SG man drives to China and back: 11,000km road trip in 27 days

SINGAPORE: If you’re looking for an unusual, off-the-beaten-path trip that will bring joy, Mr Able Wang may have the answer for you. His Facebook post on the MY SG Road Trip – Your Malaysia Road Trip Guide page about his 11,000-kilometer drive to China and back has gotten a lot of attention and will likely inspire others to travel the road he took.

On Oct 31, Mr Wang wrote that he was back in Singapore after a 27-day road trip which was full of extremes—in altitude, temperature and weather conditions, highways and smaller streets, and roads in various states from “horrible” to “splendid.” The experience was described as: “There were frustrations and happiness. Ultimately, it was joy and more joy.”

What made Mr Wang’s post more valuable is that he also provided information about the requirements for driving to China when one brings his or her own car. What’s needed are a provisional Chinese driving licence, provisional vehicle number, a tour guide who can manage foreigners from the day of entry until departure, and a separate Tibetan local guide if you are going to Tibet, he wrote.

However, he warned that the provisional Chinese driving licence and vehicle number need to be prepared in advance, and an application for the vehicle number indicating one’s fixed itinerary, date of entry, and departure must be handed in.

Mr Wang also explained the two ways to drive to China. One is through road trip packages with a fixed itinerary, departure time and price from adventure companies from China, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand. This is the easier way, as the companies make all the arrangements for necessary documents. He noted that these companies usually charge per person plus car application fees.

The other way is to “gather a group of friends and contact the specialised tour companies in China to arrange a road trip for you. Unless you are an experienced planner and knows China very well, you should leave it to the tour agent to plan the trip for you.” For this, one’s driving license, passport, log card, and road tax must be sent to the tour company.

Mr Wong wrote that he did it DIY style for his itinerary for Thailand when he drove from Singapore to Chiang Khong and then back to Singapore. He’s done a road trip to Thailand seven times in all. For the trip to China from Thailand, he joined a Thai adventure group and drove as part of a convoy from Laos to China and back to Chiang Khong. However, he added that he does not “endorse and recommend because the convoy leader and guide only speak in Thai language. If you have experienced travelling in a convoy, you will know the value of the instructions from the convoy leader through the walkie talkie. Bear in mind our cars are right hand drive and that makes overtaking on left hand drive roads difficult for the inexperienced drivers without the assistance from the convoy leader.”

However, he underlined that China is worth driving to and urged those interested to do it while in good health. He also encouraged them to learn to use Amap (高得) or Baidu Map in China since Google Maps are not updated in China.

“If you love and enjoy driving, just do it,” he added before going on to dispel some false information. “There is no need to pass any tests to apply for the provisional driving licence. The Chinese agent will do the conversion for you assuming you already have a driving licence from your country. There is no requirement for ‘right connections; and special permits for each province. The exception is Tibet where the agent will apply (for a) permit for your vehicle and you to enter the special zone. Any vehicles can enter China, not just diplomatic vehicles. Any type of vehicles can go to China, not only SUV and trucks. There is no requirement to report your income.”

Read more: SG-MY travel fares triples for CNY 2024 trips /TISG