Hello,
Our visa one month expired on June 2 We were told, cycling experiments, and the Office of Public Security in Beijing, it was possible to renew it in any office of Public Security in China. Try It Out Friday we proceeded Xingtai. This should take 5 days and we had over the weekend pass. In addition, we were asked to prove financially that we had enough money to live a month in China. Erm, erm ... Experience cycling again, we said we will try in the next town - Anyang.
We arrived here Sunday after-noon. In contrast to the campaign or there is no difference between a weekday or weekend, the streets here in town were very quiet. A great contrast with the road G107, a cacophony of horns was not able to speak, much less hear the birds or the sound of wind in the branches, and crowded with buses, trucks, tractors, vehicles with 3 very noisy wheels, and other vehicles of any kind. Then our day here yesterday on Monday, which I think is worth to be told in detail.
10am - We had an office address of the Public Security - good not far from the hotel. It will walk. It is a normal police station. No renewal of visa. We show our little book of phrases. We try to have the address to the office, far apparently, by taxi. The police tell us to wait. That's what we do. They talk about us. It does nothing of course. They seem to relax and take smoke breaks. We are still waiting and we do not know why. We get impatient. We want to go. They say no and ask us to wait. 30 to 45 minutes later a police car arrives and it is she, and not another, which takes us gentian in the office of Public Security (for the sequel, it will be BSP).
11h - In BSP. The 2 police officers do not just come with us but stayed with us. We're talking about a first person who speaks a little English, but a second call by phone. Meanwhile, it explains our case (we do not know totally what) with 2 policemen. They now know more than us. The first person, a young woman rigid leads us into an office to meet a second wife a little less rigid. This leaves us a small booklet which seems to have lived and tells us: "You can not renew your visa. As a westerner, you try not to get carried away and act to the Chinese "no jump in the mood please." He explained that a right to renew 2 times a month, as stated by Beijing as well as texts on the Internet. As a Xingtai, the BSP did not have Internet access! No distraction at work please. They therefore rely on the paper only. This second woman phone, speak, and pass the phone to Rupert. A third woman, speaking perfect English, told him that we can renew our visa, but they must prove there was asez money. OK, OK We have lots of money we, especially full of credit cards that many Chinese do not know what that might be! We return to the first wife. The two policemen are still there. Photo for Oceanne ... Another person added, Xueyan Zhang. Come to fetch his passport after having permission to go study in Australia, she was requisitioned to serve as our translator. At first, we do not understand who she is and think it's another employee. Authority requires, it can not refuse to help police (who apparently is a person who can speak English) or that she did not have time. It is really very nice. It helps us fill out forms, go get a picture taken in the next office. It must also register at our hotel because it had not done for us (that's another story that will be in another post!). The first woman told us then that can only have 2 weeks and not a month. It becomes a bit more Western by slightly angry. How does the boss on the phone told us a month? For months, we must show $ 100 per day per person is 9000 $!!!! OK, OK, it's a. ..
12.30 - Xueyan Zhang proposes that we go to his office to print our bank statements (the BSP did not have Internet access) and take us to our hotel to our recording stamp. We must report all between 15h and 17h. Instead we have our visas in three days, it could be tomorrow. With all that, we had to also explain what we did as a tourist this month and this month we wanted to do after, say nothing at all about cycling. Even if everyone sees us on the road, we think that the cycling in China for the BSP is not welcome, so we avoid talking about it and it is shown on the map are cities where we were (the trace, hotel nights are recorded). We therefore share a taxi to the office of her husband Xiongfeng Ma, located next to hers. These are scientists, his Ph D work the Cotton Research Institute. A category of people a little less rigid ...
13h - Transfer money from one account to another. Hop, hop, you print the statements. Thank you a thousand times. They invite us to a restaurant for lunch! Wow! They are all 2, and their daughter, 11 months, the grandmother (mother of Xiongfeng Ma) comes from Lanzhou and takes care of their daughter, and nephew of Ma Xiongfeng It will have 2 taxis. We are surprised at the restaurant. It offers Chinese and Western dishes. We choose Chinese and Western they choose! We eat it with chopsticks mastery rather well, and they eat with knife and fork they hold strange! The dish is composed of Western returns an egg, a steak, and a portion pasta! Nice meal. This is the first time we have a close contact with the Chinese. It leaves the grandmother, daughter and nephew and one starts with 2 in taxi to the hotel. It is stamped our forms. Meanwhile, the couple taught by employees of the hotel that we landed here by bike. All this a bit confusing. Difficult to explain all this. They do not understand my English (like many others - except Rupert - for that matter). They leave us because they must return to work. It is well understood. They leave us their business card if you need more help. They put us in a taxi to the BSP.
15h - It happens with all our papers all proud. Everything seems to unfold as properly. The first woman, then the second woman asking for detailed explanations of these bank statements. I may be putting too much emphasis on a visa card with a credit limit of $ 17,000 ... There is suddenly a bit too rich ... The second woman asked our professions. Skeptical, without consulting me, she has another call from innocent to get her passport (which has it took him the day) for him to translate statements. I insert myself to explain to the woman's black dress, which she also notes that we are rich. Why an account balance for "normal" is the money you have and a credit card is money that is?? I do not fit into these details ... The whole process is underway. We were told to wait one hour and will our visas. Yeah!
16:15 - Crisis! We want to know more about us. We wonder if we are married. We want proof qu'Oceanne is our daughter. Decidedly, these 2 women do not leave us alone! We protested. The only identity we have with our driver's license. She photocopied. We have certificates and are at the hotel! It does us no requests this morning. The poor lady's black dress, she takes everything really ... Everyone hears us in the office. The tone was really up. The hotel is far away, we spent our whole day. One has to move every time every 3. Oceanne impatient in this office. The lady's black dress tells us to calm down, we should not stand like that. It is the authority. They are entitled to ask what they want. They can deny us our visas because of our attitude. I told him that the employee simply come to the hotel to get the papers. I do not know if it makes the translation ... We refused and was asked what makes us all. We want to abandon the process here. Rupert has already paid. Moreover, they were surprised that this is as quick and as easy for us to go to the bank and have 480 yuan (about 48 Euros). The woman's black dress says it's too late, everything is done. Expected.
16.30 - In good conscience and not be on the "black list ', I take a taxi to the hotel. It takes 20 minutes and the office closes at 17h ... Hop papers. Hop a cab, like the same driver.
16:55 - Here are 2 certificates. The two women have a big smile ... One would anyway bring June 2 (June 1 being a holiday, celebration of children) to get our passports.
17h - Visa on our passports! We have to leave China on 1 July. Or renew another time ...
The woman's black dress wishes become our friend. We exchanged emails. She is Chinese-English translator for his boss who does business with the Germans. She will have the opportunity to go over there. She wants us back at the hotel's car with his work that his colleague (who was expected throughout the morning after) results. We apologize again for our conduct towards her. She had not wanted ... His salary, apparently the average is 2000 yuan per month (about 200 Euros). That's one thing we are discussing in the car. What she has to do with his money, she has no alternative: to provide for his parents, his brother, who has not studied much and did not work well paid, his sister until she could do herself. Then with the money, buy a house and a car. And eventually if there is something a little traveling.
17:30 - Exhausted from our day, we have supper in the pulp chamber. They have completed but we had our extension! The discovery may continue on a daily basis.
We could leave today, but we wanted to give a day at Oceanne. Trip to the grocery to go picnic in a park. The supermarket is extremely noisy, and I think unusually crowded. It really feels like on another planet! Then to the park by bike. The trailer Oceanne never goes unnoticed. At the main entrance of the park, we stop for 5 minutes about what to do with our bikes that we find ourselves surrounded by a crowd. It stifles it and fled. We seek a quieter entry. What happens today? There are people, but more so than normal about the world, everywhere. Nobody works? Firecrackers jumping around. A brass band blocking the street. THE mess! Beautiful day out! We discover shortly after it leave for the day kids! In the supermarket or full because parents buy them all a game and then open the park, best place to be with family is what we thought too! We picnic quietly anyway. When you eat, it's the only time the Chinese do not approach us. Oceanne then plays with the children. She is excited and runs with them. She can play with as much older than the youngest. A Chinese professor of English children aged 8 years just talk to us. She says she is for the exchanges with the West. In Oceanne seeing far, she told her daughter: "Here a stranger, you should go talk to him." It seems that the Chinese are discovering something they had always been closed to through us. She then left for his daughter asked him to go to the supermarket! We are going to do the pedalo on the lake. Then we discover the old part Ayang. There are people and noise everywhere! Tour de manege for Oceanne. It is also, by concidence, the feast of the children for her today. It then goes out to dinner with our friends discovered yesterday afternoon. The restaurant is packed and everyone eats the same thing! The children have already had their meals at KFC, and the parents eat the dish west. It is really "in", they had come to try it just! To wait for a table, people are not waiting at the door. They settled at a table or they see that people have done and they expect soon! It took time to understand and it is still discipline a little too long to get a table! By cons, there were people next to us half of our meal. Besides Western dish with cinnamon sauce and very spicy, and a steak that was not a steak ... Better to eat Chinese in China. We wondered where the restaurant was purchasing pasta because we did not find at the grocery store this morning. The Chinese eat their food very quickly is surprising. 20h, the day ends, there is a little less people in the streets. As we walked back home. I retouve computer with free internet in the room to write to you. That completes the 2-day Anyang. We climb on our bikes tomorrow.
Whenever we have opportunity, we map the blog to date. It's a good way to follow us on the road. This is done more frequently than email.
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