Editing ChinaTripPreparations

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= How to purchase an airplane ticket for $694 (if there are any of these remaining) =

''If you want to go on this trip, I would recommend buying your airplane ticket ASAP'', since these cheap seats might not be available after today.  Other seats may be available for $900 on other Airlines, such as Northwest Airlines.  But it would be nicer if we all flew in together to Shanghai on the same plane.

(as of 9/25, cost for these flights now $793 [[User:Jtfoote|Jtfoote]] 11:58, 25 September 2009 (PDT)) 

Here is the itinerary for my $693.50 ticket:&lt;br&gt;
'''Leave SFO''':  Tuesday, October 20, 2009, 1:15pm&lt;br&gt;
'''Arrive Shanghai (PVG)''':  Wednesday October 21, 8:55pm&lt;br&gt;
&lt;br&gt;
'''Leave Beijing (PEK)''':  Tuesday, November 3, 2009, 11:55am&lt;br&gt;
'''Arrive SFO''': Tuesday, November 3, 10:00am&lt;br&gt;
&lt;br&gt;
'''''NOTE''':  we arrive in '''Shanghai''', but return from '''Beijing'''''

(as of 9/25, cost for these flights now $793 J [[User:Jtfoote|Jtfoote]] 11:58, 25 September 2009 (PDT)) 

== Here's how Mitch got his plane tickets for $693.50: ==
* go to [http://www.kayak.com/ Kayak.com] 
* Click on the &quot;Multi-city&quot; radio-button.
* Fill in the first two lines like this:
** From:  SFO     To:  PVG     Leave:  10/20/09     Time:  Anytime
** From:  PEK     To:  SFO     Leave:  11/03/09     Time:  Anytime
* Click the &quot;Search&quot; button.
* If cheap seats are still available, the first item on the resulting screen (after a few false screens are possibly displayed first) will be the flight from Asiana Airlines for '''$694'''.
* Click on &quot;'''select'''&quot;, which is underneath &quot;$694&quot;.  You can use Orbitz or CheapTickets or Expedia to purchase the tickets (Kayak does not charge anything).  I used CheapTickets.  Click the &quot;'''Go'''&quot; button.
* You are redirected to the site of your choice, where you can purchase the ticket.

=== Orbitz spake thusly to [[user:cmaier | Christoph]]: ===

(as of 9/25, cost for these flights now $793 [[User:Jtfoote|Jtfoote]] 11:56, 25 September 2009 (PDT))

;Total flight cost:  	 $731.64 USD ''(oops, didn't pay attention and didn't unclick some sort of insurance)''
;Flight 1: Tuesday, October 20, 2009
:Asiana Airlines 213 Economy  |  Boeing 777 (777) |  12hr 10min |  5639 miles
:;Depart: 	1:15pm 	San Francisco, CA San Francisco International (SFO)
:;Arrive: 	5:25pm 	Seoul, Korea, Rep. of Seoul Incheon International (ICN)
:Your flight is confirmed. The airline is assigning seats at check-in    
:Change planes. Time between flights: 2hr 35min
:Asiana Airlines 367 Economy  |  Airbus Industrie A321 (321) |  1hr 55min |  522 miles
:;Depart: 	8:00pm 	Seoul, Korea, Rep. of Seoul Incheon International (ICN)
:;Arrive: 	8:55pm 	Shanghai, China Shanghai PuDong (PVG)
:Your flight is confirmed. The airline is assigning seats at check-in    
:This is an overnight flight.
:Total duration: 16hr 40min | Total miles: 6161 miles
;Flight 2: Tuesday, November 3, 2009
:Asiana Airlines 334 Economy  |  Boeing 777 (777) |  2hr 5min |  567 miles
:;Depart: 	11:55am 	Beijing, China Beijing Capital (PEK)
:;Arrive: 	3:00pm 	Seoul, Korea, Rep. of Seoul Incheon International (ICN)
:Your flight is confirmed. The airline is assigning seats at check-in    
:Change planes. Time between flights: 1hr 45min
:Asiana Airlines 214 Economy  |  Boeing 777 (777) |  10hr 15min |  5639 miles
:;Depart: 	4:45pm 	Seoul, Korea, Rep. of Seoul Incheon International (ICN)
:;Arrive: 	10:00am 	San Francisco, CA San Francisco International (SFO)
:Your flight is confirmed. The airline is assigning seats at check-in    
:This flight departs from a different airport.
:Total duration: 14hr 5min | Total miles: 6206 miles

= How to get a visa for going to China =

== To go to China, you need to have a visa! ==

=== To get a visa, you need to have a passport. ===

Your passport needs to have at least 6 months before expiration.

=== Getting a visa from the [http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/ce/cgsf/eng/qianzhen/ San Francisco Consulate] ===

For this trip, a [http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/ce/cgsf/eng/qianzhen/zgqz/t48485.htm one time entry tourist visa] will do. (Make sure you say that you are going as a tourist, otherwise it is a pain!)

The [http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/ce/cgsf/eng/qianzhen/ Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in San Francisco] is at [http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/ce/cgsf/eng/about/t50487.htm Geary Expressway and Laguna]. 

If you have Simplified Chinese for Adobe Acrobat installed, you can download a [http://sanfrancisco.china-consulate.org/chn/qianzhen/t554559.htm form] from the Chinese consulate general website, and bring it in to their consulate office (If you don't have Simplified Chinese for Adobe Acrobat, the form won't print, but the consulate has paper versions of the form). 

They also want a ''real'' photograph for the form. A color printout on regular paper won't do. The consulate information desk person can take 4 passport photos for $10.

Their visa office is [http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/ce/cgsf/eng/qianzhen/t42285.htm a little uphill on Geary towards Geary Court]. When you walk in, you have to pass a metal detector, where you're checked for stuff like Swiss Army knives and digital cameras. 

You need to take a number (which isn't totally obvious), and when they call you, you walk up to the displayed teller window and give them your filled out paperwork (what you downloaded from their website or filled in while you were waiting) and your passport (which they keep for a while - the more you pay them, the shorter you have to wait, but it's at least one day), and you may also need to bring a printout for your plane ticket (seems to be optional, [[user:Cmaier | Christoph]] got his visa without the ticket). 

If you're a foreigner, they want a copy of your Green Card (or probably the other visa that will get you admitted back into the US and A). There's a photocopier in the office, for a quarter a copy. 

You go back some days later, and they give you your passport with the visa pasted in, after you [http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/ce/cgsf/eng/qianzhen/t535529.htm pay them] [http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/ce/cgsf/eng/qianzhen/t580026.htm with check or credit card, '''no cash''']. You don't even have to pick a number this time.

Their hours are usually [http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/ce/cgsf/eng/qianzhen/t42285.htm weekdays 9-12, 13-15], but they have some [http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/ce/cgsf/eng/qianzhen/t527658.htm non-obvious holidays (for 2009)], so check them out on the website. 

Again, be sure to apply for a single entry tourist visa. Other visa are more expensive and more painful to get.