I am going as a passenger on a cruise ship which has one Chinese Port, Shanghai. Will I need a Chinese visitor VISA at all in order to go ashore in Shanghai? I have a 'Seaman's Book' but I will not be a crewmember on the ship at the time. I do not currently have a Chinese VISA however. It seems to me that the Shanghai City 48 hour exemption for USA citizens would apply here, but I am not certain.
Shanghai is the only Chinese port the ship will go to at all, only for one day each time (it will port in Shanghai for only 1 day each week, and that's the only Chinese port), however it might be in Chinese territorial waters on the day before and the day after we will be ported in Shanghai. It seems as though it might be a gray area here.
I would appreciate any advice you can give me on this subject!
Also, in the event that I would need a VISA for this, is it possible for an American to apply for a VISA at one of your embassies in mainland Europe (Paris for example) and then pick it up on a specified date? I am currently working on a ship and thus cannot mail off my passport to get the VISA processed, therefore I can only ever have one day in a given place to apply for and obtain the VISA.
Your help is greatly appreciated!!
Christopher
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