My Unexpected 72hours in Shanghai, China

What I thought was going to be a fun and spontaneous trip, quickly turned into almost being deported upon landing in China for my connection. 

My plan was simply to fly to Vietnam and spend some vacation days getting to know the mysterious country. What I failed to do was check if a visa was required for entry. Sometimes it becomes so easy for me (as a flight attendant) to think I can fly anywhere, but this wasn't the first time I've gotten a slap on the wrist. 

I was flying from Los Angeles, California to Shanghai, China. I had about a couple hours there before my connecting flight. As soon as I landed I went to get my connecting ticket. The lady asked for my tourist visa but I responded I would be staying less than a month (as many countries only require visas if staying for longer than 30/60days). She nodded and handed me my ticket. 

I was now in line for a custom clearance. When it was my turn, the man looked at my passport and shook his head. He pointed to a counter and told me I had to go back. I was confused, I went to the counter and with the language barrier it was hard to understand what they wanted from me. I showed them my passport, boarding pass, and work badge while three of them tried to communicate they needed something else. After a while they finally waved me through. 

At this point I had finally gone through security and found something to eat, as my flight was about to board in less than thirty minutes. I sat down in another boarding area, away from the chaos of people eager to board. An area where there were no people, so I could eat quietly. As I started eating my pastry, a man walked up to me and asked to see my boarding pass. I was sitting in an empty boarding area  about 3 gates away from my actual gate, where there was clearly no flight leaving anytime soon. I asked him why and he just repeated to show him my boarding pass. I handed him my passport with my boarding stub and he said I needed to follow him. I told him no, but he insisted his boss needed to see me. At this point I was scared, I was scared because of all the confusion earlier and now why me? Why did I need to follow him? And how did he even find me, as I was not even sitting at my gate? I scavenged his blazer looking for a badge of some sort and all I found was a clip that read trainee. I didn’t want to go with him, but as I was traveling using airline benefits I couldn’t cause a scene or refuse to comply because of the fear my flight benefits could be compromised. I thought, I’ll follow him but walk slowly and if something seems off I’ll go another way. 

We ended up exiting security and he flashed the TSA his badge so I knew then he was a legitimate airport employee. He took me back to the stand I had originally been at. They now had another employee who spoke English. The new employee told me I didn’t have a visa which was a requirement for entry to Vietnam and that they were trying to fly me back to the states because with no visa I had violated some sort of regulation. Basically, I was being deported. 

I was in disbelief. I had flown almost 14hours that day only to be flown back. I started to get anxious, my mind racing, but I stayed so quiet overwhelmed with all the loud thoughts in my mind. The man interrupted my thoughts about half an hour later letting me know there were no more flights to the states and they now were trying to see if I could get the visa online and possibly make my flight for the following day. I started to panic, I hadn’t plan to stay in China. I had no currency or actual cash to exchange to be able to get a cab. I also had no cellular service to look for a hotel and the airport had no wifi to connect to. I got very quiet as all these stressful thoughts started coming in like waves. What if I didn’t make my connection the following day since I was flying standby, I had done no research on China, how would I move around... 

Since I had no service the man at the stand was kind enough to turn on his cellphone hotspot so I could go online and get my visa. I paid extra for the express visa with hopes I’d be able to make the flight still. Within seconds I got an email saying my visa would arrive in the 4hour rush once offices opened up which were Monday-Friday 8am-5pm. It was Friday evening. At this point I was just numb to everything going on, I didn’t want to stress because what good could that do for me now. I was already in the situation. The man said that they would give me a 144hour temporary tourist visa for China, but if I wasn’t able to acquire the visa for Vietnam before then I would have to fly to another country before flying back to the US or I would be banned from ever coming back to China because I had broken some sort of regulation. I was shocked, but every country has their own strict policies I'm sure.

He said the company would get me a hotel for that night but after that, I was on my own. I couldn’t believe it, they were going to get me a hotel! I was so happy I could have cried. This was like a hand being extended to me as I was trying to cross a river of stress. After getting my 144hour temporary visa for China, the man pointed me to the direction of the hotel. 

The hotel was attached to the airport so I did not have to worry about getting a cab with no currency. As soon as I checked in I was given the WiFi code. Once in the room, I plopped on the bed exhausted. I was so thankful for a place to rest, however I knew I only had that night to figure out my plan with WiFi. I opened up my social media apps but they weren’t loading. I opened Google, still didn’t work. Yet all my emails were coming in on Yahoo. That’s weird, I thought, I called downstairs to let them know the internet wasn’t working yet they reassured me it was. I tried again, no response. I went downstairs and they said I was connected. That is when I decided to try another server, I remember when I was in college we would sometimes use Bing.com. It worked! Immediately  I realized and remembered that in China a lot of websites and apps are blocked and content is controlled by the government. I was glad I had remembered about good 'ol bing.com so I could make a new plan and find another place to stay, since I wouldn’t have my visa until Monday morning. After roughly making a new plan I fell asleep. 

In the morning after checking out, I walked through the airport to the train station. There was a subway connected to the airport and that was my way into town and to my new hotel. I stood in line to buy a ticket at the machine. I didn’t know how I would go about selecting my stop since everything was in Chinese. I panicked as soon as it was my turn. I turned around to apologize to everyone waiting in line since I was completely clueless. The man behind me helped me after I showed him a photo of where I was trying to go. 

Once on the train I felt at ease. I sat down watching people step on and off the train. I had screenshot the stop names and ETA (estimated time of arrival).  The stops were announced in Chinese then in English, which made riding the subway ideal, and what became my preferred method of transport the whole weekend. Once at my new hotel I asked the girl working the front desk if she had any recommendations of places to visit and she was so kind to write down a small list for me including which subway lines and transfers I needed to take. For the next two days I explored as much as I comfortably could without freezing. I had only brought clothes for the warm weather in Vietnam and in China it was very cold and rainy. I ended up buying a thick knitted sweater but I had no room in my small carryon to buy a full coat. I ate, ate a lot and visited little towns, my favorite being Zhujiajiao Ancient Town. I reminded me of Venice, Italy but a Chinese version so tranquil and full of little shops.

This little unexpected bump on the road detoured me to show me a small piece of another country. Leaving me with a desire to come back. 

Have you ever been to China?

xoxo,

Guadalupe ❤