Visiting China–Yes, You Need a Visa!
The lure of China wasn’t a burning quest for Raphael and me, but we knew we couldn’t ignore this monstrosity of a country, and we needed to go while we were still ambulatory. So, we signed up for a Viking Tour. Half of the destinations were land hotels in major cities and half a Yangtze River cruise.
We got a lot of street cred when we told friends we were going on a Viking Tour to China because many thought we were saying biking tour of China. I think we purposely didn’t correct everyone just for the sheer respect and admiration we received. We chose Viking’s Imperial Jewels of China: Beijing to Shanghai. We opted out of the add on to Tibet and later found out from those who went they either absolutely loved it, or they were confined to their room on oxygen due to the altitude. China was daunting in that we don’t speak tonal languages, don’t know the culture, and it’s also huge. Viking was the perfect host to navigate these issues.
About 5 weeks before the trip, Raphael mused, “Do we need a visa for China?” My thinking was they probably provide visas at the airport like most countries. After we called Viking, we found out we DID need visas. We went through Gen Visa and a complicated process it was. Many instructions, some confusing, like “Please type the answer in capital English letters” followed by the instruction “You are not required to use only CAPITAL letters—you can use both.” The necessary photos had many restrictions: no smiling, no eyeglasses, very little border around our faces, neck up. We ended up looking like criminals from a most-wanted flyer in the post office and having to pay extra to expedite our visas. The lesson learned: always check the visa requirements for each country.
Read next China entry: We Never Wanted to Go to Beijing!
