Visa. For the Vancouver office, go online to https://www.visaforchina.cn/YVR2_EN/. Go to Quick Access and fill out the visa application. Many questions but no downloads. When submitted, get a return airmail with the finished visa including the Confirmation Letter. Print off and sign.
1. In Canada, you must go to the Visa Service Centre (at 999 Broadway, Vancouver – 604 336 8888 9-3 daily) for fingerprints. Hours Mon-Fre: Drop off application 9-3, pick up visa 9-4. Processing time 4 business days. Rapid processing $100 in 2 business days.
2. Printed Confirmation Letter and Visa Application
3. Either a Letter of Invitation (download form on the website) or Flight and accommodation information.
4. Photo. The online application would not accept my photo (the background was too yellow) so I brought in a passport photo
5. Pay and come back 4 business days later to get your passport and visa
For me, this was rather onerous. I left home at 04:30 on Mon April 15, drove 110 km to BC Ferries at Departure Bay in Nanaimo, took the 06:15-07:55 ferry $20 to Horseshoe Bay, Bus 240 to Georgia, Canada Line to Broadway and bus to China Visa office. Returned the same way in the evening. Ferries were at and drove home arriving at .
6. I returned on Friday, April 19 (before my flight to St Vincent on April 20) to pick up my visa and sleep overnight in Vancouver.
CHINA – XINJIANG – WEST (Aksu, Hotan, Kashgar, Kizilsu)
HOTAN
Hotan (HTN)
Hotan Cultural Museum
Khotan Mosque
Khotan Sunday Market
DARE
China – Aksai Chin
Kizilsu Kyrgyz Autonomous Prefecture
Trans-Karakoram tract (Shaksgam Valley)
Airports: Aksu (AKU),
Castles, Palaces, Forts: Tashkurgan: Stone Fort
Vestiges of the Past: Niya Ruins
Markets: Kashgar Animal Market
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CHINA – XINJIANG – EAST (Turpan, Hami, Bayingolin, Kumul)
DARE Bayingolin Mongol
Tentative WHS: Xinjiang Yardang (30/01/2015)
Airports: Korla (KRL)
Railway, Metro, Funiculars, Cable Cars: Shangri-La Express
Archaeology and Anthropology Museums: Xinjiang – Ruoqiang: Loulan Museum
Vestiges of the Past: Gaochang Ruins
World of Nature
Altun Shan National Nature Reserve
Bayanbulag National Nature Reserve
Bosten Hu NP
Flaming Mountain Grand Canyon
Kumtag Shamo NP
Lop Nur Wild Camel National Nature Reserve
Caves, Sinkholes and Saltmines: Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves
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CHINA – QINGHAI – EAST (Haibei, Hainan, Huangnan, Xining)
DARE Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture
Tentative WHS: Qinghai Lake
Roads, Road Bridges and Tunnels: Tunnel – Qinghai – New Guanjiao Tunnel
Art Museums: Ledu district: Liuwan Museum of Ancient Painted Pottery is a ceramics museum with 37,925 objects, many from the Neolithic period from Liwan tombs.[1] It is the largest painted pottery museum in China.
World of Nature: Qinghaihu National Nature Reserve
XINING is the capital of Qinghai Province and the largest city on the Tibetan Plateau. The city was a commercial hub along the Northern Silk Road’s Hexi Corridor caravan route to Tibet for over 2000 years, and was a stronghold of the Han, Sui, Tang, and Song dynasties’ resistance against nomadic attacks from the west. It is of religious significance to Muslims and Buddhists (Dongguan Mosque and Ta’er Monastery).
It is connected by the Qinghai–Tibet railway to Lhasa, Tibet and connected by a high-speed railway to Lanzhou, Gansu and Ürümqi, Xinjiang.
History. It handled timber, wool and salt in ancient times. In the late 16th century, the Kumbum Monastery was built 19 km to the southeast, establishing Xining as an important religious center for the Gelug School of Buddhists.
A major 7.6 earthquake in 1927 resulted in 40,000 deaths. Aerial bombardment by the Japanese in 1941 spurred all ethnicities in Qinghai including the local Mongols and Tibetans, against the Japanese.
Economy. Woollen mills since before 1957, leather, salt from the Qaidam region and iron and steelworks.
Geography. Xining is in on the eastern edge of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau on the upper reaches of the Huangshui River at an altitude of 2,200 metres (7,200 ft). Xining was an important link in the Silk Road. between the Central Plains and the western part of China and continues to be an important rail and road link to the hinterlands of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau.
Climate. Xining has also been dubbed the Summer Resort Capital of China owing to its cool summer, with a borderline cold semi-arid climate. Nights are cold or cool throughout the year. Average temperatures range from −7.3 °C in January to 17.4 °C in July. Rainfall falls mainly from May to September. Snow cover is very sparse due to the dry winters.
Airports: Xining (XNN)
New Guanjiao Tunnel
Qinghai Province Museum
House and Biographical Museums: Ma Bufang Mansion
Kumbum Monastery
Qinghai Science and Technology Museum
Tibetan Medicine Museum of China
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CHINA – SICHUAN – EAST (Chengdu, Mianyang, Luzhou)
DARE Gulin county (Sichuan extreme southeast)
Tentative WHS: Heaven Pit and Ground Seam Scenic Spot (29/11/2001)|
NANCHONG
ZIGONG
CHENGDU
Railway, Metro, Funiculars, Cable Cars: Chengdu: Anren Tram (Heritage Tram)
History, Culture, National and City Museums: Chengdu: Jianchuan Museum Cluster
Archaeology and Anthropology Museums: Chengdu: Sanxingdui Museum
Science, Technology and all Industry and Mining Museums: Chengdu: Sichuan Science and Technology Museum
Vehicle Museums: Chengdu: Sanhe Classic Car Museum
Botanical Gardens: Chengdu: Chengdu Botanical Garden
Zoos: Chengdu: Moon Bear Rescue Centre
Aquariums: Chengdu: Cube Oceanarium
Theme Parks, ‘Fun’ Museums and Miniatures: Chengdu: Chengdu Happy Valley
Malls/Department Stores: Chengdu: SM City Chengdu
Markets: Chengdu Spice Market
Villages and Small Towns
Dujiangyan
Langzhong
Liujiang
Lizhuang
Pingle
Airports: Chengdu (CTU), Chengdu Tianfu (TFU), Dazhou (DZH), Luzhou (LZO), Mianyang (MIG), Nanchong (NAO), Yibin (YBP)
Gulucun Cable Car
Jiayang Coal Railway (Shixi–Huangcunjing Railway)
Roads, Road Bridges and Tunnels
Tunnel – Sichuan – Nibashan Tunnel
Monuments: Anren: Wenchuan Earthquake Memorial
World of Nature
Dafengding Nature Reserve
Shawan Daduhe National Wetland Park