has been my experience at both PVG and PEK this year. I haven�t seen it at SHA.

It's probably destination-related as well. SHA only flies to TSA, HND, GMP, HKG, and MFM, so the Chinese who fly these routes lean towards business travelers, or leisure travelers with more money.

Has anyone noticed the location to register for e-channel at TFU? Flying soon and would like to sign up but don't want to miss it (if a counter even exists).

Hearing lots about the new QR code entry system for China.

Just wondering if anyone has been through CAN T2 yet and if they have them?

If so any top tips?

Perhaps you're think about this?
Online arrival card - effective Nov 20, 2025

If you are interested in eChannel, most of the info in the earlier posts is still valid. The short version is that if you're eligible, you need to register upon arrival (usually between immigration and customs) and update biometrics at the same desks every time your documents change (they might be getting better in this regard).

I have needed to update docs each time. At some airports, you can also do it at exit (in my experience this is possible at PEK T3)