Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
FESCO (
www.fescoservice.com
), or Ex-Pats Life (
www.expatslife.com
)
. Companies such
as these will usually take care of everything for around RMB650-1,000. If you do it your-
self, it'll cost around RMB300 altogether, including the medical test, study book, license
translation, license fee, and delivery of license.
If you do take care of things for yourself, you'll need to make several trips out to the For-
eign Affairs Department of the Beijing Motor Vehicle Administration (BMVA) and manage
your own health check at the local hospital. It won't matter which visa you have, as long
as there is still three months remaining (if there is less than this you will only be able to
apply for a temporary driver's license). Take all your paperwork to the MBVA and collect
a test book while you're there. You'll need to return at the agreed time to do the computer-
ized written test. This can be done in Chinese, English, Russian, German, French, Japanese,
Korean, Arabic, or Spanish, and is 100 multiple-choice questions, of which you need to get
at least 90 correct. If you do pass, your license will be ready within about five days, which
you can pay to have delivered, and which is valid for six years. When it's time for renewal,
you'll just need to redo the eye test, and you must apply 90 days before the license expires.
It's unlikely you'll be able to wing the test. The questions are randomly selected from
1,300 questions, many seemingly illogical, many outright bizarre, many confusingly trans-
lated. If you fail, though, you can sit it again for free. Fail a second time and you may have
to start from scratch. The good thing is that the questions are worded just as they are in
the study manual. There's even a fun smart phone and tablet app, China Drive (
中国交规
通
), which you can download for free (some sites charge) to get all the questions. For more
information, visit
www.bjjtgl.gov.cn
,
or, for US$5, you can download the
Chinese Drivers
License Guide
from
www.themiddlekingdom.org
.
TRAFFIC OFFENSES
Running a red light:
6 points, RMB200 fine.
Drunk driving:
12 points, license withheld for five years, fine, jail sentence.
Failure to wear a seatbelt:
2 points, RMB100 fine.
Failure to give way to a school bus:
6 points, RMB200 fine.
Talking on cell phone while driving:
2 points, RMB50 fine.
Concealing or using incorrect number plate:
12 points, RMB200 fine.
