Wow, Michael ,thank u so munch for the comprehensive info u gave. U surely know a lot about all these things. Thanks a lot for your best wishes , we try to keep up with the new challenges.

First of all, we decided to go for the 'premium' so called 'international' hospital- Richland, near Beichen MTR. I have to admit that u r right, the are not professionals, although they have a translator and we can communicate. I read previous posts about best places to deliver in Kunming,the opinions are different, of course, but, for our commodity we chose Richland.
About all the papers we need for the bby, let me see if I understood correctly the steps.
1. Before the delivery we gotta go to Kunming Municipal Hospital (near the eastern edge of TuoDeng Lu) to register the birth. Is this the same place bluegrass was talking about? (盘龙区妇幼保健中心)
2. After the bby arrives, we will get the actual birth certificate from the maternity hospital, in this case Richland
3. We will apply for bby's passport at our Consulate (in Beijing- the only option for us). Is it allowed to travel on domestic flights with a new born only with a birth certificate? For us, it will take 90 days to have the passport issued
4. After we get the passp, we gotta go to the Visa office to have her passp stamped with an Entry visa.

Pfff...all these seem like an eternity of

trouble and headache but I guess it all comes with the new job of being parents.
Thanks a lot everybody for sharing your experiences, it surely feels better to know that we're not the only ones in this.

Luliana

PROCESS
That is essentially the process we went through (Twice). If you think this process is difficult - try marrying a Chinese citizen from another province.

TRANSLATION
Don't forget the translation - the hospital's birth certificate is in Chinese and must be translated for your embassy. The translation should also be notarized (by the translation company). Get MANY copies of the notarized, translated document. Recommend a minimum of FIVE (5) copies, depending on how bureaucratic your country is. America is VERY bureaucratic - but once we had the Consular Report of Birth Abroad - that resolved most issues (except for one critical item - the authentication of the birth certificate - but that's another thread).

In case anyone from the USA has a child born abroad - you should be aware that since 2012, the US State Department refuses to authenticate the Consular Report of Birth Abroad certificates, which they essentially issue (through embassies and consulates). There is a workaround - start a forum thread if you're interested and I'll define the process.

IMMIGRATION VISA ENTRY STAMP
Don't forget - sometimes the visa officer at the front desk will try to tell you your baby MUST leave the country and return in order to have a valid passport - if something seems stupid, it probably is stupid. Ask to speak to the supervisor.

RESIDENCE
After your baby is born, you MUST get the baby's passport ASAP, which requires lots of photos. Once you have the baby's passport, visit the local PSB responsible for your residency permit - and register your baby as a new family member, to get the temporary slip of paper that states your baby now lives at your address. You MAY want to optionally also get ANOTHER one for yourself.

Take that along with your passports and pictures and birth certificates (just in case) to the Visa office and apply for baby's new visa.

AFTER you get your passports back, return to the local PSB, so they can properly register baby as a new resident.

This system may seem troublesome, but it's essentially the identical system in Japan, so I'm guessing this system has been around in the more developed countries in Asia for centuries.

It is the closest thing a foreigner can have that parallels the Chinese Household Registration.

@Michael
Thank you so much for taking the time to explain all this, you're great and surely the info u gave is priceless. I will open a new thread about the authentication of the birth certificate, this is another thing required by our consulate.
Cheers!

@michael2015, yeah, the thought of doing a homebirth was a bit scary at first, but after visiting a number of local hospitals, it actually seemed much safer. We were connected with our midwife through word of mouth. We actually had several midwives there during the delivery. If anyone is interested, I can connect you with our midwife if you PM me.

michael wrote: "the hospital's birth certificate is in Chinese and must be translated for your embassy."

We are going to "all Chinese" Women's and Children's Hospital in BaiYun Lu, and have slightly different info on that.

According to the doctor we've seen there in the last 3 months, and wife's friend who has delivered in another hospital earlier this year, the delivery hospital will issue a "temporary" birth certificate, which must be converted to the actual birth certificate in some big hospital which I understood is the only authorized hospital in Kunming to provide these.

And this final birth certificate is by default bilingual, apparently even for Chinese families (I saw a photo of it).

That said, I don't know if USA requires only-English translation or something like that anyway, nor do I know if foreign-only families can/have to operate with this "temporary birth certificate" only (which may be in Chinese).

Luliana, I don't think all of Michaels information applies to you.

I also think his post sounds a bit neurotic and scary... no offense to him but TMI.

You do NOT have to go anywhere to register the birth or apply for any authorization to have a baby beforehand.

There is no pre-chlamydia test, it's called preeclampsia that raises blood pressure.

Chlamydia is an STD.

Your husband will NOT be required to serve you or buy some special red egg soup.

Ive never seen a maternity room with a large amount of beds and you do not have to stay in the hospital at least one week... you can leave when you are ready.

Just go to the hospital and have the baby. On the day you are discharged, the hospital will provide you with some paperwork that you have to bring to another hospital-like place and they will enter all the info into their system, you will check it thoroughly before they print it out because you only get one chance... then they will hand you your child's birth certificate.

Be sure to bring the passports of both you and your husband when you go.

Not sure about getting the certificate translated, I would check with my embassy before going through that process.

@Goldie
Thank you, this sounds more normal, I will check all the info with the hospital and let u all know what they said( last time I asked the translator didn't know the process, that's why I asked here).

About the translation- our consulate required a legalized English translation, so I guess I have to go to translate it even if it has the English page ( as JanJal said).

@goldie22
Thanks for correcting those things. Vocabulary getting all jumbled up.

For the maternity hospital with a LOT of beds - the TCM hospital on WuYi Lv. Semi-private - 4 beds. The basic maternity fee gets you into the "big room" with 8-12+ beds.

But again - these are for the locals on a low budget. Wealthier foreigners typically receive "special'er" treatment, especially if your expat insurance covers maternity.

As for the soup - we were in the TCM hospital and EVERYBODY was doing it. It's part of their post-delivery care - the nursing staff gave us the list of things to do post-delivery and that egg drop soup with the special base was part of the list. ALL husbands/families did this for the new mothers - if / when they were present. Sometimes, we'd run out of eggs or base, sometimes others would run out - the spirit of sharing and camaraderie was encouraging and supportive.

@luliana
My wife is a Chinese national - those are the requirements for Chinese nationals.

The blood tests for STD's and normal pre-natal health checks are mandatory, regardless of sovereignty. If you have NOT visited your designated maternity hospital, I urge you to take care of this asap. Do NOT delay.

Also, please note - unless you have an acceptable international insurance, you will be required to post a cash deposit. It's nominal, but typically between ¥3-5k, depending on hospital. More if you elect c-section delivery. Not sure if they'll take credit cards. Cash is always king.

Hopefully, as @goldie22 noted, you will NOT be required to do all those things. Depends on your hospital admin requirements, so please visit the hospital you chose ASAP, then you'll know your process for sure (maybe).

Good luck with your visit.

Yes, you will need to put a deposit... many ask for 10000 esp if getting a c-section.

And about the soup, yes, they ALL do it.

I was just trying to say that it is not required.

Make sure you also have cash on hand as some things you will need to pay for in the hospital... again, depending on where you deliver... maybe yours is all-inclusive.

Bring your own toilet paper and toiletries, pads, and all baby things... bottle, formula, clothes, diapers as they usually only provide blanket, crib and maybe one outfit.

They will try to get you to do extra things for the baby which are not necessary but you may want... swimming, extra tests... these voluntary things cost extra and I remember one test that was more than 500, swimming was 50 each day... ask if things are included or an extra fee.

Don't be afraid to decline anything you don't want.

If getting a c-section you will need one of those fabric stretchy things to put around your abdomen.

Bring one with you because they will charge you hundreds if you don't have one.

Thank you everybody!