Source
r/travelchina•
TexSC

What is the best way for Chinese citizens to return to China from the United States?

I have some family friends who are Chinese citizens, and they need to urgently return to China. They have been living in the United States for about the last 2 years. Looking up direct flights from the United States yields flights that are approximately $8,000 per person. Multiply by 2 people and that's $16,000. Also, the flights are not available until Feb 1.

There are many flights that transfer through other countries for far cheaper and much sooner. How do those transfers work with the mandatory COVID-19 testing? Any other options?

Posted Dec 23, 2020, 1:17 AM UTC

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striple•

Keep in mind the Chinese government just released further testing requirements prior to boarding a flight to China that must be performed within a certain time period. At this point, their best bet is to contact the Chinese embassy directly and discuss options of its so critical for them to return.

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TexSCOP•

Yes, they not only released a list of certain labs that they would accept results from: http://newyork.china-consulate.org/eng/lsfwss/t1841449.htm

But, they also released more strict criteria for these tests: http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/visas/t1841416.htm

This actually seems like one of the (relatively) easier parts of the process. The part I'm struggling with is how to get them to China in a matter of weeks rather than months.

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[deleted]•

[deleted]

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TexSCOP•

Can you fly to neighboring countries then go? I have looked around Japan and Taiwan and I can’t find anything remotely as expensive

They live around the New York City area currently. We do see flights to places such as Hong Kong and Taipei out of New York. They are much cheaper and much sooner. So much sooner that if they flew to Taipei, waited 14 days for a quarantine, and then continued on to Shanghai, it would still be sooner than Feb 1st. Is this an option?

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tormentosarosa•

I am sorry I don’t really know much about layovers. But in order to get into Taiwan you have to have a visa, I am not sure about others. I assume you can transfer though.. I mean, HK has trains into China maybe that is an option. I bet domestic flights are easier once you’re in. I am sorry I don’t know anything outside of getting to Taiwan. I wish you the best. 😢

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latteisnotcoffee•

Hong Kong isn't an option, the trains have been closed since March and HK is only letting residents in

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TexSCOP•

How about a flight transfer in Hong Kong? Looks like their latest posting says a 14-day quarantine for anyone arriving from overseas. https://www.hongkongairport.com/en/COVID19.page

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TexSCOP•

Thank you for your post. The two of them are Chinese speaking only. As Chinese nationals coming from the U.S., how easily could they get a visa to get to Taiwan?

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yoohoooos•

Not really a way. Direct flight is your only option at the moment. And the mentioned price is on the lower end. I suggest your friends to take the offer.

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TexSCOP•

The problem is, the soonest direct flight out of New York is Feb 1, and that is not soon enough for their urgent matter. Can you think of any other options?

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yoohoooos•

Call the airlines and offer high price.

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[deleted]•

[deleted]

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Gunner125•

We are heading back to China in January. We left USA at the end of November. We flew from Seattle to Incheon and we will leave Incheon at the beginning of January to fly back to China. This worked well for us because we wasn't in much of hurry. But something we learned is its really hard to get tickets from Korea to China right now. Most are booked out until March or April. We are going to have to fly to Yantai instead of Shanghai because all flights were booked out until March or April. Luckily we have an apartment in Shandong province. I'm not sure if Japan/ Hong Kong are having the same problems.

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TexSCOP•

I was hoping to help them get back to China in a matter of weeks, rather than months. Is your itinerary doable with the minimum 14 day waiting period?

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Gunner125•

It would be extremely difficult going through Korea to do it I think. Mainly because a lot of the flights from Korea to China are so booked out. Might have better luck flying through Hong Kong or maybe Taiwan. I actually found a few flights from JFK to Beijing with a stop and layover in Taiwan. That seems pretty doable. Relatively cheap as well, about 500 per ticket for coach. Hope this helps.

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[deleted]•

[removed]

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TouchMeNot29•

There's rapid testing in taiwan? I thought transits in taiwan are not allowed

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vergingon•

Spring airlines seems to have flights still going from Incheon to Shanghai on Mondays. I recently booked a flight for January.

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Gunner125•

Shoot we missed those i guess. I think we ended up going with Seoul Air.

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Grammar-Bot-Elite•

u/Gunner125, I have found an error in your comment:

“Shoot we mustof ['ve] missed”

It seems to be the case that Gunner125 should have said “Shoot we mustof ['ve] missed” instead. ‘Of’ is not a verb like ‘have’ is.

^(This is an automated bot. I do not intend to shame your mistakes. If you think the errors which I found are incorrect, please contact me through DMs or contact my owner EliteDaMyth!)

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tachen95•

Flights come and go all the time with people cancelling and changing plans. I flew back a couple weeks ago and got a ticket a few days before for 4k. Economy tickets run around 5k. There are only a few routes from the US to China rn (delta seattle to shanghai and detroit to shanghai, united sf to shanghai, american dallas to shanghai and la to beijing, china eastern and air china are doing nyc to shanghai, china southern has la to guangzhou, and xiamen had some flight to xiamen. Some of these chinese flights are also limited to travel agents who have means to buy them. If they're not willing to pay around 5k each or so, they're gonna have a tough time

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vergingon•

You can try looking up the US-Frankfurt-PVG route operated by United or Lufthansa. You need the mandated covid tests in the US and in Frankfurt (which you can do at the airport). You’ll need to prebook the antibody test and the testing center is open from Sunday-Wednesday. Give yourself at least 8 hours in Frankfurt to get everything done. This isn’t a cheap route either though—it’s still about 4-5k.

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