I need to file for a new US passport sometime soon, but I'm not eager to waste my vacation in cold, rainy, Chengdu. Is there some commercial service that I can pay to file for me?

I can fill out the forms, etc.

The consular use

to come to Kunming and offer these services. Find out if they are coming this or next month. That is how I got my renewal passport.

Do you speak, read and write a reasonable amount of Chinese? I may be able to recommend an agent to you.

Canadians can do the whole thing by mail. Don't Americans get that option?

US Consulate - Chengdu, US Citizen Services weblink:
chengdu.usembassy-china.org.cn/[...]

The US Consulate Chengdu is also listed in the gokm <LISTINGS>.

The US Consulate Chengdu has traditionally required personal or authorized proxy delivery of passports for renewal, however they do provide quarterly courtesy service visits to Kunming, for LIMITED US Citizen Services.

As a US Citizen - email the consulate's US Citizen services email address for information on their next quarterly courtesy service visit to Kunming. The email for US Citizen services is in the CONTACTS section of their website.

The US Consulate - Chengdu used to have an unpaid voluntary representative here, but I believe that position has been vacant for quite some time.

The effects of the new POTUS Trump on US State Department and ultimately US embassies and US consulates around the world are unknown and should prove interesting to observe.

From US consulate: "Unfortunately, offsite services such as this were discontinued last spring due to new new security and financial regulations. This is a country-wide issue affecting all consulates that unfortunately we can not change. One thing that we have done in response to this is to institute a mail-back service so customers and their families would not need to make two trips. "

Thanks everyone.

Anyone taken the bus to Chengdu? Is it much worse than the train?

There is a consulate in Guangzhou. Usually pleasant mild winter there, though rainy cloudy right now, but warm. We just got high speed rail service to there now, assuming you can get a ticket. Need to make an online appointment at the go consulate site if you go in person.

@Kongming: I really do not recommend the bus. It will take a lot longer and be much less comfortable.

You could either:

- Find a friend who will be travelling to Chengdu soon and have them serve as your proxy. Check the consulate website for the required documents. The completed passport can be mailed to you here.

- Go to another consulate, such as Guangzhou or Shanghai

@dan
thanks for the status update on the Chengdu consulate's courtesy service termination. Sucks to be a US citizen sometimes.

@kongming
Bus sucks, but if you're young and don't mind being scrunched into a sleeper bus with a bunch of other smoking hacking snorting, snoring and farting passengers, it's less expensive than the train (but NOT right now).

gokm used to have a sister website (gochengdoo.com - it's still operational). Find a RELIABLE visa agent on their website - issue them a proxy letter (aka limited power of attorney) giving them permission to submit your passport renewal application. It'll absolutely be less expensive and less stressful than attempting to travel at this time of year. If you're teaching at a university - they MAY have a US citizen colleague at a related facility in Chengdu who may do this for you for a nominal fee (or even for FREE!). That would be the best solution. Regrets - I don't have any US Expat contacts in Chengdu aside from the embassy staff and they can't and won't do this for you.

VERIFY with the chengdu consulate as to the format of the proxy letter, so it's acceptable - then ems your passport, application, pictures and fees to the proxy and they'll take care of the passport renewal for you. Make sure you include your return address in KM (assuming your around here somewhere), you include the extra fee for return EMS, and the consulate will mail the new and old passports back to you. Hopefully the visa agent can enter the US citizen services area, to drop your passport and fees off for you - shouldn't be an issue, unless SNAFU/FUBAR/SHTF ("ship hits the sand") applies.

This avoids the roundtrip travel horrors, nightmares, and expenses at this time of year (including ground transportation to and from the consulate) and should resolve your passport renewal issue with significantly less stress. Also - make sure you request the extra page passport - it's no additional cost, as well as your passport pictures.

On the travel issue, which you may not have considered - for buses, you can probably use any old foreign ID card, but trains may and planes will absolutely require an authentic original ID - so you'll need to travel with copies of your passport - and you'll run the risk of those copies being rejected at the various ticket offices and boarding platforms, especially airports and potentially train stations.