9 Ways to Enter China without Flying
1. North Korea to China
Definitely one of the most challenging way to enter China, swimming from North Korea would surely make you a legendary dust bowl refugee. The trick would be getting away from your guides in the first place then dodging the armed border guards. Somewhere north of the Chinese city of Dandong would be the place to do it.
Going the other way, if you are of Asian descent you could buy a Chinese passport in Dandong for around $400US. Don’t know anyone who has done this, but I imagine you would need pretty good Chinese and Korean language skills.
2. Vietnam to China
Swim across. Sorry this one has been done. An expensive way to catch a Chinese movie.
3. Pakistan to China
The only legal way from Pakistan into China, or from China to Pakistan is via the Karakoram Highway. Take a bus from Sost in northern Pakistan to Kashgar in Xinjiang. The trip takes 2 days and the highway is closed during the winter months – from late November through to May – due to heavy snow. With the highway running over the Khunjerab Pass at 4600 meters this is hardly surprising. It is also possible to ride a bike over the border although one would want to be in pretty good condition.
According to latest reports from northern Pakistan, the road will be open in May despite the severe damage incurred during last years horrific earthquake.
4.Nepal to China
From Kathmandu to Lhasa in Tibet it is just a short 920 kilometer ride through some damn fine country. The crunch for westerners is that you have to hire a car, driver and a guide which will sting you about US$500 for the trip.
5.Russia to China
There is a small opening between Mongolia and Kazakhstan where Russia and China touch. Due to the border war between Russia and China in 1979 this border is still quite sensitive so you will need all of your best Steven Seagal moves to make it across this one.
6.South Korea to China
While it is possible to get to China from North Korea, and if you were James Bond you could get to China via North Korea, for the ordinary person taking a ferry is the only option.
Ferries leave Don-Incheon (East-Incheon)– an hour and a half from Seoul by subway ($2US) for Weihai, Qingdao, Tianjin, Dalian and Dandong.
7. Japan to China
Ferries, ferries, ferries. Unless you want to swim a very long way, taking a ferry is a good way to get from China to Japan or vice versa. Ferries leave a variety of ports in both Japan and China and are generally a cheaper and more enjoyable, though more time consuming way, to transit between the two countries.
Ferries run from Osaka to Shanghai weekly and from Kobe to Shanghai on a fortnightly basis. Secondly, ferries sail from Kobe to Tianjin weekly, and from Shimonoseki (right at the bottom of Japan’s main island of Honshuu) to Qingdao also on a fortnightly basis.
Travelling by ferry will cost you about $200-300 US with a range of sleeping arrangements available. The cheapest are the Japanese style “sleep on the floor with lots of other people” rooms. These are a great way to meet a lot of interesting people over the 2 day voyage. One can also arrange a ride once off the ferry and if you are lucky it wont cost you more than a smile.
8.India to China
See the Russia to China section. Although there has been some talk of this border being opened don’t expect any action in the near future.
9.Afghanistan to China
Another of those must dos, getting into China from Afghanistan would be legendary. Evade the chaos that is Afghanistan, climb over some of the worlds highest mountains and then settle down in Kashgar for some great noodles at one of the Silk Road’s finest.
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