GZBILL
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I had my passport sent to the consulate in Huston . I requested a multi entry visa 90 days each trip. I just asked for normal handling time, and got it back in about 2 weeks. Had no problems at all.
Thank you all guys.
My fianc¨¦ just booked the ticket this morning!! His mother will go next Monday or so. He get more than a month for the visa. So, I think everything will be fine.
He's never been to China and he's so excited about the trip !! We will first meet in Shanghai and then travel to Guangzhou. Any recommandations for Shanghai? Hotels, restaurants, sightseeing.
I wonder which hotel allow us to stay together; Some hotels refuse a Chinese girl stay with a foreigner.
If you don't have a marriage license, some of the biggest hotels will not let you two register together for a room. And if you don't register together, these same hotels will not allow you to spend the night.
Not all hotels are like that, but in Guangzhou China Hotel and Garden Hotel usually are. A lot in Beijing are, too. In Shanghai you can try 7 Days Inn. They're pretty lax I heard.
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For those who watched the National Day parade on TV, try to obtain a DVD of the original broadcast. You will see the camera focus in on President Hu when the first regular PLA female unit passes in review and you can clearly see how they catch his attention and how animated he becomes. These girls were very attractive. When the Muffin Top Brigade appears, it's like they are day-old bread.
Entirely wrong!!!
Hu was professional through the whole parade until your so called "Muffin Top Brigade"... when he clearly smiled and waved to them... in fact I made the comment to my wife at the time about how excited he looked all of sudden... and I've watched it again to confirm I saw it correctly...
You must be blind.
He got all excited at the first female PLA unit.
The Muffin Top Brigade passed and he showed no excitement at all. The same thing happened in the crowd at Tiananmen. The Muffin Top Brigade was like the freak show. The female PLA units inspired heavy drooling amongst the crowd with all the ooohs & aaahs.
Reminds me of the grandmother sitting at the parade... when the soldiers came marching by she nudged the person next to her and said "Look, everyone is out of step, except my Johnny!"
So, yes Johnny (GZBILL), I guess by those standards... I am blind and out of step.
... And by other standards delusional.
but, hey, God gave people the right to be daft. Enjoy.
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SHANGHAI ¡ª Every weekend in Shanghai's 'People's Park Number Five,' they come ¡ª mothers, fathers, grandparents ¡ª all holding pictures and posters of young Chinese men and women who are looking for love.
Parental matchmaking isn't easy, according to one man who tells FOX News that he's been shopping for a wife for his 33-year-old son for six months. . . . .
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,562341...test=latestnews
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I actually saw a news documentary about this on CCTV.
Once they ease the one-child-policy and selective abortions of females is stopped perhaps it will be better.
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For those who watched the National Day parade on TV, try to obtain a DVD of the original broadcast. You will see the camera focus in on President Hu when the first regular PLA female unit passes in review and you can clearly see how they catch his attention and how animated he becomes. These girls were very attractive. When the Muffin Top Brigade appears, it's like they are day-old bread.
Entirely wrong!!!
Hu was professional through the whole parade until your so called "Muffin Top Brigade"... when he clearly smiled and waved to them... in fact I made the comment to my wife at the time about how excited he looked all of sudden... and I've watched it again to confirm I saw it correctly...
You must be blind.
He got all excited at the first female PLA unit.
The Muffin Top Brigade passed and he showed no excitement at all. The same thing happened in the crowd at Tiananmen. The Muffin Top Brigade was like the freak show. The female PLA units inspired heavy drooling amongst the crowd with all the ooohs & aaahs.
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i watch how you talk about women with interest and a concern, i dont talk about or from feminism but from culture the days in china of women being same as men and deserving same respect started 60 years ago. to see women as thunder thighs makes them lose face and is disrespectful. I would have believed more from members here
Surely you jest, Jin!
The culture of equal respect for women does not exist in China. If it did, why do so many of you want out??? Women are paid less for the same job, work more hours, are treated like slaves and housekeepers by their husbands, are beaten for being disobedient....yup...sure sounds like equal respect to me!!! Just cause Mao the Murderer said it, doesn't make it true or accepted.
Very accurate analysis. Very accurate.
Women in China are treated as chattel and have been throughout history but for a brief moment in Chairman Mao's reign.
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i watch how you talk about women with interest and a concern, i dont talk about or from feminism but from culture the days in china of women being same as men and deserving same respect started 60 years ago. to see women as thunder thighs makes them lose face and is disrespectful. I would have believed more from members here
First of all, people -- male & female -- are often characterized and described by physical appearance in certain situations. Is it politically correct? Perhaps not. But it is nonetheless common and if one doesn't know that by now, I feel sorry for them.
Second, attractiveness in the US & China relates in large part to physical attributes. At first glance this may also seem not politically correct, but it has been this way for thousands and thousands of years and in no place more so than in China itself.
Third, how have you been able to survive into adulthood with the mind of a 2-year-old?
For those who watched the National Day parade on TV, try to obtain a DVD of the original broadcast. You will see the camera focus in on President Hu when the first regular PLA female unit passes in review and you can clearly see how they catch his attention and how animated he becomes. These girls were very attractive. When the Muffin Top Brigade appears, it's like they are day-old bread.
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Hello,
My fiance will ask for the tourist visa for China next week.
He wants to order the plane tickets now as the prices are unstable. The ticket is non refundable so if he cant get the visa, the money will be gone.
I think that he wouldnt have problems getting the visa but just I'd like some confirmation of people here who ever got a visa for China.
My fiance is an US citizen, in houston.
Thank you all
Jiali
You should be ok. There were some visa anormalities due to the National Day celebrations, but everything should be fine now.
Still, things can be unpredictable. Hopefully another forum member has some actual recent experience to share.
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I think it would be beneficial to interview some students and ask them "If there were a pizza restaurant here what are some things you would like to see in it and also ask them all together do you think it is a needed thing to have here...." Just a thought hope it was helpful just speaking from seeing 1 failure and one near and maybe soon failure on this type of place
This is great advice. Anything that can help refine and strengthen your marketing plan is a plus. One note:
I'm assuming you're going to teach people how to make pizzas. One thing about Chinese chefs is that they can be highly inconsistent. I have a good friend who opened up an Italian restaurant. She said that she's always having problems with the help being a bit too creative - adding their own take to the recipe. Apparently, this is fairly common in China. From what she tells me, a chef must create something spectacular, something which will set them apart from other chefs.
The only problem with this is that when creating "foreign" food, there is an expectation (from foreigners) for there to be some consistency (one meal to the next) on how, let's say a pizza, is made.
My friend, who is a Chinese citizen, finally had to hire a guy from Italy to come in and re - retrain them on how she wants it done.
Great, yes. But some would also call it common sense. In fact, iirc, you need some type of feasibility study done for the licensing process for most things like this in China. But maybe a store/restaurant is different than what I was looking at (factory). Maybe Bill can chime in on this.
My wife likes pepperoni. And I would imagine you could get oven and most ingredients in China but maybe ingredients from US would make for a better pizza, i dont know. But I like pizza hut pizza in China better than US. And typical US ingredients might not be best in China. Seafood seems to be very popular for pizza in China.
Agree totally about Pizza Hut being, for the most part, better in China than back home. Only problem is that 80% of their menu is seafood and they don't like putting tomato sauce on their pizzas. Once you navigate around that, though, it's pretty good.
Not sure about pepperoni. Pizza Hut used to have a pepperoni pizza, but has since taken it off the menu. Perhaps it wasn't very popular?
Someone has mentioned Chinese people generally being lactose intolerant. This is generally in the south, but even so people eat pizza. Not sure why.
I think it will be crucial to see what the market is in your area before opening up a pizza restaurant. If there's a Pizza Hut in the area, be careful. Pizza Hut has been very careful to keep prices low and offer what Chinese refer to as "set meals" that are cheap. Also, especially in Tianjin, there is a huge difference between what people tell you they'd buy and what they actually fork over cash for. Tianjin is not noted for having a lot of rich students and the vast majority of them would probably never even think about spending more than 10 RMB for a meal.
No matter what government connections one thinks they have, a non-Chinese passport holder having anything to do with a business that is not 100% legitimate is a serious risk. I've seen it hundreds of times -- it's not a pretty picture. The days when you can hold off immigration and tax authorities with a well-placed phone call have passed into myth in Tianjin.
business should be opened by PRC citizen , its easy
If it's in the name of the PRC citizen, it's easy to start a business. The problem starts when the non-PRC spouse is a beneficial owner or performs labor of any type. Unless the non-PRC spouse has a work permit tied directly and exclusively to the business and the resulting residence permit, there can be major tax and immigration compliance issues.
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Opening a pizza restaurant in China is about as risky as opening a steakhouse in an Indian religious mecca.
Guess Outback is trying to diversify the places in which it is going bankrupt.
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I think it would be beneficial to interview some students and ask them "If there were a pizza restaurant here what are some things you would like to see in it and also ask them all together do you think it is a needed thing to have here...." Just a thought hope it was helpful just speaking from seeing 1 failure and one near and maybe soon failure on this type of place
This is great advice. Anything that can help refine and strengthen your marketing plan is a plus. One note:
I'm assuming you're going to teach people how to make pizzas. One thing about Chinese chefs is that they can be highly inconsistent. I have a good friend who opened up an Italian restaurant. She said that she's always having problems with the help being a bit too creative - adding their own take to the recipe. Apparently, this is fairly common in China. From what she tells me, a chef must create something spectacular, something which will set them apart from other chefs.
The only problem with this is that when creating "foreign" food, there is an expectation (from foreigners) for there to be some consistency (one meal to the next) on how, let's say a pizza, is made.
My friend, who is a Chinese citizen, finally had to hire a guy from Italy to come in and re - retrain them on how she wants it done.
Great, yes. But some would also call it common sense. In fact, iirc, you need some type of feasibility study done for the licensing process for most things like this in China. But maybe a store/restaurant is different than what I was looking at (factory). Maybe Bill can chime in on this.
My wife likes pepperoni. And I would imagine you could get oven and most ingredients in China but maybe ingredients from US would make for a better pizza, i dont know. But I like pizza hut pizza in China better than US. And typical US ingredients might not be best in China. Seafood seems to be very popular for pizza in China.
Agree totally about Pizza Hut being, for the most part, better in China than back home. Only problem is that 80% of their menu is seafood and they don't like putting tomato sauce on their pizzas. Once you navigate around that, though, it's pretty good.
Not sure about pepperoni. Pizza Hut used to have a pepperoni pizza, but has since taken it off the menu. Perhaps it wasn't very popular?
Someone has mentioned Chinese people generally being lactose intolerant. This is generally in the south, but even so people eat pizza. Not sure why.
I think it will be crucial to see what the market is in your area before opening up a pizza restaurant. If there's a Pizza Hut in the area, be careful. Pizza Hut has been very careful to keep prices low and offer what Chinese refer to as "set meals" that are cheap. Also, especially in Tianjin, there is a huge difference between what people tell you they'd buy and what they actually fork over cash for. Tianjin is not noted for having a lot of rich students and the vast majority of them would probably never even think about spending more than 10 RMB for a meal.
No matter what government connections one thinks they have, a non-Chinese passport holder having anything to do with a business that is not 100% legitimate is a serious risk. I've seen it hundreds of times -- it's not a pretty picture. The days when you can hold off immigration and tax authorities with a well-placed phone call have passed into myth in Tianjin.
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I'd love to keep it on the legal side but from the looks of it (went down there today) all the street food (that's pretty much what it is here in Tianjin) stands and even permanent building structures connected to larger buildings don't run with licenses.
What we were told today by such a property owner is that the police will give notice (not sure how advanced) that they will be coming, when that happens they make everyone close their stalls, stands and shops for roughly 2-3 days and then its back to business as usual, mind you these stands and restaurants have been around for years operating like this and the business will be in her name only.
As for start up costs and remodeling that will cost a bit and we're crunching the numbers now, looks like a year from now to start, year and 3-4 months until opening.
You are really ... er ... well, naive.
You expect that authorities turning a blind eye works when an expat is involved? Sooner or later you'll have immigration and a whole platoon of police there and you will get FITA. If you're really lucky, they'll just fine the hellout of you, confiscate your business and not deport you.
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"...Have you ever visited a truly rural area in China to see how they live or are you one of the ones that take the fantasy trips to Beijing, Shanghai, Tiainjin or Nanning...."
Yeah, well, I have..... And I can tell you, weiaijiayou's remarks on this subject are so right on the mark, that it really doesn't need re-enforcement from me.
I like GZBILL but I do wonder how far west he has actually been.
The fact that the countryside lags the big eastern cities of China is immaterial to the condition in the countryside. The reality is that progress---relative to what was before---in the west is stunning.
Sure, you can cite all the stats you want about the disparity between the rich east, and the poor west, but you talk to the people, (west) you get a different story, they love the improvements in their lives. And from an American point of view, that might not seem like much----electricity and TV, but not perfect sanitation---still, its huge considering the starting point. Plus, MUCH better food (meat) on a regular basis, and a return to a food culture (daily) which was reserved for special occasions in the past. The feeling that your children actually DO have a future.
And here is the big difference between America and China. America's stimulus ---- now predicted to top out at close to one trillion dollars----has been pure pork. Very little to show for the effort----certainly, not in job growth----political pay-offs to 'favorite son' projects across the country.
Meanwhile, China's stimulus (about 600 billion) has gone to essential infrastructure projects------much of it in the west-----and the people of these provinces are busting with pride----sure, its not the individual, but for the first time, they are seeing roads, and rail which will link them to all of China, and they are truly excited by the prospect, and the opportunities that will surely follow...
In 14 years there are very, very few places I have not been on an extended basis. I have seen the poorest of the poor -- Guizhou Province -- and everything in between.
Yes, people in these marginal areas have seen major improvements, but their life is still a struggle. Try not to believe the happy facade; the reality is that they have a very hard life and they see their personal future as bleak. Yet, they are realistic and know that at best their children may -- with a hell of a lot of luck -- have a better life.
Ask any one of these people and, if they are honest with you, they will tell you that they are working almost 24/7 so they can send their child out of these poor areas so they can get an education and then help pull the rest of the family out of poverty and misery. If they can't send their children out and the father has no discernible skills of value in the bigger cities, they send the mother off to work as maids for middle class Chinese families in Guangzhou, Beijing or Shanghai.
All this bull$hit about the happy peasant is what special ed first-graders believe when they watch those Chairman Mao era (or Kim Jong Il) propoganda films.
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Funny, but they are not even real soldiers. They are part of the volunteer militia --- or the Chinese version of the National Guard.
The pretty girls in the parade were the regular PLA soldiers and not the "flower militia."
Many of your so called "flower militia" were models in training. Yes, they are volunteer militia, but anyone who thinks they weren't chosen for their looks to be in this parade is fooling themselves.
To each his own... but curious that many of us are here because we find Chinese women attractive... and so, of course we'd find Chinese models attractive... I'm not sure why we'd be here otherwise...
I agree with you. I think Chinese girls are attractive and, in general, more so than girls I've met back home with some exceptions.
However, even by Chinese standards, the flower militia girls are not nearly as pretty as the normal female PLA units that marched before them.
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Here is the vague plan:
Open in a ´óѧ (My girls former university) where rent would be roughly 2,000 RMB
and foot traffic of college students is heavy.
Do it, don't do it? Suggestions, comments?
Make sure you follow through with all the legalities and paperwork.
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The point being that other developing countries are looking at the china model as as successful model which is attractive to them.In contrast they are looking at the western demotractic/capitalisic model as flawed as it is a system now controlled by capital to serve the intrests of capital (special interest groups) not the people. ...
Can you give us a list of these "other developing countries" and evidence that they are considering the Chinese political system as a model upon which to base their own? Or do we just have your word for it?
well Bill you could just watch international news or google it
Also the chinese model is not a political system alone but viewed as a system of , lets say "shareware/knowlegde/experience and blending what works.
Now the term developing countries what does that mean ? those willing to change ? therefore what that say of us ? rigid ?
So, in other words, you can't back up your dubious claims. Why isn't that surprising?
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Funny, but they are not even real soldiers. They are part of the volunteer militia --- or the Chinese version of the National Guard.
The pretty girls in the parade were the regular PLA soldiers and not the "flower militia."
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The point being that other developing countries are looking at the china model as as successful model which is attractive to them.In contrast they are looking at the western demotractic/capitalisic model as flawed as it is a system now controlled by capital to serve the intrests of capital (special interest groups) not the people. ...
Can you give us a list of these "other developing countries" and evidence that they are considering the Chinese political system as a model upon which to base their own? Or do we just have your word for it?
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I don't care what anybody says... those Chinese women soldiers were HOT!!
If China were to send them to the front, dressed like that... me thinks they'd roll right over just about any male army... the men would just be drooling and wondering "... what just happened???"!!!
Only logical conclusion: Some of you guys here are either blind or have tastes in women that only a poodle would envy.
I had a ringside seat at the spectacle and though the first groups of female soldiers (in normal combat uniforms) were good looking, those that came at the end in the red uniforms were as fugly as could be and had thunder thighs. I think the technical term for their unit is the Muffin Top Brigade.
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Bodeen is one of the AP's "Old China Hands" so a natural that he should report this story. But also note several of the gratuitous digs, particularly the story closing quote by the Claremont College Prof Minxin Pei: ".....the money would have been better spent on scholarships for students in impoverished rural areas...."
Even more slanted was the 'slide show' put together by Yahoo News. 187 slides, a high percentage of them of staged protests against China outside of China. Note how hard it was to get original material, and that much of it was of exactly the same people. Easily five times more pictures of protesters than of citizens in China following the celebration. In fact, more pictures of one idiot Tibetan protester outside the Chinese embassy in New Delhi-----than of ALL the 1.4 billion Chinese...... (guy in yellow shirt----trying to get out the window of the bus)
BUT------on the bright side, several good pix of 'Girls with Guns"
Communist China marks 60 years with tanks, kitsch
By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN, Associated Press Writer
2 hrs 24 mins ago
BEIJING ¨C Jets, tanks and missile-toting trucks thundered through Beijing on Thursday in a show of military muscle to celebrate six decades of communist rule and China's transformation from a war-battered regional player into global economic superpower.
Most people in the capital could only watch the elaborate ceremony for the founding of the People's Republic unfold on national television, as tight security excluded ordinary people from getting near the parade route through Tiananmen Square.
Precisely choreographed, the two-and-half-hour event hewed closely to tradition. President Hu Jintao, in a Mao jacket instead of a business suit, rode in an open-top Red Flag limousine to review the thousands of troops. A parade of kitschy floats, flanked by more than 100,000 people, lauded the communist revolution and the Beijing Olympics.
A female militia in red miniskirts and shiny white boots added a jolt of color to the sea of fatigues ¡ª and showcased efforts by the armed forces to be more inclusive.
Even the weather cooperated, after the government's aggressive cloud-seeding produced overnight showers to disperse smog and bring in blue skies.
"The message that is intended is: 'We are modern, we are Chinese, we are great, we are fantastic, and we all do it because of the great leadership of the Communist Party,'" said Steve Tsang, a China politics expert at Oxford University.
The most novel aspect was the weaponry, more than had been shown before and most of which was domestically produced: dozens of fighter jets and hundreds of tanks, artillery and trucks carrying long-range, nuclear-capable missiles.
"On this joyful and solemn occasion, all the peoples across the nation feel extremely proud for the progress and development of the motherland and have full confidence in the bright prospects for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation," Hu said in a short speech standing atop Tiananmen gate with the rest of the collective leadership looking on.
Behind the celebrations is the tremendous change of fortunes China has experienced. A poor country that was weak internationally when the communists took over on Oct. 1, 1949, China has become the world's third-largest economy and a power whose input the U.S. seeks to solve the global economic crisis and Iran's nuclear challenge.
China is now the world's largest auto market and has more Internet and mobile phone users than anywhere else.
Virtually all Chinese families now have at least one television and, in the cities, a washing machine ¡ª rare items three decades ago. Some 15 million families own private cars, and many Chinese also own their own homes.
The parade floats showcased such material gains by toting models of high-speed trains, giant computers, cars and bundles of wheat and rice in the wake of the military's display.
Unmentioned during the event and crescendo of state media hype in recent weeks were the ruinous campaigns of revolutionary leader Mao Zedong that left tens of millions dead ¡ª as well as the country's current challenges: a widening gap between rich and poor, rampant corruption, severe pollution and ethnic uprisings in the western areas of Tibet and predominantly Muslim Xinjiang.
An evening gala on Tiananmen Square later Thursday featured thousands of performers singing and dancing for nearly two hours while dramatic bursts of multicolored fireworks erupted in the background. Driving home the party's message of harmony and ethnic unity, several songs were about the steadily improving and happy lives of Tibetans, ethnic Muslims and other minorities under communist rule.
The show, like the opening ceremony for the Beijing Olympics a year ago, was choreographed by film director Zhang Yimou.
As part of the night's finale, Hu and other top leaders descended from their VIP platform onto the square, holding hands and singing "Ode To The Motherland" along with the artists.
While the Olympics were meant to mark China's arrival on the world stage, both the parade and the gala squarely aimed to please a domestic audience with a strong emphasis on popular Chinese culture and appearances by national heroes, such as performing artists, astronauts and athletes.
The strategy seemed to work, with people gathering on side streets to get a glimpse of the passing parade or watching from home.
"China's power makes us proud. Over the span of 60 years, China has developed so rapidly," said retiree Wang Shumin, standing in a back alley watching the parade on TV through a shop window. "China is now powerful and has a position on the world stage."
But in Hong Kong, which has Western-style civil liberties as part of its special semiautonomous status, hundreds of people protested Thursday, denouncing China's human rights record during 60 years of communist rule.
About 200 people marched through the downtown financial district, chanting, "We want human rights. We don't want a sanitized National Day."
Tibetans also staged protested outside Chinese embassies in India and Nepal.
Minxin Pei, a professor of government at Claremont McKenna College in California, said the event continues a strategy deployed since the military crushed the Tiananmen democracy movement in 1989: "a one-party state that uses its economic success to bolster its legitimacy in any way conceivable, including a Soviet-style military parade."
He said the money would have been better spent on scholarships for students in impoverished rural areas.
___
Associated Press writers Henry Sanderson and Gillian Wong in Beijing and Min Lee in Hong Kong contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2009 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.Questions or CommentsPrivacy PolicyTerms of ServiceCopyright/IP Policy
How about a link to the Yahoo! Slide Show you mentioned?
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Been hearing alot about this "China model" recently, some even suggesting it may become the dominant model adopted by other developing countries as the attraction of the western democratic system losses appeal.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/opinion/2009-...ent_8758855.htm
Major bull$hit. Major.
You must be really bored today, Pommey.
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It doesn't apply to restaurants.
Someone has too much free time on their hands.
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The wife (who is now a USC) and I will probably just get a multi-entry visitor visa that is good for a year, make a quick 48 hr trip every 90 days to either Japan or South Korea, neither of which require a visa for a USC visitor, then return for another 90 days.
You could also try HK or Macau.
Right!
Much easier to go to HK or Macau. Cheaper, too. You only need to cross the border, wait 5 minutes and return.
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Not Huko. It is visa for those who already gave up PRC citizenship. It is a special policy for returnees.
You are confused. Again.
It is not permanent residency. I re-confirmed that only the Ministry of Public Security can approve permanent residency and no municipal government has either voice or vote in the process.
There is a policy on longer residence permits, but that is not dependant on being a returnee. Before getting PR I had a five-year work permit / residence permit, so if Shanghai has a "special" rule, then it is obviously not so special.
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Well, I never tried Charles Jr. before and was surprised that it was fast food. Well, as far as fast food goes, it is not bad. Much better than buger king etc. It is in the basement of Raffle City, on the east side of People's Square. The security guard was a pain, he tried to get me to take off my skates.
Heard that within a week of all the expat technical advisors finishing their assignment and leaving Carl's Jr. went out of business / bankrupt.
Visa for China
in Communications, Planes, Shipping & Money
Posted
Actually, that chain isn't bad. I stayed in one once in Shanghai because it happened to be half a block from a meeting venue amd found it clean and comfortable with WiFi.
Hotels that don't have security posted at elevators, elevators in view of the reception desk or floor wardens are always a good bet if you are not married.