Leaving China to Renew my Visa Entry Stamp

I now have a multiple entry, ten year ‘M’ type business visa with a sixty day stay. This means that for the next ten years, I can come and go as I please, to and from China as often as I wish and conduct business, as long as I do not stay any longer than sixty days each time I visit.

I have seen people with thirty day stays on their visas who are like me and want to continue exploring what China has to offer but do not have the money to spend on airfare to fly back to their motherland or some other country just to turn around and come right back to China.

Unless you have business to do in other countries and you are making a good deal of money doing so, I suggest that you simply take a weekend off just before your entry stamp expires and go to Hong Kong or Macao.

Both of these places are as close to China as you can get yet are not a part of mainland China. Crossing over to Hong Kong or Macao from China will give you that departure stamp. And it’s easier and less expensive than you think. I’ll explain the process of how I turn a hassle, into a mini vacation.

Every sixty days or before, I have to leave China. And as I leave China and pass through the immigration checkpoint, my visa gets stamped with the date of my departure. This is called a departure stamp.

As long as I leave the country before the sixty days has lapsed and go through the checkpoint and get my visa stamped, I’m good. I can virtually turn right around and go back through the checkpoint, get an entry stamp on my visa and stay another sixty days.

The immigration boarder police will look at my passport and visa, comparing my picture to my face, check their computer records to see if I ever overstayed my visit (Done once but that is another story) and if all checks out, will stamp my visa upon entry allowing me to stay another sixty days. A bit of a hassle but if I want to continue enjoying everything I am experiencing in China, this is what has to be done.

My previous two visa's were 180 day stay tourist ‘L’ type visas. Which meant that I had to get my departure stamp once every 180 days. That was fine when I was just here to travel around like a tourist. But for me things have changed. In my ventures I have decided to start conducting business here in China. Illegal on an ‘L’ type tourist visa. I needed a business visa.

My tourist visa was only good for one year. And it was already my second visa. To renew it, you have to actually return to the country you are a citizen of and reapply. It cannot be done from within China.

Luckily for me, just before my tourist visa expired, the law was changed allowing for ten year visas. So when my tourist visa expired, I flew back to the United States and applied for and received the business visa.

Now I am back in China and my entry stamp is about to expire. I have to get a departure stamp on my visa before it expires. I have decided to take a short mini vacation to Hong Kong. I currently live in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province. About an hour south of Hangzhou and about two hours south of Shanghai.

I could take a plane flight from Ningbo directly to Hong Kong. The airfare which at time of this writing would cost me anywhere from 565 yuan ($91.28), the cheapest to over 3000 yuan ($484.65). I would leave the Ningbo Lishe International Airport and fly to Hong Kong International Airport (succeeded Kai Tak Airport). The trip takes about 2 hours and 10 minutes. The taxi to the airport in Ningbo is about 120 yuan ($19.39).

But I have decided to take the high-speed train to Shenzhen. Starting out on the city bus which stops about two blocks from my house. The bus cost 3 yuan but if you have a bus card like I do, it will cost 1.8 yuan ($.49 or $.29 respectfully). The ride is about an hour long but it takes me directly to the front of the Ningbo High-speed railway station.

China’s High-Speed Railway System

I book my train tickets online at https://kyfw.12306.cn/otn/login/init because I have an account with the China’s railway system and my bank account is linked making it very easy for me to book tickets in advance. This way I just walk up to the ticket counter, show them my passport and the booking number in the text message from the railway service. They hand me my ticket and off I go.

Without an account, you will have to show them your passport and tell them that you would like a ticket to Shenzhen North Station (深圳北 pronounced Shēnzhèn běi). You might get lucky and get a teller that speaks a little English but don’t count on it. If you are traveling during any of the many holidays in China, there is a good chance you won’t be able to get a ticket for a train departing as soon as you would like.

That is another reason I like to book in advance. From time of arriving at the station to boarding my train might be no more than one hour. Whereas trying to purchase a ticket at the window you might find out that there isn’t another train to Shenzhen until the next day. You don’t want to spend the night in the train station.

The ticket from the Ningbo train station to Shenzhen North station cost me 388.5 yuan ($62.76). The only drawback with taking the train is the time it takes to get to Shenzhen. The train will travel at an average of about 200 kilometers per hour or 124 miles per hour. The trip on the train will take nine hours and nineteen minutes.

Entering the ticket check in the train station is fairly straight forward. You will stop at the checker where he or she will look at your ticket along with your passport, I.D. your face to be sure you are carrying your own ticket and confirm that you should enter.

You will then put your luggage on the conveyor belt to go through the x-ray and you yourself will walk through a metal detector to stand on a small platform while a railway authority swipes you over with a detection wand.

Look at your ticket. There are a few things that you should notice on it.

1. Towards the top left will show the year, month, day and time of your train departure.
2. The upper right will have the name of the station you purchased the ticket at.
3. Below that will be the number of the car you will ride in followed by the seat number. This is a two part designation. A number followed by a letter. The number is the row you will sit in and the letter is the actual seat. They are lettered A, B, C, D, F. A, B, C seats are on one side of the car and seats D and F are on the other side of the isle. Seats A and F are window seats.
4. Below this on the left is the departure station.
5. In the center is the train designation number.
6. And to the right of that is the destination station.
7. Printed below the departure station is the cost of your ticket.
8. Below that is your name and below that will show the first seven digits of your passport number.
9. To the right of that will be a letter, number combination. The number is the gate number your train will leave from and the letter will show what side of the station you should queue up on. Sometimes the trains are rather long. You do not want to queue up on the ‘A’ side of the station if you will be seated in car 15. Because when you get down to the train platform, you will have to walk all the way towards the other end of the platform to get to the car you are supposed to be sitting in.

 

Locate your departing gate. There will be large numbers over each of the passageways. You will know when they announce that it is time to queue up to board the train. They usually start about fifteen minutes before the train is scheduled to leave.

Insert your train ticket facing up with the arrow (printed just below your train designation number) pointing towards the slot of the turnstile. It will be sucked up then spit out at the top of the turnstile as the gate opens. Grab your ticket. You will need it again to exit the train station upon your arrival.

Proceed down the escalator to the train platform. On the platform you will see numbers painted on the ground near the edge of the platform. These are the numbers to where each car will be located when the train stops.

The smaller numbers on each side of the larger number with arrows pointing in opposite directions designates in which direction the seats are numbered. An arrow pointing to the left with the number one next to it designates that the first row is towards the left end of the car. An arrow pointing to the right with the number sixteen next to it designates that the last row of seats are towards the right end of the car as you enter it.

The ride on the train is smooth but not quiet. The train itself is quiet since it is electric but the noise you will mostly hear will be from the passengers. Many Chinese people I find when they get on their cellphone to talk to someone will start talking in a shouting voice. I often wonder why they need a cellphone when they are talking loud enough for that person to hear them without the phone.

A lot of the trip will be going through hilly terrain so quite a bit of it is in tunnels burrowed through the mountain sides. Otherwise, you will see a lot of what China really looks like.

Different types of buildings and landscapes, from factories to the shanty shack to the flooded fields of rice crops with the outline of the mountain ridges in the background and everything in between.

While on the train you will notice that a stewardess comes past every so often with a cart of beverages and snacks for sale. They even sell popped popcorn, Häagen-Dazs ice cream and beer. Around noon they will come by with hot trays of prepared meals like they do on the airplane. But all of this does not come with the price of the ticket. You pay separate for any of this.

The Metro to Futian Checkpoint

You finally reach Shenzhen North Railway Station and this is where your adventure really begins. When exiting the train, just follow the crowd to the turnstiles. Insert your train ticket facing up with the arrow pointing towards the slot in the front of the turnstile. It will be sucked up then spit out at the top of the turnstile as the gate opens. Grab you ticket and head towards exit ‘A1”. All the signage will be in duel language from here on. Both Chinese and English.

Head down the stairs to the Metro.  You will enter on the Longhua Line, “Red, Line 4”. Towards the left is the security check. Straight back and towards the right is the ATM token machines.

Walk over to the token ATM first. You will purchase a token to the Futian Checkpoint. This will cost you 4 yuan ($.63). The machines take only coins or 5 and 10 yuan paper money. The machine will only take 20’s and 50’s if the fare comes to more than 30 yuan. If you do not have anything smaller than a twenty, go to the service desk. You can purchase a token there.

When you have your token go to the turnstile. Swipe the token over the top of the gate sensor for it to be read. Hold on to the token. You will need it to exit the station.

Follow around and down the stairs to the train platform. Follow the signs that steer you towards the Futian Checkpoint.

The ride on this train is short. The entire journey from the Shenzhen high-speed railway system to the Futian Checkpoint takes about thirty minutes. You can’t miss your stop. It is the last stop on this line. Exit the train and follow the crowd. Deposit your token in the turnstile slot. Follow the signs that read China Immigration Checkpoint.

China Immigration Checkpoint

Here you will fill out a departure card. There are two halves to this card. The left half is the departure card. The right half is the arrival card. You might as well fill out both halves because you will use the arrival card when you return to China.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now you are ready to go through the China Immigration Inspection. Hand them your passport and the departure card. The immigration boarder police will look at your passport and visa, comparing your picture to your face, check their computer records to see if you ever overstayed your visit and if all checks out, will stamp your visa. You have now left China.

Crossing Over into Hong Kong

Again follow the signs that point to Hong Kong. You will walk across a long enclosed foot bridge over a small river. You will see Hong Kong in front of you and China behind you. Continue along the bridge until you arrive at the Hong Kong Checkpoint.

There are many places along this route where you can exchange currency. You will need Hong Kong Dollars before you get to the train station on the Hong Kong side of the bridge. At the time of this writing, Hong Kong Dollars are 1.25 to every 1 yuan. Or .80 yuan for every 1 HKD and 1 HKD equals $.13 USD. So $1.00 USD is equal to 7.75 HKD.

When you get to the Hong Kong side of the bridge, the crowd will split up. Chinese Nationals and Foreigners. Of course you will go to the line that reads Foreigners. Fill out the “IMMIGRATION DEPARTMENT HONG KONG ARRIVAL CARD”. It is s two part card that has the departure card as the second sheet.

The Inspector will look at your passport and Arrival Card. He will stamp the card and take the top copy giving back the rest which is the Departure Card along with a Landing Slip. It is used in lieu of stamping your passport. Keep the Hong Kong Departure Card and the Landing Slip on you at all times while you are in Hong Kong. It will allow you to remain in Hong Kong for ninety days.

 

MTR Subway to Your Hotel

Now that you are in Hong Kong, you are ready to go to your hotel. On this trip I booked a double room at the Season Hotel. Don’t be fooled by the designation “double”. That just means it has a bed in it that is considered to sleep two people.

The Season Hotel is a good centralized location. Next to Kowloon Park, two blocks from the MTR subway system. To get there from the Hong Kong Checkpoint locate the ticket ATM. By this time you have already exchanged your currency to HKD.

The ticket vending machine is multilingual. Purchase a ticket to East Tsim Sha Tsui. This will cost HKD41. Follow the signs to the “East Rail Line”. It is the light blue colored line number 4 to Hong Hom Track 2. Don’t worry about getting on the wrong train. It only heads in one direction because this is the start/finish of this line.

You will ride this train the entire length of its journey. All the way to Hong Hom. At Hong Hom, you will get off the train, walk across the platform and get on the light purple West Rail Line. Ride one stop and get off at the East Tsim Sha Tsui exit.

Finding the Hotel

Go to the ticket turnstile and insert your ticket in the slot provided. You will not get it back. The gate will open and you will look for exit ‘A’ Kowloon Park. Walk up the stairs to the surface street. This is called Nathan Road. Go to the right.

Turn right at the first corner on Haiphong Road. Go one block and turn left onto Lock Road. The hotel is about one third the way down this block on the right. At the time of this writing, the hotel is the entrance just to the right of the 7/11 store entrance.

There are no signs designating the hotel. It is door number 23. You go in and take the old elevator to the fifth floor. Get off and look to the right. That door is the entrance to the hotels reservation counter but the rooms are located on the fourth floor. Knock on this door and someone will answer. The staff here speaks English.

If you want to spend a lot of money, there are a lot of hotels you can choose from. I am traveling alone on this trip and I don’t need something luxurious. A place to shower and a simple bed will do. But I don’t want to share a dormitory with other people that I do not know so I won’t stay at a hostel.

If you are not spending a lot of money, expect the hotel room to be very small. On average a single room will be no more than 100 square feet. That is including the bathroom.

I won’t go into detail about the room or this hotel. It was a decent place to stay for a couple of days. If you are interested, you can read my review on TripAdvisor.

The Return Back to China

On the return trip, go back down to the subway and purchase your ticket to Lok Ma Chau (Futian Checkpoint) Light Blue Line Number 4. You will start on the light purple “West Rail Line”. Take the train towards Hong Hom one stop. Do not get on the train headed towards Tuen Mun.

Get off at Hong Hom, cross the platform and get on the “East Rail Line" Light Blue Number 4 train headed to Lok Ma Chau (Futian Checkpoint). There are two trains on this line. One will go to Lok Ma Chau and the other one will go to Lo Wu. They arrive alternately.

If you happen to get on the wrong one, do not worry. The next to the last stop on the Lo Wu train allows you to get off and wait for the next train which will be the Lok Ma Chau train to the Futian Checkpoint.

At the end of the line, you will exit the train and go through the turnstile. At this point you will notice currency exchange booths. Don’t forget to change your currency from the Hong Kong Dollars back to Renminbi the Chinese currency yuan.

Follow the signs to the Futian Port Checkpoint. At this point you will need to fill out the Immigration Department Hong Kong Departure Card. Get on line for Foreigners, not the line for Chinese Nationals.

Hand the Inspector your Passport and the Departure Card. He will check it, stamp the Departure Card and take the top copy giving you back the rest. You may now proceed across the enclosed foot bridge back to China.

China Immigration Inspection

Once you crossed over and are on the China side of the bridge, look for the counter with the Departure/Arrival Cards if you lost or misplaced the one you filled out on your way to Hong Kong.

Be sure you have this in hand along with your passport. Get on line ‘A’ for foreigners. At the window, the immigration boarder police will look at your passport and visa, comparing your picture to your face, check their computer records to see if you ever violated any of their laws in the past and if all checks out, will stamp your visa. You will then put your luggage on the conveyor belt to go through its scan while you walk through the metal detector yourself. Pick up your luggage and follow the signs towards the Metro.

The High-Speed Rail Back to Ningbo

Go to the ticket vending machine and purchase your ticket back to the Shenzhen North Railway Station on the “Longhua Line” Red Number 4 line. This will cost 4 yuan ($.65).

At the ninth stop get off at “Shenzhen North Station”. Go downstairs and locate exit ‘C’. When you get in the station go to area ‘A2’. There will be the ticket windows for the High-Speed rail. Purchase your ticket back to whatever city you are living in in China.

At this point it has been two and a half hours from when you entered the East Tsim Sha Tsui station. This traveling time may vary according to what time of the day or holiday you might be traveling.

Since I was not sure when I would actually be back at this station, I didn’t pre-purchase a ticket. As I mentioned before, pre-purchasing your ticket is a good idea because you never know if you will be able to get on the next train or not.

I just happened to be doing this trip during one of China’s holidays so of course the trains are packed. I found out that the next available train I could catch back to Ningbo would be eight o’clock the next morning. It was now just noon.

What did I do?

That is another story.