I know I can get a 6 year license but I heard it's possible to quickly get a three month temporary license by showing my US driver's license.

Has anyone done this in Kunming?

A quote from this website:
www.china.org.cn/english/LivinginChina/201154.htm

"Foreigners who have a driving license issued by their home countries can apply for a temporary driving license and drive in China without having to take related tests, according to a clause in a regulation issued by the Ministry of Public Security.

The regulation, which deals with the management of automobiles and foreigners that come to China for a short stay, stipulates that the valid period for the temporary driving license should not exceed the period marked in the entry and exit certificates, and the temporary license can be valid for three months at most. The valid period cannot be extended. In addition, the temporary driving license should be used together with the driving license issued at his or her home country and foreigners should always take these two licenses with them, in case traffic police ask them to show these licenses at any time."

OK, well I have a valid 6-year Chinese driver's license which was quite easy to get (apart from the test, which due to a lack of study and the Chinglish I didn't pass the first time, but did pass eventually last October).

I have heard that temporary licenses can be issued at border crossings, for example the Mohan crossing coming in from Laos or at Beijing international airport; not sure if they are issued once inside the country. I am not sure about the requirement to only be allowed to drive "small cars" or "automatic cars" on these licenses although my guess is it's basically Chinglish that means "can't drive large vehicles such as semi-trailers or buses" rather than not being allowed to drive pickup trucks for example. I say this because I saw a ton of Lao-registered vehicles in Sipsongbanna (Jinghong, Mengla and all points in between) just last weekend and most of them were much larger than the average Chinese car; we're talking pickup trucks (made up the majority of all vehicles I saw and mostly Hilux Vigos), Hummers and SUVs (typically Toyota Fortuners). Basically, most of these Lao registered vehicles are very rare or unavailable in China. For example, I have never seen a Chinese registered Fortuner, though I have seen 2 Chinese registered Hilux Vigo pickup trucks (apparently they are manufactured in Guangzhou now).

Anyway, I digress, but I believe that all these Lao drivers have at least temporary Chinese licenses (or perhaps some of them were actually Chinese with business interests in Laos and thus had Lao registered vehicles? Didn't get a chance to ask, because the Lao looking driver of one Saiyabuli registered Fortuner in Jinghong ran away when my Thai friend asked him if he was Lao so he could ask for directions in that language, really weird...)

It is easy enough to get a 6-year license here in Kunming, but if you really only want a 3-month temporary one, go to the same place (Traffic Management Station) that issues the permanent ones as I don't know if any travel agency would know anything about this.

Finally, I don't think anyone driving into China with say, a Lao-registered vehicle, particularly if they are not going beyond Jinghong would be required to "take classes on Chinese road traffic rules". Similarly, foreigners flying into Beijing and obtaining their license their would also not be required to do so - this would just deter too many people.

I live in Tengchong and we've got plenty of Burmese people here with Burmese registered cars. China and Burma have an extensive range of cooperation regarding working and travelling. I wouldn't be surprised if it was just a matter of a Burmese license being valid in China but I'll ask around. Also there are very lax regulations on Burmese cars entering China while the other way around is near impossible hence Chinese people who do regular business in Burma just buy a car there and drive it both places. Around here the preferred choice seems to be huge Toyota Landcruisers due to the questionable roads.

Thanks for the detailed responses! I keep falling asleep reading the Chinglish driving manual. I am sure to fail... can't seem to remember which PSB organ i need to go to when I de-register my car since 90 days after a traffic event has elapsed.

@danmairen, there are always much, much more Lao vehicles driving in neighboring countries than Burmese ones in my experience. Even near the Burmese border west of Jinghong I only saw one car that may or may not have been Burmese registered, but the rest were all Lao registered. Burmese cars probably aren't allowed to travel very away from their border, which is why I've never positively identified any Burmese cars driving in China (I haven't been to Tengchong though). When I was in Mangshi for example, I didn't see a single one. However, I hear that all you need to bring in a car from a neighboring country into China away from the border is by contacting a Chinese person who needs to vouch for the imported car as a guarantor - this would need to be done at immigration upon arrival and then the border guards print out a form that allows travel deeper into China than just the border area.

Anyway, aren't Burmese cars really expensive? Would make more sense to buy a car in China and register it with Burmese plates if you ask me.