The flight includes a stopover in Shenyang, located in the North-East of Liaoning province. With this, the tourism traffic between Canada and China will increase the service quality among the competing Chinese Airlines like Air China, Chine Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines and make the ticket prices cheaper, providing a gateway to the students, immigrants and travellers to Canada. On the other side, more Canadian travellers are encouraged to visit China more frequently. The increased flights will boost tourism as well as give travellers a greater choice which will have a significant impact on the economy.

The climb to the summit of Emei Mountain or 峨眉山, is extremely popular. It is important to take enough time for the climb and descend. Normally, it takes one day to climb up and one for coming down. Monasteries and at the summit, you will come across some reasonably priced accommodations for travelers. It is important to bring some spare food and wear enough warm clothes because the temperature is lower than at the foot.
The mountain can be reached by train as well as by bus. The “Chengdu-Kunming” line (train) will take you directly to the mountain. If you prefer by bus, you can get on the bus at Chengdu’s Xinnan Men Bus station or from Leshan to Emei Mountain.

The Giant Buddha of Leshan, the tallest stone statue of the world, is close to the Emei Mountain. For interested travelers, the bus at the Xinnan Men Bus Station will go to Leshan and will begin to operate at 8 am and the last bus departs at 7pm. For visiting the giant Buddha, a ticket is required. Furthermore, there are bus rides to Emei Mountain at Shiyangchang Transportation Center from 7.30 am. – 7.00 pm. Also, the Jinshan Station also offers buses to that area. Most buses to Leshan or Giant Buddha operates on a regular interval between 7.30 am. – 7.00 pm.

In Dujiangyan (都江堰), there is the oldest water conservation project in the world. The irrigation project was established around 250 BC during the warring states period. It is easy to get to Dujiangyan because there are regular bus rides.

Near the border of Yunnan, a four hours ride from south Chengdu, is the Yibin Bamboo Sea (宜宾竹海). This area can be explored by numerous ways from well visited paths which can be traveled within a few hours to small passages taking one day. The trip can be done in one weekend but for a more leisure visit, a four day travel is ideal. Take the train from Chengdu or Chongqing to Yibin city then transfer to the bamboo sea of CMB. It is about 2-3 hours car ride.

For all places mentioned above, an entrance ticket is required. The following table will show the entrance price for the respective places mentioned above.

峨眉山 – Emei Mountain:
150rmb/person

青城山 – Qingcheng Mountain:
150rmb/person

乐山大佛 – Giant Buddha of Leshan:
90rmb/person

都江堰 – Dujiangyan:
90rmb/person

宜宾竹海 – Yibin Bamboo Sea:
85rmb/person

The second storey will be 12 metres above the ground level including a clearance level of at least 9 metres. The total width will be 28.5 metres which is going to be divided into six lanes a 3.5 – 3.75 metres wide. The passengers will pay the fare at the ground level and pass through gates to escalators to the second layer.

The second layer is not only planned for the Second Ring Road, but also for the six busiest intersections on the First Ring Road and the Third Ring Road. However, the fly-over lane on the Third Ring Road will be constructed as pedestrian overpasses. The bridge will be enlarged to six lanes of traffic and nine new onramps added. The costs of these six projects are estimated to be 930 million RMB.

Just as Beijing, Hangzhou, Lanzhou, Guiyang and Changchun, Chengdu will soon introduce a traffic regulation which restricts the locals from driving on certain days in particular city areas based on the license plate.

This regulation is established in order to restrain the traffic holdup and facilitate the road and subway constructions starting from 24th April this year. According to the announced details at a press conference of the information Office of the Chengdu Municipal People’s Government, the car restriction will last until 31st July 2013. Taxis and buses are excluded from this regulation.

For the drivers in Chengdu, the restriction will be effective on weekdays from 7.30am to 9 am and 5pm to 7.30pm. The limitation will function according to the final number of the license plate. Cars with 1 or 6 as ending numbers are not allowed to drive on Mondays and cars which plate number ends with two and seven are prevented to drive on Tuesdays etc.

According to an online survey conducted by Tencent on 30th March, the results indicated that 76 percent of the participants were against the traffic restrictions. However, it is not clear how many people have participated in the survey. Additionally, this public traffic restriction will lead to the effect of people buying more cars and causing more parking space deficiency.

Mr. Yang argued that the traffic in cities like New York or Chicago, which do not have car restriction, are functioning pretty well, because the traffic transportation is more used by the citizens. Therefore, Chinese people should rely more on the public transport instead of using private wheeled conveyance for the sake of a better traffic flow.
It is expected that the metro line No. 2 will launch operation in late September and increase the passenger capacity by 500,000 from the current capacity of 4,05 million.

Following car restriction will be applied to Chengdu starting from 26th April 2012 to 30th July 2013 during the week:

1. 7.30 – 22.00;
Second Ring Road (二环路)

2. 7:30-9:30;
17:00-19:30;
Chuanshan Lijiao (川陕立交) – Cao shi Street (草市街)/ Dong feng Daqiao (东风大桥) – Chengyu Lijiao (成渝立交)/ Su Po Lijiao (苏坡 立交) – Renxi Lukou (人西路口)/ Chengmian Lijiao (成绵立交) – Hongxing Kua Xian Bridge (红星跨线桥)/ Jin Xing Street Dongkou (锦兴路东口) – Kehua Lijiao(科华立交)/ Gaosheng Bridge (高升桥) – Chuanzang Lijiao (川藏立交)/ Cheng Guan Street (成灌路)

Here, you can check which day and which licence plate ending number is not allowed driving:

Monday: 1; 6
Tuesday: 2; 7
Wednesday: 3; 8
Thursday: 4; 9
Friday: 5; 0

The electronic surveillance is going to take pictures and send fines if any of the above mentioned aspect is breached.

One question we often receive is how foreigners can obtain their driver’s license in China. In order to be allowed to drive a car you will need a local driver’s license.  Your current foreign driver’s license is not enough as you will be required to obtain a Chinese license as well (although, when you don’t hold a foreign driving license it’s even more difficult).

If you hold a foreign driving license, the Chengdu Traffic Management Bureau can provide the Vehicle License Protocols signed with other countries and other related agreements. Almost all the countries have the following regulations (except for example lucky Belgians, they have a special -easier- process). Preconditions: foreigners should bring the driving license from their home country. If the driving license is not already in Chinese, the applicant should also provide the Chinese translation. For translations, please contact a certified local translation agency, like ClC lnterglobal (E-mail: clc@clc-interglobal.com). You need to have: a physical test form filled and verified by hospital staff, your residence verification form by local police station, a visa which is more than 6 months from expiration, your passport and one copy, four 1-inch photos, your driving license (one copy of the driving license and the translated version of the driving license from the notary office, foreign affairs office or local translation agencies) and the completed application form. Then it’s a matter of getting some stamps and there you go. Note: you can only apply to local driving licenses for the same kinds of vehicles, providing that you meet the application requirements.

For those who do not have driving license, you need to register in a local driving school and get the training from the school before passing the examination. Note: a translator can be provided for those languages that are not available in the data bank. Available foreign languages: English and Japanese. Getting the local driving license: at the Vehicles Management Office, ask for the “Driving license application form” and “Vehicles driver physical condition form” and fill them out. After that, you will take the physical examination. Hand in the two forms from the exam, and the required documents mentioned above before paying the related fees at the counter. Hand in the bill in the hall and reserve the date for the examination. Then, obviously, pass the examination to get your Chinese driving license. Examination fee: applying car driving license: 280 RMB/ person (can take written test two times before having to pay again), applying motorcycle driving license: 140 RMB/ person/ times.

Contacts: Vehicle Management Department, Traffic Management Bureau, Chengdu. Tel: 028-87850133/134.

We wish you all the best obtaining your Chinese driver’s license & please, drive safely!

E-mail: info@maxxelli.net

In China, in order to be allowed to drive a car you will need a local driving license. Indeed, your home driving license is not enough as you will be required to obtain a Chinese license as well. Below you will find all the information you need to obtain this license in Chengdu and you can download it in pdf format.

For getting the driving license in Chengdu the Traffic Management Bureau has the following regulations:

Preconditions:

Foreigners should bring the driving license from their home country; if the driving license is not already in Chinese, the applicant should also provide the Chinese translation. For translations, please call local translation agency: 028-86283116.
Have your original driver’s license scanned(both sides) or photographed, send the pictures to

ClC lnterglobal:
E-mail: clc@clc-interglobal.com or quote@clc-interglobal.com

The Vehicle Management Bureau will execute the Vehicle License Protocols Signed with other countries and other related Agreements.

For the foreign driving license holders:

You need to have:

-physical test form filled and verified by hospital staff

-residence verification form by local police station 境外人员住宿登记表

- a visa which is more than 6 months from expiration

-your passport and one copy,

-four 1-inch photos;

-your driving license, one copy of the driving license and the translated version of the driving license from the Notary office, foreign affairs office or local translation agencies

-application form

Note: You can only apply to local driving licenses for the same kinds of vehicles, providing that you meet the application requirements. This means if you drive a car in your home country you will only be able to apply for a car license here, not one for large trucks or motorcycles. If you want to get a license for trucks/motorcycles you will need to attend driving school and complete all of the steps listed in the next section.

For those who do not have driving license:

You need to register in a local Driving School and get the training from the School before passing the examination.

Note: A Translator can be provided for those languages that are not available in the data bank;

Available foreign languages: English and Japanese

Getting the local driving license:

At the Vehicles Management Office, ask for the Driving License Application Form and Vehicles Driver Physical condition Form and fill them.

After that, you will take the physical examination. Hand in the two forms from the exam, and the required documents mentionned above before paying the related fees at the counter.

Hand in the bill in the hall and reserve the date for the examination;

Then, obviously, pass the examination to get your Chinese driving license.

Examination Fee:

Applying Car Driving License: 280 RMB / Person (Can take written test two times before having to pay again)

Applying Motorcycle Driving License: 140 RMB / Person / Times

Retake Examination Fee for Car Driving License: 140 RMB / Person

Retake Examination Fee for Motorcycle License: 70 RMB / Person

Driving License Issue Fee: 10RMB

Note: A translator can be provided for those languages that are not available in the data bank;

Available foreign languages: English and Japanese

Contacts:

Vehicle Management Dept, Traffic Management Bureau, Chengdu

Tele: 028-87850133/134

Information on how to obtain a Chengdu Drivers license –

The project is to be finished at the end of the year, and will be the first underground opening in the central and western parts of China.

According to the plan, circular passages will stretch within 1 km2 of the underground which will have a length of 2.8 km. This will enable separation between noisy car traffic and pedestrians, granting only taxi cabs and public transportation vehicles the possibility of driving on the surface. Routing the private vehicles to the new tunnels will hopefully have a positive impact on decreasing noise and pollution

The Head of the department of construction at Tianfu New District area tells us the underground space will be divided into two layers. The first layer will have car lanes, car parks and an underground business area. At the length of 2.8 km’s the car tunnel will be completely connected to the buildings on the surface with 8 connecting exits/entries. According to the plan the will be one lane in each direction and the middle one will be used for emergency stops. The lanes will be 4 m wide providing a safe distance between the cars.

The Head of construction explains they made so much underground space in this project that this area will become the largest parking space in Sichuan, providing room for 30.000 cars.

According to the plan, the second layer space, containing electricity, telecommunications, water supply and transformation-stations, will eliminate the need of digging for other departments. There will also be two energy stations that will provide centralized cooling and heating for the city, thereby saving energy and space.
The other highlight in this project is that Chengdu’s metro line 1 will be connected directly underground which will allow passengers to easily switch to other lines. It will also be practical to visit underground business centers, ground-level business centers and other sceneries.

Lines finished & under construction

Line 1. Current line + South extension:
From Taisheng Lake to Guangdu (23.9 km).
The extension to the South is expected to begin during 2012 and last two to three years.

Line 2. Under construction + eastward/ westward extensions:
From Longquan East to Xipu (50.65 km; 26 stations)

Line 3. From Tianhui to Hongpailou (49.28 km; 22 stations)

Line 4. From Gongping to Shuanglin Road (38.9 km, 19 stations)

These four lines link Chengdu and its surrounding areas and are expected to have 2 million daily passengers by 2015.

Future lines

Line 5. From Simaqiao to Jianghe (24.63 km; 13 stations)

Line 6. From Shawan to Sihe (22.05 km; 13 stations)

Line 7. From Shaxi to Longtan East (41.93 km; 22 stations)

Line 5 to 9 are scheduled to complete by 2020, linking the north, east, and south railway stations, Shuangliu Airport, and much more!

Fifteen pedestrian overpasses will be built over the third ring road early next year, reported west China City Daily. The work will be should start by the beginning of 2012 and be completed within two months. The goal is to satisfy the street-crossing needs of the residents in surrounding neighborhoods and release traffic.