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OCR for page 135
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7. Leaving China
When you are ready to leave the PRC, one of the first things to do is
decide how to ship back to the United States all the goods you have
accumulated. Parcel post is one obvious way to ship your belongings
home, but there are two other alternatives. One is air freight, which is
convenient but expensive, especially in light of recent price hikes. Air
freight is handled by the CAAC office. The other alternative is sea freight,
which is inexpensive but slow plan on about three months in transit.
Sea freight is handled by the Friendship Store's transportation section;
the store takes charge of building a crate for your shipment and moving
it to a seaport city. Returning Americans who live in cities without this
service and want to ship by sea freight have had to find someone to
build the crate and accompany it to the coast personally, a rather
cumbersome procedure. Ask your foreign affairs officials for help.
Changes in airline ticketing can be made in China, but during busy
tourist seasons (from May through October) individual travelers have
had difficulty booking flights. Flights must be confirmed through the
airlines on which you hold the ticket or, if the airline has no direct
representation in your city, through the CAAC office. Be sure to check
with your travel agent about any restrictions that apply to your ticket,
and be sure to reconfirm your flight. In most cases, reservations can
be made 21 days before departure at the earliest, and reservations can
be reconfirmed no more than 3 days before the flight. Remember to
take your passport with you when you deal with the airlines on any
matter. Some travelers actually find it easier to mail their ticket back
to the United States for flight validations or itinerary changes; in that
case, however, be sure to allow six weeks turnaround time. Be aware
also that most tickets are valid only for one year from the issue date.
135
OCR for page 136
136 CHINA BOUND
Exit visas are no longer required. The new travel regulations state
that "foreigners leave by their valid passports or other valid travel
documents." Regulations governing the kinds of materials that may be
taken out of the country without permission are not clear, and if in
doubt, you should check with your host unit. Student regulations (see
Appendix B) state:
Foreign students must observe the Chinese customs regulations con-
cerning materials to be taken out of China or mailed abroad. The fol-
lowing items are allowable: textbooks, class handouts and related
materials issued to them by the school, study notes, photographs, and
audiovisual materials related to study. Any materials issued by the
school which are not intended for outside circulation must be approved
for exit by the school authorities, who will provide the student with
an itemized certificate of authorization to present to the customs of-
r.
ulcer.
Although traditions vary from unit to unit and from place to place,
generally it is difficult to leave expensive items with individual friends
as gifts without inciting the envy of their colleagues. Radios, type-
writers, tape recorders, and bicycles may be coveted by Chinese friends
and coworkers, but you must be sensitive to the following regulations:
(1) Technically, all hardware brought into the country must be taken
out at departure. Customs officials pay particular attention to watches
and cameras. (2) Some of the goods you might want to sell or give away
could create problems because they are either rationed or, like bicycles,
must be registered in the name of the owner who must present a sales
slip as proof of purchase.
If possible, have someone from your unit accompany you to the air-
port to help cut through the red tape and speed you on your way. To
exit, you will need foreign currency exchange slips, your Bank of China
passbook (if you have one), the customs declaration you filled out upon
entry into China (any items listed but not taken out can be taxed), and
Y15 for the departure tax.
As in other important activities, there is a ritual of leave-taking in
China that begins a few weeks before departure: tea parties with col-
leagues and cadres from the unit, at least one farewell banquet, picture-
taking sessions, exchanges of gifts, dinner invitations from Chinese friends,
parties with foreign friends. The hectic schedule of arranging the myr-
iad bureaucratic details and the rituals of departure also may be com-
plicated by sudden professional opportunities as the host unit rushes
to comply with longstanding requests. Nevertheless, the uncharacter-
istically fast pace that marks the end of a stay in China helps you
overcome the sadness of leaving good friends and colleagues and ap-
preciative students. Your adventure in China will soon be over but
not soon forgotten.
Representative terms from entire chapter:
materials issued
