Hi, I normally live in Kunming, but am currently out of the country and will be travelling on business to Laos and Sipsongpanna (西双版纳 in Chinese) as far north as Simao, but will be travelling back to Laos after that, and so won't be back in Kunming until later on.

I plan to go by car (although i may or may not be driving myself and it might be a Lao registered vehicle, haven't got the details yet though), and was wondering if it was possible to get a Chinese driver's license in Jinghong or Mengla or Simao city or somewhere like that. Would it also be possible to take the exam in English, as I am not fluent enough in Chinese to take the exam in Chinese yet, or otherwise, take along an interpreter? Also, I'm guessing I would need to get a new translation of my driver's license done somewhere in that area too.

On another matter, I took the test once in Kunming back in December but didn't have enough time to study the whole manual, so I got 89%! which absolutely sucks because that's only 1% short of passing and didn't have the opportunity to redo it since then, would my details still be in their system? I know a case of someone who retook the exam after like 3 months and their details were still there, so they simply showed up with their I.D., paid the 60 Yuan fee again and retook the test, no problem.

Also, how do drivers of Lao registered vehicles (mainly in southern Yunnan) legally drive in China if their Lao licenses aren't officially recognized by China? Would they have to go through all the hassle of getting at least a temporary Chinese driver's license? Anyone know?

I'm almost 100 percent sure the only place in Yunnan to take the test as a foreigner is in Kunming.

Right, almost 99% do it in Kunming, 1% do it in XiaGuan (nice place).

OK, thanks for that info regarding where it is possible to get a driver's license. In any case, I have been told it is possible to take a Lao-registered vehicle up as far north as Jinghong, but no further. Presumably a foreign driver's license would be acceptable for driving in this region of China, if a foreign registered car is being driven...this is the information I have been given so far.

There are some websites that mention getting a temporary Chinese driver's license for foreigners that wish to participate in self-drive tours, in the Mengla area, however, these are temporary licenses only. Would this be an option for me in case the information I received above is incorrect? As mentioned earlier, I won't be going back to Kunming until well after the end of the trip, so going up to Kunming just to get my license wouldn't be a practical option.