I have colleagues who have been unable to return to China for over a year due to cancelled flights etc.
Does anyone have any experience with travel to China?
Could they transit through another country?
Drive a car?

Any help is appreciated.

Apollo91881 wrote: ↑Fri Feb 18, 2022 10:56 am I have colleagues who have been unable to return to China for over a year due to cancelled flights etc.
Does anyone have any experience with travel to China?
Could they transit through another country?
Drive a car?

Any help is appreciated.

I have made 3 trips to mainland China since borders closed. It’s been a massive shitshow and it has gotten even worsen recently.
Currently, one needs a “PU letter” from an employer, your own company or organization, which in turn needs to be approved by the local gov office of the place you intent to travel to before you can even apply for a visa. If you don’t work for some influential company or are deemed an inessential staff, your chance of getting either are very slim.
If you do manage to get approved, its then the issue of finding flights. Very slim pickings and not cheap. You then have to spend 2+1 or 3 weeks in a QT hotel (depends on location), assigned by the gov. There are options to upgrade but most are shit.

If you have all docs, you can theoretically drive from HK to Shenzhen but getting to HK atm is near impossible (95% of flights are banned) and also involves another 2 week QT which does not count towards the one you need to do on the mainland. So flying directly into China is the 2nd best option. The by far best option is to not go at all.

Is this for Chinese expats here, or other nationalities trying to get into China? If the former, we need to find a fix ASAP.

I know two people who have returned to China during the pandemic, they were only able to because they still held valid resdence permits. Both flew from the US, I don't know if they had to go via somewhere else first.

Like theKid said above, if you have a company with good connections helping you it's technically doable, for most though the borders are effectively closed.

To clarify, these are Chinese Nationals who are on expat assignments here in Cambodia.

Spigzy wrote: ↑Fri Feb 18, 2022 12:01 pm Is this for Chinese expats here, or other nationalities trying to get into China? If the former, we need to find a fix ASAP.

I have been reading for a longtime that there are many Chinese people traveling from China via land borders of Vietnam and Cambodia with the final destination for work being Sihanoukville.

AndyKK wrote: ↑Fri Feb 18, 2022 1:28 pm

Spigzy wrote: ↑Fri Feb 18, 2022 12:01 pm Is this for Chinese expats here, or other nationalities trying to get into China? If the former, we need to find a fix ASAP.

I have been reading for a longtime that there are many Chinese people traveling from China via land borders of Vietnam and Cambodia with the final destination for work being Sihanoukville.

Vietnam has been damn near very impossible to get in, even for many Vietnamese. My ex's family (being Vietnamese) have not been back since 2019, and they used to travel almost every month, sometimes twice a month to visit family.

I personally have a hard time believing random Chinese are transiting through given how strict I've heard border controls and immigration is up in Hanoi.

AE86 wrote: ↑Fri Feb 18, 2022 3:42 pm

AndyKK wrote: ↑Fri Feb 18, 2022 1:28 pm

Spigzy wrote: ↑Fri Feb 18, 2022 12:01 pm Is this for Chinese expats here, or other nationalities trying to get into China? If the former, we need to find a fix ASAP.

I have been reading for a longtime that there are many Chinese people traveling from China via land borders of Vietnam and Cambodia with the final destination for work being Sihanoukville.

Vietnam has been damn near very impossible to get in, even for many Vietnamese. My ex's family (being Vietnamese) have not been back since 2019, and they used to travel almost every month, sometimes twice a month to visit family.

I personally have a hard time believing random Chinese are transiting through given how strict I've heard border controls and immigration is up in Hanoi.

Andy is referring to informal entries

nemo wrote: ↑Fri Feb 18, 2022 3:57 pm

AE86 wrote: ↑Fri Feb 18, 2022 3:42 pm Vietnam has been damn near very impossible to get in, even for many Vietnamese. My ex's family (being Vietnamese) have not been back since 2019, and they used to travel almost every month, sometimes twice a month to visit family.

I personally have a hard time believing random Chinese are transiting through given how strict I've heard border controls and immigration is up in Hanoi.

Andy is referring to informal entries

I know.

Hanoi was on a fairly extreme lockdown, as was HCMC, and police were stopping people everywhere all the time in broad daylight and often times preventing people from leaving their houses or opening any kind of business in many districts (family members included). So given the severity of the police presence it would seem rather unattractive for those trying to bumble their way to SHV to do so through Vietnam as opposed somewhere like Laos in my view, given the relative lack of borders up north and much heavier Chinese presence there.

Just my view.

AndyKK wrote: ↑Fri Feb 18, 2022 1:28 pm

Spigzy wrote: ↑Fri Feb 18, 2022 12:01 pm Is this for Chinese expats here, or other nationalities trying to get into China? If the former, we need to find a fix ASAP.

I have been reading for a longtime that there are many Chinese people traveling from China via land borders of Vietnam and Cambodia with the final destination for work being Sihanoukville.

There are also Chinese expats whom win free flights home.

To clarify, these are Chinese Nationals who are on expat assignments here in Cambodia.

Could they transit through another country?
Drive a car?

No