Can we pickup the visa from the consulate?

[JIALIandTOM]

Does anyone know if you can pickup the visa at Guz instead of having them mail it to her house? We will be staying in Gz and be leaving from Hong Kong to go back to the states as soon as we have the visa in hand. I have to get back to work before they fire me.

By the way does anyone else think its a good idea to fly in and out of Hong Kong to get to GZ? You can go nonstop and it seems a little cheaper. The high speed train between HK and Gz is only about an hour and a half.

[dnoblett]

Nope, there is no pick-up, they can send it to a post office not far from the consulate where you can pick it up.

 

See Map:

 

http://i949.photobucket.com/albums/ad334/dnoblett/Immigration%20Stuff/GUZConsulateArea.jpg

 

They will mail to the China post office noted at the bottom right of the map if you wish to pick up in the counselor area.

Also note on the map the Citic Bank, this is where you will pay the $350 visa processing fee.

 

Many do use HK as an entry/exit point for south China, it is also convenient for cases where you plan on getting the mainland visitors visa in HK instead of dealing with a visa service or visiting the Chinese consulate in the states for this.

Edited June 8, 2011 by dnoblett (see edit history)

[bergamot]

You may choose to (1) pick up your visa or (2) have it delivered to you. The China Post will provide mail service to applicants from within Guangdong province as well as those from the city of Beijing, Shanghai, Fuzhou, Changle, Nanjing, Wenzhou, Tianjin, Shenyang and Changchun. Applicants from outside these areas should arrange to pick up their visas at the Junyuan Post Office (directions to this post office will be provided to you by the China Post service counter).

[David11]

Once your visa has been approved, you will need to make arrangements with China Post to either pick up or have your visa mailed to you (but please note--this service is currently only an option if you live in Guangdong Province or in the city of Beijing, Shanghai, Fuzhou, Changle, Nanjing, Wenzhou, Tianjin, Shenyang and Changchun). Passports are typically available for pick-up within 3 business days after the interview.

 

http://guangzhou.usembassy-china.org.cn/iv_faqs.html#A1

 

You cannot pick up the visa from the consulate but rather pick it up from a China Post office located about 5 minutes by taxi from the consulate.

 

HK does have more flight options directly to the USA than does GUZ, but that doesn't make it by default cheaper (and sometimes not shorter either) - it completely depends on where you are going and when you book your ticket. I just checked a random date for a one way flight to my home airport (Pittsburgh) and leaving from GUZ is actually cheaper than HK. The trip from GUZ is indeed an hour longer than from HK but they have the same number of connections and if you factor in the time to get to HK, GUZ is faster for me. The only way to make HK the faster trip home for me is to remove one of the connections which increases the already more expensive ticket price by about 40%.

 

It's nice to have HK as an option though and that's great if it works better for you. It's just personal preference maybe, but the prospect of hauling all of my luggage (I lived in China though) and my wife's luggage into a vehicle (or three), through a train station, onto a train, through PRC mainland customs departures, through HK immigration, through HK customs arrivals, through HK customs departures, and getting all the exit/entry/exit stamps along the way sounds like more of a hassle to me than just making an extra connection somewhere.

 

Whoops, I took so long to write that out that a couple folks beat me to it!

Edited June 8, 2011 by David11 (see edit history)

[Randy W]

 

. . .

 

HK does have more flight options directly to the USA than does GUZ, but that doesn't make it by default cheaper (and sometimes not shorter either) - it completely depends on where you are going and when you book your ticket. I just checked a random date for a one way flight to my home airport (Pittsburgh) and leaving from GUZ is actually cheaper than HK. The trip from GUZ is indeed an hour longer than from HK but they have the same number of connections and if you factor in the time to get to HK, GUZ is faster for me. The only way to make HK the faster trip home for me is to remove one of the connections which increases the already more expensive ticket price by about 40%.

 

 

. . .

 

 

 

 

 

Don't overlook going through Beijing, which is actually closer to most of the eastern half of the US than Guangzhou or Hong Kong. Beijing also tends to have better connections within China. Of course, depending on where you're coming from in China.

[Eric]

By the way does anyone else think its a good idea to fly in and out of Hong Kong to get to GZ? You can go nonstop and it seems a little cheaper. The high speed train between HK and Gz is only about an hour and a half.

 

 

I have taken this option several times myself as flying into HK is usually much less expensive than flying into GUZ for me (all depends on where you will be flying from though). The train between HK and GUZ is a good and inexpensive option (~$25US) and is easy to do. There are 12 trains a day that run the HK-GUZ route so you should be able to find one that fits into your schedule. One thing to note though - the trains on this route are not actually high speed trains and the travel time is closer to 2 hours. But the good thing is that the trains arrive at the Guangzhou East railway station which is only a few minutes walk from the consulate.

Edited June 8, 2011 by Eric (see edit history)

[dnoblett]

Don't overlook going through Beijing, which is actually closer to most of the eastern half of the US than Guangzhou or Hong Kong. Beijing also tends to have better connections within China. Of course, depending on where you're coming from in China.

 

True! Or even flights into Shanghai or Tokyo with connecting flights to Guangzhou.

 

Past trips to China had me flying direct from Chicago to Shanghai then connecting to points in southern China like Guilin or Guangzhou.

 

One time it was North West, now Delta from Detroit to Tokyo then to Guangzhou.

[Beachey]

Don't overlook going through Beijing, which is actually closer to most of the eastern half of the US than Guangzhou or Hong Kong. Beijing also tends to have better connections within China. Of course, depending on where you're coming from in China.

 

True! Or even flights into Shanghai or Tokyo with connecting flights to Guangzhou.

 

Past trips to China had me flying direct from Chicago to Shanghai then connecting to points in southern China like Guilin or Guangzhou.

 

One time it was North West, now Delta from Detroit to Tokyo then to Guangzhou.

 

 

I am a fan of flying though Seoul. China Southern has flights to most of the bigger Chinese cities direct. One advantage is customs tends to be much easier to navigate than in Beijing. Also Shanghai has two aiports so make sure you are flying in and out of the same one unless are getting a deal than make sure you have enough time to make the connection.

 

Also if flying into Beijing, try to makes sure your connection leaves Terminal 3 (where your International flight will come into). Transferring to Terminal 1 or 2 is a bit of a hassle and confusing if you have never done it.

[NickF]

 

. . .

 

HK does have more flight options directly to the USA than does GUZ, but that doesn't make it by default cheaper (and sometimes not shorter either) - it completely depends on where you are going and when you book your ticket. I just checked a random date for a one way flight to my home airport (Pittsburgh) and leaving from GUZ is actually cheaper than HK. The trip from GUZ is indeed an hour longer than from HK but they have the same number of connections and if you factor in the time to get to HK, GUZ is faster for me. The only way to make HK the faster trip home for me is to remove one of the connections which increases the already more expensive ticket price by about 40%.

 

 

. . .

 

 

 

 

 

Don't overlook going through Beijing, which is actually closer to most of the eastern half of the US than Guangzhou or Hong Kong. Beijing also tends to have better connections within China. Of course, depending on where you're coming from in China.

 

My advice is don't fly through Beijing. Did that 2 weeks ago and the flight from Nanning arrived 10 minutes too late to catch our flight to LAX. Bad dust storms from Mongolia closes the airport more often than they should. Had to spend an additional 20 hours before the next available flight out.

 

ChunMei's sister works for China Air Freight, and says that connections through Beijing should be avoided without a minimum of 4 hours between flights. That said, Beijing is a very nice airport, and China air was very good about getting us a hotel room and meals..

[Randy W]

 

Don't overlook going through Beijing, which is actually closer to most of the eastern half of the US than Guangzhou or Hong Kong. Beijing also tends to have better connections within China. Of course, depending on where you're coming from in China.

 

My advice is don't fly through Beijing. Did that 2 weeks ago and the flight from Nanning arrived 10 minutes too late to catch our flight to LAX. Bad dust storms from Mongolia closes the airport more often than they should. Had to spend an additional 20 hours before the next available flight out.

 

ChunMei's sister works for China Air Freight, and says that connections through Beijing should be avoided without a minimum of 4 hours between flights. That said, Beijing is a very nice airport, and China air was very good about getting us a hotel room and meals..

 

 

 

I flew through Hong Kong on the way to Nanning in January - layover time until the next flight to Nanning was about 20 hours. That was without any delays.

 

Keep your options open.

[NickF]

Randy, I flew to Nanning through Guangzhou. Had about 3 hour layover there. No problem because I'm familiar with the airport. Had breakfast, found a seat and read for a while. then caught my flight to Nanning.

 

It was the return trip through Beijing that was the journey through hell. Missed our LA/Denver flight by a day, the airplane broke, and had to fly standby. We got home 36 hours later than planned.

Edited June 9, 2011 by NickF (see edit history)