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Forums > Living in Kunming > Temporary drivers licence in Yunnan

Interesting indeed.

However, it looks like the only difference in status is that you don't need to be a resident in China. It may be that you still need to take the theory test for Chinese driving regulations, the info provided in the links suggests this is the case.

If I am correct, then you can get a temporary driving licence if you have some purpose to drive, part of a tour perhaps. I assume then you would be in a hired or borrowed vehicle.

For most of us, who have a temporary certificate of residence from the local police, the temporary drivers licence offers no advantages over the permanent one.

Although one of the posts in China moto, suggested it was to buy a motorcycle in another province. This is a way of buying larger engined motorcycles, I have seen 1000cc sports bikes in China (not legal in Shanghai but I have seen them with other province plates).

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Forums > Food & Drink > "Wedding Banquet" venues?

Diana's has a buffet, has nice decor, and is not expensive.
They are on Dongfeng Xi Lu near the centre.

Downside, not much for meat eaters.

Mostly Chinese dishes.

But from what I understand (if this is a Chinese wedding) they will expect a sit down with all the trimmings, Bai Jiu, and cigarettes on every table; but the Hong Bao will cover the costs. Even if it is a working class wedding, no expense is spared. Especially if this is the brides first wedding.
I don't know what the expectation is for a second wedding.

At one wedding I went to in Guizhou, they collected 450RMB per head from guests as they entered the hall.

I am glad I got married in UK.

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Forums > Living in Kunming > Importing to China

I would suggest you use a shipping agent/import company. They charge fees, but will not see you wrong, as they do all the paperwork.

I think the larger ports also have bilingual websites with some information on customs duties. Shanghai, Shenzen, Dalian, Beijing.

Local consultancies are 10 a penny, and most are not worth 2 cents. Many will just take your money and give poor advice. Possibly based on an Ebay purchase they once made, that was delivered by UPS. I jest not. I would suggest caution if approached in response to your classified add. But would accept referrals from other expat companies that import.

It might help to know what you are thinking of importing, in what quantities, from where, by what mode of transport, and through what port?

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Forums > Living in Kunming > Solutions other than VPN

I think the only other solutions are offered by Quantas, Air Asia, Air France, Virgin, United, etc. etc.

It really is frustrating, and now even paid for VPNs are going down it is depressing.

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Comments

As for going after the lower level guys.
The fat cats were milking other fat cats.
It is all the little lower level guys that make life difficult for the guy on the street, and expensive for those on low incomes.
It would be nice to think of an egalitarian round up (tigers as well as flies), but most people are plagues by flies, and are unaffected by tigers.

There are a lot of restaurants in our area. It used to be that there was congestion caused by cars parked at the side of the road. This was most nights of the week. Some places had exotic dishes and high prices.
Now the roads are clear except for festivals, and prices even a middle income family can afford.
You can draw your own conclussions.

Talking of construction. One solution is to build a new town from the ground up the adequate infrastructure. This was done in Dali and oops, Chenggong. Shanghai has also built a number of satellite cities/towns.

The accumulated debris is a problem and not all of it is trash, a lot of it is leaves, twigs, and dust/dirt. Often this can not be effectively dealt with until it accumulate. You can have teams going around clearing culverts and grids, but not every bit of debri that could potentially reach the culvert.
This is a universal problem.

There is the same problem in Shanghai and Beijing, the drains are not up to coping with the heavy rains, even though they come yearly.

Urban planning is often about sprawl, without the effort to upgrade the old infrastructure. The norm is to jus connect the new drains to the old. The new drains may even have sufficient capacity, but there is a bottle neck as water reaches the old drains. Until there is the political will to dig up and replace the drains in the older parts of the city (costly and very disruptive to local residents, traffic, and business) we will continue to see occastional flooding. It used to the be same in many towns in the west.

Reviews

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A reasonable choice of lumber that has improved over time. Fancy hardwoods like walnut, and mahogany are in abundance. There are some plywood and rubber-wood boards available. There are also some kiln dried imported softwoods and merbao available. Some of the lumber is very green, so look for the kiln dried if you need stable timbers.

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Echo everything said by others.
Breakfast great and the serve from 8am. Most other places say 9am and they still are not ready.
Sandwiches are cheap 22-32, and really packed full of filling. We got some sandwiches for a day out, the only mistake I made was ordering two, as this was too much. These are seriously good sangars, and they are wrapped in alu foil.

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In fairness to Metro, they are a wholesalers, and not really a supermarket. Hence the need for a card, which can be got around.

They have improved in the year I have been away. They now carry a more consistent range of imported foodstuffs and they also seem to have sorted out the mported milk supply.

They have a wider range of electrical appliances now, there is a coice of more than one toast. There is also a better range of seasonal non foods, like clothes, shoes, garden furniture and camping gear.