dan1984

From what I understand, all packages go through Chinese customs but only a certain number are picked out and screened - for tax reasons or whatever. In the past I've had stuff mailed to me and it was delivered to me at my home no problem. Other times the same thing has been sent and I have to go pick it up at the post office. I've never had to pay any taxes though, just say it is a gift and for my own personal use (which is true), and that's that - just give it to me and say have a nice day. This holds true for small things like Mac n' Cheese all the way up to receiving a rather expensive guitar that I had to pick up at the post office.

I don't know what train station you'll be arriving at, but, you'll navigate to Line 10 and go to the LiangMaQiao (亮马桥) subway stop. Line 10 is a big square, this station is in the north/northeast part of the square. From the subway station it is about a 5-10 minute walk. I think just one "turn" involved, not complicated, but I forget exactly. I'm sure the Embassy website or some other websites have a map of how to walk there.

Yes, need the legal permission for Tibet, and apparently can only go with travel groups if you want to visit certain areas, which is never fun! So, I guess we'll see............ A big problem now is we would love to go to Taiwan, but it is hard for my lady to get the clearance to go there without having to travel as part of a tour group.

Nope, never any scuba diving, not the biggest water guy, but would like to try it someday. Same with Tibet, would love to go there too - and Xinjiang!

Best of luck!! You and are in a similar position and have a similar background. Look forward to seeing how your case proceeds, because it will basically be the same path we follow at some point down the line.

Living here in China, it's really convenient to travel to nearby SE Asia countries as well. I don't have all that much extra money sitting around, but traveling in SE Asia is not expensive. Spent a couple weeks in Vietnam last year, as well as a week in Thailand a couple years ago. As well as Hong Kong and South Korea. This year, as always, will be spending around 10 days in Sichuan for the Chinese New Year, and after that plan to meet a couple friends from the US for 3 weeks in Thailand - gonna hit it all - Bangkok, the north near Chiang Mai, and also some time on the beaches in the south. The farthest I've been in the north is Inner Mongolia, or, perhaps Lanzhou and Dunhuang in Gansu - not sure which is technically further north. Sichuan is great, and with all the relatives she has, I've pretty much been everything. I really hope to find a way to get to Yunnan and Guangxi next.

Awesome - congratulations!!

If I go to the ATM here using my US debit card, I get charged a flat $5.00 fee. Yes, definitely exchange money here on the ground in China - doesn't include airports in China. Go to a bank, you will definitely get the best rates.

Oh yes! Taobao is another good place to get this done. For Hong Kong it is easy, but Taiwan can still be a challenge. Apparently, from what I understand, if your hukou is from one of the provincial capitals or Beijing/Chongqing/Shanghai/Tianjin, you can get the same entry/exit permit for Taiwan to travel on your own. However, if you're from anywhere else, you can only go to Taiwan as part of a tour group/travel group. Late this fall we were planning a potential trip to Taiwan, but lately we've hit this snag. It appears there could be a way around this (first go to Hong Kong, and then get the entry/exit permit for Taiwan there.....?), but, we're not sure, and still trying to see if there will be a way for us to go together - oh, and we don't want to go as part of a travel group, so that's not an option. My lady is from a third tier city in Sichuan, so, no provincial capital benefits for us..........

Yes, you can get the entry/exit permit from your local PSB. If your wife has been to Hong Kong before and she already has the "little permit booklet," near the border crossing between Shenzhen/Hong Kong there are dozens of little tourist agencies that can extend your wife's permit for like RMB 50, and you don't need to go back to your wife's hometown (if that is inconvenient) to extend it there in person. I think these agencies basically add you to a tourist group but in reality you're just going in to Hong Kong to sight-see by yourself..........but, not exactly sure..........

If I remember correctly, a few friends of mine used GI2C (Get Into China) for their visa services and did not have any problems - not sure if the company still offers these visa services or not.............

A couple months ago a bought a year of medical insurance from this place for while I'm living in China - actually, the package I bought covers me for anywhere in the world except in the US, so it's good if I'm traveling or whatnot. I just have it for 'what if' scenarios, and haven't had to put it to the test yet, but it seems to have the coverage I could possibly require and their customer service has been spot on in answering questions and in all dealings with them. At the same time, would love to hear about any other insurance options people are using. http://www.pacificprime.com/

Amen, Dan!!! And what an adventure Chinartucky is....every time. For years I had been flying around the states and down under teaching classes for the company I worked for. As many as 30 take off and landings in any given month. The routine of civilian flying was old hat, but man, did I cherish the adventure of walking out into the crowd in Beijing airport, looking to see if any lil' Chinar girl had a paper with my name on it. It was a long walk down the fenced que from customs to the onlookers....lil' rabbit took her time and literally stood at the very end. I had no clue what she looked like, but she knew the very clothes I'd be wearin' and that I'd have my ol' Aussie hat on. We laugh now about her standing at the very end....yep, it gave her time to cut n' run if I didn't measure up,. I'd never have known she was there. My last "roller coaster ride" was in the Fishhook area of SE Cambodia, back yonder in 19 and 71. A nice, and quaintly pleasant,successful ride from 500 feet up, down into 2 feet of water in a rice paddy. My door gunners complained that I didn't sit the burnin' hulk closer to the rice paddy dike. Man, those guys were tough...and down right picky too. My last roller coaster ride in the states was maybe in 1962. The one at Coney Island. I swore I'd never get onto another roller coaster in my life. Waiting for your book someday with all your adventures documented!!

I absolutely hate roller coasters as well! Actually, I hate flying too. The first time I came to China (in 2005 to study) was my first time on a plane. I was absolutely horrified, I didn't think I was going to survive the plane trip. Because this is what was occupying my mind, I really didn't even consider the culture shock, language barrier, etc. After I survived the flight and stepped out of the terminal in a strange land and not knowing a single soul, I realized that's when the adventure actually was about to officially begin......

Awesome update! Although we never really talked before, loved hearing how marriage and adjusting to life back in the US has been going for you guys. Best of luck!!

PoXi guanxi, extremely scary and has ruined more than a couple of my friend's marriages. Like anything, in the ideal situation, a great thing. However, in many of my Chinese-Chinese friend's marriages, this often becomes the topic of conversation, and, well, I should probably just keep my mouth shut........the only word that comes to mind is "self-fish." Ever heard the Chinese saying: Truth only comes after being drunk? I have no doubt living with Po Po (mother in law) is the hardest thing for any women. We have problems just living day to day with our husbands, not to mention another competitor Hahaha, amen! Haven't had a chance to tell you yet, but, welcome to the board!

Passed this along to my lady!

PoXi guanxi, extremely scary and has ruined more than a couple of my friend's marriages. Like anything, in the ideal situation, a great thing. However, in many of my Chinese-Chinese friend's marriages, this often becomes the topic of conversation, and, well, I should probably just keep my mouth shut........the only word that comes to mind is "self-fish." Ahhhh, no real recollection of this - that's what I get for coming on Candle after more than a few beers ............

PoXi guanxi, extremely scary and has ruined more than a couple of my friend's marriages. Like anything, in the ideal situation, a great thing. However, in many of my Chinese-Chinese friend's marriages, this often becomes the topic of conversation, and, well, I should probably just keep my mouth shut........the only word that comes to mind is "self-fish."

True, but I think most people would be able to recognize Mandarin Chinese, even if they speak a local dialect on a daily basis, or their own spoken Mandarin is not as clear when compared to their own dialect. I'm sure you spoke it clearly, and it is not a language problem, but maybe a "skin color" problem. Some of my American-Chinese friends here in China speak little or no Chinese, but if we go to a restaurant and I say something in Chinese to a waiter, the waiter will act as if I'm speaking Swahili. Then the waiter looks at my American-Chinese friends, one of them says the same exact thing, but in a more sputtered-unclear way, and it all makes perfect sense to the waiter. I'm guessing this could be what you encountered, because they just assumed you couldn't speak any Chinese whatsoever, and when you starting spitting things out, they were just flabbergasted! hahaha But, ehhhh, I don't know.......... My husband went to a Chinese restaurant all by himself to test his hard work on learning Chinese. He called the waitress: fu wu yuan She came. He said: I want la ji. (spicy chicken) She was shocked: Garbage?!! The first time I got to China in 2005, I was lost and about as helpless as it gets. My program set me up with an apartment (and helped me apply for my university Chinese classes). As I was getting lost every time I stepped more than 500 feet from my apartment, all I could eat for the first week was chips and cookies from the small corner shop right below my apartment. After 7 days I finally mustered up the courage to go to a restaurant (at that time I still didn't have any classmates or friends or anybody), I ordered 口水鸡 (cold chicken dish) and rice. I ordered the chicken after looking at the menu and only recognizing the character for chicken, ahhhh, chicken and rice, can't go wrong with that......little did I know that this was a cold dish - chicken with blood remnants and, well, cold chicken!! I ate my rice and left the chicken, and ran back to my apartment thinking what was wrong with this country I found myself in. Who would have thought, almost 10 years and many dinners later, 口水鸡 is something I enjoy when it is ordered. How far I've come..........

Jealous.....enjoy!!

I have the same question! If you have the newest version of WeChat, there is the option to email conversation logs, so, you can just email the conversation log to yourself. However, that only includes written out text messages, and not pictures or voice messages, etc. Apparently there is a way you can save this information if you have your phone connected to your computer, but I too have not had much luck....... ......any help?

Great write-up, saved!!

Nice!

Often buy this myself as well!