REDSTAR Hangzhou October 2019

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FEATURES // 广告 • 特辑 TAXIS AND DIDIS DRIVING YOU CRAZY? WHY DON’T YOU GIVE IT A SHOT? By Nick Priquette So, you’re living in China. You’ve been relying on taxis, buses and subways to get you around town, but what if you had a buddy who had a car you could use or you wanted to rent a car for a few days? Or let’s say you’re planning to stick around the country for a few years. Well, I’m here to tell you that getting your driver’s licence in China is fairly simple, so long as you have a licence from your home country. You should be able to get your licence in about 3 easy steps. STEP 1: GET A CHINESE FRIEND If you don’t have a Chinese friend, try to get one appointed to you - someone who can speak pretty good English as you’ll want their help to grab a few things along the way, especially which translation companies to use, and to go with you to the Driver’s Licence Service Center on the day of the test. I was blessed to be able to use my wife during the whole process (not to mention the fact that this was her idea so I could drive and she could sleep!). STEP 2: PREPARE Things you should already have: • Your passport • You need to have a residence permit or visa that lasts more than 90 days (if you’re only here for 3 months, don’t bother). • You need to bring the driver’s licence you have from your home country. Things you probably don’t have: • You need to get your home country driver’s licence translated into Chinese, and the driver’s licence centre only allows for about 13-15 translation companies here in <strong>Hangzhou</strong> to do it. We used <strong>Hangzhou</strong> Oritrans Translation Co. Ltd., telephone 159 6888-0142, 137 7782- 4579, 8702-8795, or 8702-6905; and email at oritrans@gmail.com and zhiqiangj@ gmail.com. They were really quick about getting the translations to us, and we did everything over WeChat. We sent a photo of my licence, paid them (130 RMB), gave them our mailing address and they got it to us in less than a week. Important notice: Make sure the translation company uses a transliteration of your name. It doesn’t matter if you have a Chinese name, the government doesn’t 32 redstarhangzhou.com
广告 • 特辑 // FEATURES / care, they want your actual name. Even though I already had a Chinese name, 贫胜利 , they wanted the transliteration of Nicholas ( 尼克拉斯 ), don’t make this mistake, it’ll be a bit of a headache! • You need to go to your local police station to get a Registration Voucher of Residence for Visitors from Overseas (you should have already been given this when you registered). This needs to be stamped by the police station themselves. • Lastly, make sure you take three 1-inch passport-style photos, with a white background. I’ve been able to get these for pretty cheap at most print shops, around 12 to 18 photos for about 10-20 RMB. Study While you’re waiting for the translation to come in, study for the test! • I downloaded the app Laowaidrive on my iPhone and I’m pretty sure I’ve seen it available on Android devices as well. • This app has 1000 questions, some deal with bus and truck driving, but most are the same questions you’ll get on the actual test (Chinglish and all). • Using the free version of the app allows you to answer 19-20 questions before it pops up with an ad, just exit the ad, and scroll to the last question you answered. If you wanna pay for it, go ahead, it may have some cool amenities. • If you don’t want to get an app, you can go to the Driver’s Licence Customer Service Center (33 Hefang Street, 河坊街 33 号 ) and order the study book from window 27 on the second floor. According to hzprivatetour.com, the book costs 20 RMB and comes in English, French, Russian, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean and Arabic. • The test itself will have 100 questions: 40 are true or false, 60 are multiplechoice. You need to get a 90 or higher to pass, so make sure you study! STEP 3: GET IT DONE! You’ve made it so far, now you just need to get it finished. First, make sure you go to the test centre (same location as the Driver’s Licence Customer Service Centre) fairly early if you’re trying to knock this out in one day. The centre is open from 8:30 the to 16:45, with a lunch break between 12:00 and 13:30. Again, it will be helpful to have a Chinese friend there if you can’t communicate well in Chinese. When you go, you’ll have to get a number. Lucky for you there’s a window dedicated to foreign driver’s licence holders, but make sure you choose the right option when getting your number. They’ll check your documents then have you go through a minor physical exam: they’ll check your sight, your hearing, and your ability to grab something (maybe to make sure you can control a steering wheel). This will cost a total of 15 RMB. Next, you’ll go back to the main window and set up an appointment to take the test, just set it up for later that day, which will cost you 80 RMB. Important note: if you want to take that test in a language other than Chinese, make sure you let them know. Then you just wait for the test. You will have about an hour to complete the test, which should be enough. I ended up using about 40-45 minutes to do the test and then went back and checked my answers! You will not be able to take any papers or pens into the test, and you cannot use your phone (of course). Once you’ve passed the test (and since you studied for a whole week I’m sure you will), then it’s just a matter of paying 10 RMB and waiting to get your newlylaminated Chinese Driver’s Licence. If you’re concerned about the test, don’t be - I studied for a weekend and got a 98 on the test my first time. If you don’t pass the first time, you can take it again in the same day! Good luck, I’ll see you on the road! redstarhangzhou.com 33
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REDSTAR Hangzhou October 2019

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