1The Definitive Guide to Getting Your

By Matt Banker www.themiddlekingdom.org

"DCHINESE DRIVER'S L ICENSE

2 2010 Matthew Banker

This guide is f ree and does not contain af f i l iate l inks . Share i t with anyone and everyone under the terms of Creat ive Commons Attr ibut ion 3 .0 l icense.

Introduction

Step 1: Gather

Documents

Step 2: First Tr ip to

Motor Vehicle Administrat ion

Step 3: Study

Step 4: Second Tr ip;

Take the Test

Appendix

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3TABLE OF CONTENTSIntroduction

Step 1: Gather

Documents

Step 2: First Tr ip to

Motor Vehicle Administrat ion

Step 3: Study

Step 4: Second Tr ip;

Take the Test

Appendix

All-inclusive vs. Do-it-yourself RequirementsPreparation

PhotosPhysical ExamOverseas License TranslationDocument Checklist

How to Get ThereSchedule Test Date Purchase Study Booklet

The Test Study Guide vs. iPhone AppHints and TipsHand Signal Chart

Take the test Retake the test Arrange for License Delivery

Physical Exam Form Overseas License Translation Form Drivers License Application Form

4INTRODUCTIONAre you crazy?If you have spent any time in Beijing you may believe that you would have to be crazy to want to take to these roads in a vehicle. Nonetheless if youve downloaded this guide you have counted the cost and decided to pursue a Chinese Drivers license. A couple things to know before you start:

This guide is based upon my personal experience getting my drivers license in Beijing in the summer of 2010. As such, it may or may not be helpful if you live in other cities in China or if you are reading this significantly later than 2010. This guide is only for obtaining your license not for help in pur-chasing or registering a vehicle.

Service vs. Do-It-Yourself There are two paths you can take in getting your Chinese license.

1. Use a local service that helps you go through all the steps. The service I reccomend in Beijing is the ST Auto Club. ST Auto Clubwww.stautoclub.com.cn | stautoclub@yahoo.com.cn | 8046-2075 | 139-1021-1215 Location: JingShun Road, Shunyi

Total cost: 800 rmb Included: license translation, transportation to the Motor Vehicle Administration to set up your appointment and again to take your test, delivery of your license to their office. Not included: extra trips as a result of failing the test.

52. Do-It-YourselfThe rest of this guide is dedicated to helping you navigate the process on your own. Ill walk you step-by-step through getting your docu-ments in order, getting photos taken, getting your medical exam done and your license translated. Also included in the guide are maps to the Motor Vehicle Administration, help with studying for the test, and instructions for getting your license delivered to your home or office.

Total cost: 360 RMB200 rmb - Transportation (taxi 4 x 50 rmb)50 rmb - License fee10 rmb - Delivery90 rmb - Study Book 10 rmb - Medical Exam

Other possible costs: 120 License Translation$2.99 - China Drive iPhone App

.The Foreign Affairs Department of

Beijing Motor Vehicle Administration

No.18 Southeast 4th r ing, Chaoyang Distr ict , Bei j ing, 100023 (map)

Tel : 86-10-87625150

Engl ish Website : http ://www.bj j tgl .gov.cn/publ ish/porta l1/

6STEP 1: GATHER DOCUMENTS

The first thing you need to do is to get all of the neccessary papers together so you can set up an appointment to take your test.

You can find the blank Translation Form and Medical Exam Form at the end of the guide.

PhotosYou are going to need six small (2.5cm x 4cm) headshot photos on a white background. You can get them done at any little Kodak shop with a computer. They should be able to take the photos, print them and give them to you in less than 10 minutes. It should cost between 20 and 30 yuan. I had my pictures done at the shop across the street from the WangJing Hospital.

Physical ExamBring: Medical Exam Form with photo attached, Passport.

Go to a hospital.

There is a list of hospitals that do the Medical Exam on the Bei-jing Traffic Management Bureau website, but any provincial-level or higher public hospital Chinese hospital can do the exam (no foreign hospitals though).

The WangJing Hospital, where I had mine done is actually not on the list, but I had no problems there.

7The Medical Exam is basically just an eye, height, and weight exam so no need to fear needles or the possibility of disrobing. Each hospital is likely to have somewhat different procedures, but the basic idea is as follows:

Check in at the Registration window or counter. Pay the exam fee (mine was RMB 10) Find the Eye Exam station, show the doctor or nurse your form. Complete the following: o Height and weight. o Red/Green color blindness test. o Tumbling-E eye exam. o Doctors signature. Get hospital stamp (I got mine at the first floor informa-tion counter).

Q: When a vehicle overturns s lowly and jumping out of the vehicle is possible, the driver should jump _____?

a. In the dr iv ing direct ionb. In the overturning direct ionc. In the opposite di rect ion of the overturnd. To the overturning s ide

A: c . In the opposite di rect ion of the overturn.

So there are appropr iate t imes to jump out a moving vehic le? I f you must jump, PLEASE jump away f rom the direct ion that your car i s overturning as to avoid being crushed; the a l ternat ive is terr ib ly counter-product ive .

There are some especia l ly crazy quest ions on the wri t ten Chinese Dr iver s L icense Test . I have included some of my favor i te quest ions at the bottom of some of the pages in this book.

8Overseas L icense Translat ionBring: Overseas Drivers License, Translation Form.

The most amiguous part of the process is the overseas drivers license translation. It is somewhat unclear as to who can translate it for you. Most sources on the internet say that you need an official, legal trans-lation, but nothing on the form or website actually say that. I know several people who have translated the form themselves or had a friend do it, and had no problems at the Motor Vehicle Administration.

I also know some people will prefer to find an official translator so I tracked one down, at the north-east, inside corner of 2nd ring road. I have a feeling that these places are all over the place, but this is the one I know about.

It cost 120 RMB for the official translation, but they were able to do it in about 10 minutes. If you have a friend translate the form for you, may want to have them help you fill out the License Application form at the same time as well.

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9Q: When a head-on col l is ion is unavoidable, the driver should free the steering wheel, raise the legs and l ie s ideward on the r ight seat at the moment of the head-on col l is ion. This can ensure his body is not stuck by the steering wheel. True or False?

A: True.

I f you have t ime to do a l l of that , I th ink the head-on col l i s ion was probably avoidable .

Document Checkl istThis is a check list of everything your need to bring with you to the Motor Vehicle Administration in order to schedule your test. Once you have these items you can head to the MVA.

Required: 6 Photos of yourself

Passport

Visa - Z (work) or F (business) valid for at least 3 months

Residence Permit

Overseas Drivers License

Completed Medical Exam Form*

Completed Overseas License Translation Form*

Optional: Completed License Application Form*

*Included at the end of this guide in the Appendix.

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STEP 2: FIRST TRIP TO MOTOR VEHICLE ADMINISTRATION

S. 4th Ring Rd

Sout

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ad

JingJinTang Expressway

BoDa Road

Shi Ba Li Dian Qiao

Motor Vehicle Administration

Go South on East 4th Ring Road Exit after ShiBaLiDianQiaoat BoDa Road, turn left and and take the first right. Go past Toyota dealership and take a quick right and left into the MVA complex.

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Gett ing to the Motor Vehicle Administrat ionOnce you have all of the documents on the check-list you can head down to the MVA. Their hours are weekdays 8:30am - 5:00pm. You can take the 740, 840, 803 or 952 bus to Shi Ba Li Dian Nan Qiao, or take a cab. Tell the driver Shi Ba Li Dian Qiao, and then show him the map below or give him directions when you get close.

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So cover ing your head with a plast ic bag and t ight ing the neck c losely i s a good idea?

Q: After a vehicle fal ls into water the wrong method for the driver to rescue himself is to ______?

a. C lose the window to prevent water f rom f lowing into the vehic leb. Immediately use hand to open doorc . Let the water to f i l l up the dr iver s cab so that the water pressure both ins ide and outs ide is equald. Use a large plast ic bag to cover the head and t ight the neck c losely

A: a . C lose the window to prevent water f rom f lowing into the vehic le .

STEP 2: FIRST TRIP TO MOTOR VEHICLE ADMINISTRATION

Schedule the testOnce you are at the MVA go around on to the left to find the entrance for the Foreign Drivers Administration.

If you havent filled out your License Application form yet you can fill it out there. This was the only sticky point for me that day because the form has to be filled out in the Chinese. I dont write Chinese so the security guard helped fill out the form for me. There is a form with English on it available but its only for reference. You will also need to have a Chinese name that you can either write in characters or have it written down somewhere to ensure that the correct characters are used.

You will be applying for a C1 type license. One of your pictures should be glued to the form, the other two will be handed in with the rest of your paperwork.

The only other issue is that you arent able to pick the date and time of your appointment. I asked if I could have my appointment on a Monday and the lady looked at me as if I was crazy. My test date was set for about 3 weeks later at 2PM.

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Info Desk

Foreign DriversAdministration

Purchase Study BookUpstairs

Have Your License Delivered by EMS

Print Shop

Motor VehicleAdministration

Pick up the Study Guide Unless you decide that you would rather just use the iPhone applica-tion for studying make sure to get a study booklet upstairs in the main hall before you leave the MVA. The book should be 90 rmb.

Bonus: If you forget to bring the copies of your passport or resi-dence permit there is a small shop on the right side of the main gate when you enter the Motor Vehicle Administration complex. There is also a small photo shop there for pictures.

Q: I f a wounded person is breathless, i t is necessary to immediately conduct mouth-to-mouth art if ic ial respiration. True or False?

A: True.

Gir l : Despite my injured arm, the sunset through the smoke of our burning car i s so beaut i fu l i t takes my breath away. Guy ( rushing over to her) : Dont worry ; I know CPR!

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STUDY FOR THE TESTThe TestThe test itself is 100 randomly selected questions from a pool of 1300.

If you have driven for a long time or fancy yourself as an especially good test-taker, you may be tempted to just go ahead and take the test without studying. This would be a mistake. The Chinese drivers test is very difficult because there is little correlation between the correct answers and common sense. Heres my guess at how it all breaks down:

50% of the questions make sense and should be no problem for most people. 43% are worded or translated strangely and are therefore dif-ficult to figure out. 5% of the questions have answers that make no sense (many of them related to traffic cop hand signals) 2% of the questions are completely ridiculous and hilarious like the ones in the sidebar of this ebook.

The problem is, you cant always tell a common sense question from a completely ridiculous one or one that makes no sense, so you end up constantly second guessing yourself. So my advice is to spend a couple hours studying.

Q: When putting out a f ire disaster that gives out erosive steam or poisonous gas, the f iref ighters should wear gas masks and other related protective art ic les and should operate from the windward side. True or False?

A: True.

That seems l ike pretty sol id advice for a f i ref ighter . Why is th is quest ion on the dr iver s l icense test?

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Study Booklet vs iPhone AppIf you have access to an iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad, I highly recom-mend downloading the China Drive application from the App Store for $2.99. It has all the questions that could be on the test, plus road sign flash cards and a practice test option that chooses 100 questions and mimics the real test.

If you dont have an iPhone/iPod then you will need the Study Booklet which you pick up at the Motor Vehicle Administration.

A final (expensive) option is to download the test questions from this website for $25http://chinesedrivingtest.com/. I didnt try this option so I cant personally vouch for it.

The nice thing is that the questions in the Study Booklet and China Drive App are worded exactly the same as on the test, so you can sim-ply memorize the answers.

The other difficult aspect of the test is that there is no textbook to go along with the study booklet. There is nothing explaining the rules of the road, you just have to guess based on the questions and answers in the study booklet.

Q. When a vehicle rol ls continuously to a deep ditch, the driver should swift ly hide his body to the lower space in front of his seat, hold _______ to stabil ize his body so that his body wil l not rol l and get hurt.

a. The pedalb. The steer ing columnc. The steer ing wheeld. The gear lever

A: b. The steer ing column.

Honest ly the answer to this quest ion is not real ly important because there are so many problems with this quest ion before you even get to the answers . I wi l l l i s t three. 1 ) Cont inuously rol l ing? Has your car entered an abyss that leads to hel l? How cont inuous can a rol l be? I t s got to stop pretty soon. 2 ) Dont the laws of physics sort of prohibit you f rom being able to hide yoursel f in the pedal wel l whi le youre cont inuously rol l ing? 3) This whole thing isobviously assuming you are not wear ing a seat-belt , and I know for a fact that other quest ions in this book sa id the dr iver should wear a seat-belt .

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,Q: The main feature of pedestrians participating in road traff ic is ___________.

a. They move s lowlyb. They l ike to get together and look onc. They are not stabled. They walk around at wi l l and can eas i ly change direct ions .

A: d. They walk around at wi l l and can eas i ly change direct ions .

Pedestr ians on sa le NOW! The s low moving, unstable , and looking-on features that you love PLUS the brand-new main feature WALKING AROUND AND CHANGING DIRECTIONS EASILY. Get yours whi le suppl ies last . Tol l Free: 1-800-PEDESTRIAN.

T ips and Hints: There are many questions about how much a fine is for various

infractions. The answer to a vast majority of these questions is 200-2000 yuan. There are a few that are 20-200 yuan for minor infractions.

Despite personal experience on Chinese roads the answer is always

reduce speed and yield.

Sometimes it is much easier to start by reading the answers, instead of trying to decipher the questions.

Pay attention to questions about who/what gets revoked/detained/fined when the driver/drivers license/license plates/vehicle is altered/revoked/detained/scrapped. There are lots of similar questions with different answers.

Use the guide on the next page to help with

traffic cop hand signals. The pictures dont seem to make sense until you realize that they are 90 degrees off, meaning the book shows them head on but in a real life situation you would usually be seeing them from the side. Its best to just memorize that answers, and not worry about them making sense.

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Q: When a vehicle is unavoidably having a head on col l is ion with another vehicle, the driver should ______ so as to reduce the impact of the head on

col l is ion.

a. Change to s ide col l i s ionb. Apply emergency brakingc. Immediately turn the steer ing wheel to the r ight .

d . Immediately turn the steer ing wheel to the left .

A: b . Apply emergency braking

But how do you apply emergency braking when youve thrown yoursel f "s ideward" across the passenger seat in order to avoid being stuck by the steer ing wheel?

Go Straight

Turn LeftSharply

Turn LeftSharply

Rule Breaking Vehicle Pull Over

Go Straight

Rule Breaking Vehicle Pull Over

Auxiliary SignalGo Straight

2.4.1.8Turn Right

Wait toTurn Left

Turn LeftGently

2.4.1.3Turn Left Gently

App Book

Pull Over Stop

Front Vehicle Yieldto the Back Car

Slow Down

Contradict ionsYou may have notice on the hand signal chart on the previous page there were two contradiction signals (the ones with numbers). One is for turning right, and the other for turning left gently. In the book its the exact same picture for both questions (pg. 60-61), but different answers. Hopefully you wont get one of those questions on your test, but if you do you may be able to fight it. You can call over the attendant and ask them about it.

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FUN FACT: The study booklet i s apparent ly publ ished by:

T h e B e i j i n g M u n i c i p a l P u b l i c S e c u r i t y B u r e a u P u b l i c S e c u r i t y T r a f f i c M a n a g e m e n t B u r e a u V e h i c l e M a n a g e m e n t .

At least that 's what i t says on the cover . Hows that for redundancy.

Q: I f the traff ic police_______, they should arbitrari ly test the intracorporeal alcoholic content of the vehicle driver.

a. Have no dispute over the reading of the a lcohol breath analyzer .b . F ind the reading of the a lcohol breath analyzer i s below the threshold of intoxicat ion.c . F ind a t raf f ic acc ident has been caused by a vehic le dr iver after dr inking.d. F ind a t raf f ic acc ident has been cause by a vehic le dr iver who has not drunk.

A: c . F ind a t raf f ic acc ident has been cause by a vehic le dr iver after dr inking.

I t doesnt seem that arbitrary to me to test the a lcohol content of someone who has just caused and accident . ? Also , ' Intracorporeal '?

One other question that seems to be in contradiction is related to the triangle Tunnel Sign. The answer to the multiple choice question (2.2.1.29, pg. 40) is that it does indeed mean tunnel. However, for the true/false question (2.2.2.13, pg 50) the answer is NO it is not a sign for tunnel opening. Maybe the answer is in the addition of the word opening, but either way, be aware.

These are the only two explicit contradictions that Ive found, but there may be more.

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More TipsThey use some specific terms that you may not be familiar with:

Level crossing = where a road crossed a railroad track.

Carriageway = the main driving lanes of an expressway, not the emergency lanes or on/off ramps.

Interchange = expressway junction, cloverleaf, or bypass.

Road surface and visibility questions:Rain = 1.5x normal distance between vehicles Snow/ice = 3x normal distance between vehicles

Q: When encountering pedestrians wearing cotton-padded caps or overcoats in winter, the driver should honk and be ready to brake. True or fa lse?

A: True. Seems pretty speci f ic . What i f their hats are wool? Do I s t i l l need to be ready to brake?

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TAKING THE TESTTest DayBring: Reciept from when you scheduled the test and something with your address in Chinese.

On the day of your test, go back to the Motor Vehicle Administration building. Again, go back around to the Foreign Drivers counter with your receipt. There will probably be about forty other people waiting as well. When its time for your scheduled test one of the administra-tors dwill bring everyone into the testing room. The testing room has forty-some desks and computers. Just pick one and sit down. You can choose which language you would like to take the test in, but I suggest English.

You will be given forty-five minutes for 100 questions, and you will have the opportunity to review your answers before you submit

After you have finished bring your reciept to the attendant at the front of the room, and s/he will stamp it if you have passed.

Retaking the Test I wish I could guarentee that you pass your test on your first try be-cause you are using my guide, but the truth is, many people fail their first test, so dont worry about it if you do.

Q: When a motorized vehicle crosses an overflowing road or bridge, the driver should stop and look at the s ituation, and passes through slowly before he makes sure that i t is safe to do so. True or False?

A: True

So wait a second, you stop and look at the s i tuat ion, but then cont inue on BEFORE you make sure i t s safe?

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After you submit your test you will go back downstairs and schedule a new test date. Its free to retake the test.

Arrange for L icense Del iveryIf you passed your test, you will want to go back to the Foreign Driv-er's desk and arrange for your license to be delivered to your home or office. Alternatively you can come back and pick it up at the MVA in a couple days. You will need to pay for the delivery at the Foreign Drivers desk (10 rmb) and then go out to the main hall of the MVA and go to line num-ber 20 (marked on the diagram on page 6) to fill out the delivery card for EMS (E-something Mail Service). Again I dont write Chinese, so I had someone else who was standing in line help me.

I recieved my license in the mail within three days, but they say it can take up to a week.

Last WordsSo thats it. I hope you found this ebook helpful and fun. Feel free to pass it on to your friends. My wife and I write about life, travel and work in China at www.themiddlekingdom.org so check us out for more tips on how to make life work in China.

Q: The person who is addicted to drug taking and injection may apply for a motorized vehicle driving l icense when he is not overwhelmed by drug addiction? True or fa lse?

A: False

I wonder how many druggies are disuaded f rom try ing to get their l icenses when they learn of this .

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