Avoiding boarding refusal at Paris CDG for China
Good evening,
We’ve just returned from 3 months of travel, including 1 month in China. When leaving from Roissy, I asked at the airline counter, and their answer was: if you have a round-trip ticket, no matter where you’re returning from, they won’t ask for anything. However, with a one-way ticket, they’ll ask for proof of exit unless you have a visa. We crossed the border into Vietnam from Nanning—it’s well organized but very crowded. The contrast between Chinese and Vietnamese roads is striking: modern highways in China versus a network from another era in Vietnam. That said, construction is underway in some provinces, and there’s a project for a Ho Chi Minh City–Hanoi highway.
China is truly surprising. We returned via Chongqing, then headed to Guiyang. We made a detour to Zenyang before continuing to Guilin, Liuzhou, and then Nanning, taking our time to explore the areas around these cities. We’re heading back this autumn for another month, but to different places. The 30-day visa-free stay is still valid until 12/31—after that, we’ll see. We also learned on the ground that leaving via Hong Kong, even for just one day, resets the 30-day visa-free period, so we might stay longer there.
China is truly surprising. We returned via Chongqing, then headed to Guiyang. We made a detour to Zenyang before continuing to Guilin, Liuzhou, and then Nanning, taking our time to explore the areas around these cities. We’re heading back this autumn for another month, but to different places. The 30-day visa-free stay is still valid until 12/31—after that, we’ll see. We also learned on the ground that leaving via Hong Kong, even for just one day, resets the 30-day visa-free period, so we might stay longer there.