Hi

I found out that I'm not officially registered in my home country any more, which means I cannot take a driving licence there and then have it "converted" to a Chinese one by taking a written test.

So, does anyone know what my options are for taking a full driving test here? I.e. driving lessons, written test, in order to obtain a licence?

S

If you don't get an answer on here-
Go to a local driving school (cars), should be easy to find, and ask them, or find your local traffic police office, and enquire there.
Alternatively go to the vehicle test centre, a long way out for some, and ask them.

Just a thought

Maybe this is bad advise, but for all the money and effort you would have to put into driving school, driving test(bribe for your driving instructor,I heard most expect one) and the written test....maybe just get a bike a ride it without...whats the worse that could happen? I know lots of guys with motorbikes in china(without DLs) and a couple that have been caught..they just take your bike away! at least in Beijing ...not super sure in Kunming..

The worst thing that could happen? You hit a person, make him disabled for life. Without a proper driving licence, you cannot get a proper insurance and you are left with the choice: pay for the rest of your life, or hit-and-run and make them pay for the rest of their lives.

Some people here are utterly irresponsible

A co-worker in Shanghai, was stopped during a 'clamp down' on unregistered/uninsured motorbikes (no DL=uninsured).
He got 10 days in jail, you don't need to go to court for this.
His visa had cancelled written on it in red pen, which has no legal standing. However, no lawyers would touch his case.
He was deported.

He was unlucky that there was a clampdown, he had always gotten away with an on the spot 'fine' before.
I think I read somewhere that there is a clampdown this month.

NB
I am not sure of the regs. I think that bikes under 50cc may not be classed as moto. They are allowed inside the inner ring road, and may not need a full moto licence.
If this is correct, and you are just wanting to be able to do longer journeys, a sub 50cc LPG machine may be an option.

However, the motorbike shop should know all the pertinent regs, and where/how to get a licence if you need one.

BF, If you cant drive a bike and even have the smallest chance of being dumb enough to hit somebody...licence or no, you should stick to walking! Otherwise stop being such a negative nancy! don't hit people with vehicles!!

some people here are utterly nonsensical!

@bjtokm

How long you driving in China? No matter how good you think you are, did you ever hear of other people causing accidents while you driving perfectly?

Would you drive illegally in your homecountry? Go on and hopefully get deported before causing any accident!

It's actually really easy to do, I've been through the process recently. You will have to do the written exam which consists of 50 questions (randomly selected out of 800, you can study these from a pdf which is available), there are many threads on this website describing all the procedures, like where and when to go (Thursday morning for the written, afternoon for the practical).
The practical is a bit of a joke, you use their bike (terrible, falling apart), you get to drive around a short track which involves going between a few beacons, then a right hand turn followed by an easy hill start, you then go over some bumps, a short winding section, a short narrow section and you done. It takes about 2 minutes. You can go early and practice the course for an hour or two beforehand if you want. The hardest part is driving their small motorbikes/scooters, the gears etc are a bit shitty.
In total it cost around 500RMB.

cromson, There is no such thing as driving perfectly, there is defensive and offensive driving, any kind of accident is partly your fault! (unless you are parked!! to answer your question i got my first car at 15 and drove without a DL until i was about 21 in my home country( a major city)..never had so much as a speeding ticket! In china I have had a car for about five years and a DL here for 2, My wife has a chinese DL but we chose to have me drive, because despite her being more legal she is a terrible driver ... What is more important, the law? or common sense?

confidence and skill are much more important than being legal!! obviously i eventually got my DLs and now hold 3 different one's! I am not encouraging people to break the law...I am saying if you have no skill and no confidence(never driving in a big city with traffic)...than DL or no DL you should be walking!!