MarkLuvsShuPing

Gee, do you think I can get a boar's head past customs? YIKES!!!! 3 years!!! Do I want to get married? Holy cow!!! Does anyone know where I'll have to go to get processed living in Colorado? There could be a lynching (me) in China if we don't get married. ShuPing seemed to think it would only take a few days to get the marriage license in Harbin. Of course she lives in Nanning (3000 miles away), but I think she's talking to her sister (family lives in QiQiHar) about it. ShuPing did tell me I should buy the food and drink for the wedding and that I should give her mother (father has passed away) something. So I was aware of that custom. Thanks for the link Bob.

Thanks guys, I'll go ahead and hit the purchase button on Amazon.com Chinese bible order. I only intend to bring the one bible and if I'm asked I'll just say it's to help me learn Chinese. I'm assuming that since no one has any horror stories about being repressed by the Chinese government, it's not something to worry about, not that I was anyway. ShuPing's concerns may just be cultural. Good info Dave on that side of things. These are the kinds of things that help make any cross-cultural relationship better. Boy, this whole combining 2 cultures thing may not be easy, but at least it'll be educational.

Hi Everyone, My upcoming trip to China and a persisteent question from ShuPing has me wondering about what kinds of things are not allowed in China. ShuPing, from time to time, will ask me what she must do when she comes to America. At first I took it that she wanted to know legally what she needed to do to stay here. But the more she asked about it, the more it became clear to me, she wants to know what she is and is not allowed to do in the US. My answer to her thus far has been, "Just be yourself and don't commit murder, steal things or beat people up and you'll be fine." Somehow I don't think this is the answer she's looking for. Then it dawned on me, there are things we do in the US that folks can't do in China. Then I thought it might be helpful, not just for when I go there, but to help her understand, if I knew what those things are. So if anyone can shed some light on this, it would be appreciated. One question that has come up, one that illustrates the point is, can I take a Chinese bible to ShuPing's sister? ShuPing asked me to and I thought nothing of it until I asked a friend of mine if he knew where I might find one. He told me where but cautioned that his church had trouble getting bibles into China. So before I spend a few dollars on a bible and pack it in my suitcase, I'd like to know if customs is going to have a problem with it. I think I know enough to leave the "Free Tibet" bumperstickers here, but what else should I leave behind?

Bribery in government, hmmmm, now there's a concept. OK, I'll get the duckies all in a row and let's see how good they look.

Thanks Tywy, I'll do that. Hopefully, I've given myself enough time (crossing my fingers). When you were married, was there anything that took you by suprise or that you found unique?

Cool! I'll let you know when I get a hotel. Any idea where the 6 Continent is located relative to the airport? I will be getting there late and ShuPing will be meeting me, so I don't want to have to travel too long to get to the hotel.

Thanks, I'll make sure I double check what I'm posting before I hit the button from now on. Anyway, YIKES!, I have to get everything sent through DOS and the Chinese Embassy too?!!!! I see a lot of FedEx in my immediate future. This stuff isn't like the visa where they want you to show up in person is it? If so, are there services, like for visas, that you can use to handle it for you? So many loose ends, so little time.

Hi Mike, Since I'll be arriving the evening of the 13th, we should still be in Beijing on the 17th, let's get together. I take it you plan to stay at the 6 Continent? I'll look into booking a room there. I'll let you know when I do.

Hi Everyone, Less than a month (Dec 12) until I board the plane to Beijing. I've got my ticket, my passport, and should have the visa in a few days. 3 or 4 days in Beijing with ShuPing and we're off to QiQiHar, her family and a Chinese wedding. I know I need to get some documents to take with me (notorized, state sealed divorce decree w/copy, Certification of Marrigability). But with all that, I'm still worried that I may be forgetting something. Any advice from anyone who has gotten married in China would be more than greatly appreciated. Also, what should I expect as far as wedding customs and such when the big day (Dec 24) arrives? Thanks, Mark

Mike, Looks like we'll be in Beijing at the same time. I'll be arriving Dec13 on United. This, however, will be my first time in China. ShuPing will meet me there and we plan to sight see 3 or 4 days before heading north (brrrrr) to QiQiHar to get married. It would be nice to see another American face while I'm there. Let me know if you'd like to get together. I don't know where I'll be staying, I haven't made any reservations for a hotel yet, but plan to do so soon. (If anyone has any recommendations....) Take Care, Mark

Great story Sarah. I love to read about your new experiences. They help me imagine what it will be like when ShuPing comes to live here. Thank you and keep them coming.

It seems that a lot of it is regional. ShuPing uses LaoPo and LaoGong, but it isn't the first thing listed for wife and husband. I'm sure there many phrases that are difficult to find in a dictionary simply because they are regional.

Thank you very much. I thought as much. I think I will be GuYe then.

I hope this qualifies as a Topic. During a discussion with my gal, she told me I would become her family's 'GuYe'. She said I should look it up since she had to leave quickly and, I think, she probably didn't want to try to explain it. I looked through the dictionaries I have and then messed around on-line with a translator, but to no avail. As far as I can tell the only translators I can find will work with characters, but not with Pinyin. Either she spelled it wrong or I'm not using the correct accents. Does anyone have an idea what "GuYe" means?

This is a great discussion for me since I am planning to go to China in November. I found cheaper tickets to BeiJing than to Nanning on Travelocity so I am rearranging my itinerary to fit the cost. My gal lives in Nanning but we are going to marry in QiQiHar, her home town. Since BeiJing is on the way, she will meet me there and we will travel to QiQIHar via train. We'll spend time there and then return to Nanning, again via train. Unfortunately, I still need to return to BeiJing to return to the states. This is the plan at this point. After reading this discussion, I will definitely be checking with travel agents here and having ShuPing check on her end, especially for all the traveling we plan to do in China. Thanks again folks.

For us strugglers in the Chinese language, there can never be too much help. I liked this page as it gives you the pinyin, characters and English with sound. Great for sitting in front of the compuer to learn. Pimsleur is great and perfect when you are on the go like I am. The drawback to it is the lack of visual, it's all auditory and I have a hard time retaining it.

Thanks for the link Robert, I checked it out and this looks like a really helpful service The price is nice too. Definitely something I can use. Now if we could get them to put IRS forms on their service, I could file the long form .

I file my own taxes and I usually use the 1040EZ form. What does that say about me? Point taken though Rob, thanks.

Making our committment to each other, family and friends through marriage is our first objective. "Legally" married or not depends on what will bring us together the quickest. I'm in Denver, so I'm not sure how well it works here. Looks like K-3 is the way to go though. I will take your advice and read more postings though. I did e-mail the 001 link to ShuPing, I'm sure she will find it helpful. I'm learning more about this everytime I visit. Thanks so much Don and everyone else.

That is a great story Dave! It's good to know that Sarah is not a "Potty" mouth. <Sorry, I had to do it> Best Wishes to you both.

I'm just taking the first steps in this process, in fact I haven't filed any papers at all yet. I do plan to go to China in Nov to marry ShuPing. The plan at this point was to do this "unofficially" and apply for a fiancee visa. My reason for the fiancee visa comes from a web site (http://www.apvisa.com/affiliate179/index.htm) that I came across a month ago. It's a website for a visa processing service. This site suggests that a fiancee visa is easier to obtain than a spouse visa. (Especially if you use their service ) Rather than trust info from such a website, I'd like to ask CFL members a similar question as Patrick... Which is easier to obtain K1 or K3? If K3 is being processed quicker than K1, it would seem that an official marriage in Nov would be the way to go. What do you think? Thanks for all the help and support in advance, I know I'll be visiting CFL often. Mark

Following the what if's here... If your Chinese girl had your child while you were somewhere in the process of getting her to the U.S. (presumably working on it longer than 9 months), would that help speed up the process? In other words, would having a child with a Chinese citizen help demonstrate that you are sincere about the marriage and not just arranging a temporary thing? This is only my second post and I'm just starting this process, so forgive me if I'm ignorant about some things.