There was an annual Asia Do on Labor Day weekend for many years until the Cow Do started. Had a great Do in Shanghai when GK and Sean were living in HK, in February I believe. I can't imagine getting bored with the food selection there from what I recall.

That said, as I'm living in Taichung now, I'm definitely interested, depending on my Taiwan visa situation. Coming back to Taiwan on July 2, a trip to Shanghai and USA, probably with a Taiwan multi entry 90 day, which would be difficult to do 11/11, but if I land the job and get an ARC, no problem.

On the issue of China visas, I have never had a problem getting one year multi entry L visas, as they are all the same price-US$140, so make some reservations for PVG or PEK in a 12 month period, awards are good especially if you don't have a redeposit fee like with AA EXP, and take those printouts to the visa office and just request the one year muti entry. Maybe it's the nice staff at the San Francisco visa office where I go for them.

For US passport holder, you can enter TW with 30 days visa waiver should you proceed onward airticket (no extension).
If you have a 90 days multi-entry visa, you can go to Immigration office in Taichung (2 locations) for visa extension (60-90 days with vaild reservation or ticket, plus residence local police station registration).

Also there is a English hotline for questions: 0800-024-111 (from TW) although I never called before.

Taichung immigratoin office in Chinese character:
1. 臺中市南屯區干城街91號1樓 (old Taichung city)
TEL 04-22549981、04-22542545、04-22541803、04-22548930

2. 臺中市豐原區中山路280號 (old Taichung county)
TEL 04-25261087、04-25269777、04-25261052、04-25263974

For China visa, Lion travel (www.liontravel.com) can help to obtain in Taiwan with some fees (depends on single/double/mulitiple/3m/6m/12m or rapid service). Service charge might be a bit higher then you submit yourself back in US, but quite reliable.
However, visa regulation for China changes time to time and Chinese government never disclose any detail.

bump to the front of the bus

Do you mean you can not enter TW without outgoing ticket with US passport? How about round trip ticket to TW from mainland china, is it ok for US citizen to enter Taiwan without visa?

You can enter TW on US passport, without showing an onward ticket. It is a 30 day Visa exempt status which means you must leave TW on or before the 30th day, not counting the date of arrival. For the 90 day visitor visa, single entry is US$140, I have been asked for proof of a ticket off the island on or before the expiration date of the 90 days. I received one extension of a 90 day visa, as I was leaving for vacation in the US in June, so got a free extension to my departure date, basically, an additional 30 days. 90 day extensions can be arranged for a sufficient reason (YRMV,) and payment of a NT$1000 fee at an Immigration Office.

I'm looking pretty definite for this event, but haven't got anything booked or visa or any of that stuff yet.

We are moving forward to a great event ^ See these updated posts:

spaceman - Thank you for your assistance in organizing this event. :-:

I say I'm pretty interested in this. What's the deadline for this? (Never quite done a DO) I'm mostly based in HKG nowadays, so it's a short hop up.

At this time there is not deadline. The only issue/deadline may occur when we finalize the tours/dinners and if we need firm commitment to advise the providers. Off hand I would not expect that to be sooner than a week or so before the event.

I would say put me and a +1 down. Maybe bennos would come, too - I had a great time with him in Shanghai.

Time to bump the thread and to add...

Attendance: Very interested
Date: Nov 10-14
Number Attending: 1
Hotel Preference: Hilton
Other Activities: Trying to combine with a quick visit to TYO

I'll try and get an openjaw award using US miles but can't decide whether to go to Japan first or the DO first. I'll probably go to TYO first and fly HND-SHA since I'd like to see the new international terminal at HND, but I'm wondering what travelling into the centre from SHA is like with a fair amount of luggage.

I've never been to Shanghai or the mainland China for that matter and am very interested in attending this DO.

Great news Newbie! I'm still iffy, but this is a definite plus

Anyone have simple info about getting visa?

As far as that is concerned - need to get it while still in the US. Long queues, but relatively painless otherwise. If you don't live in a city with a Chinese consulate, there are plenty of visa services that will get it done for you. Usually takes a few days - but you can have rush service for extra $.

Do need to fill in contact information in China though....

I've found this visa FAQ in the China forum and a couple of threads linked from the post very useful.

I'm wondering if I should go ahead and book an award ticket while it's available. :)