The Answer to the Question
Only a Nainai (Chinese for grandma on children’s dad’s side) and Yeye (Chinese for grandpa, ditto). Our granddaughters Mirah (just 5) and Rivah (2.5+) and their parents, Jonathan and Amy, live in Beijing. The pandemic deprived us of seeing them for two years. They did finally visit in Milwaukee this summer, a taste of being back together that only whetted the appetite for more. Before COVID, when Mirah was a baby and toddler, we made a point of seeing them a lot, between their trips to the US, ours to China, and a few vacations elsewhere. Rivah was a 2020 COVID-era baby, so we missed her progression from four months to over two.
A Break in the (Great) Wall of Chinese Visa Prohibitions
For the past almost three years travel to China has been very limited. We have ten-year tourist visas with four years remaining that are now totally worthless. What we needed were “family reunion” visas, but they have been reserved for emergency situations during the pandemic. When news came early this fall that China was opening up enough for us to possibly qualify, we jumped on it and applied through the Chinese Consulate in Chicago.
The Applications Have Changed
With our years of China travel, we thought we knew the drill, but the current on-line application process seeks information that we never had to provide before. Such as the names, dates, and addresses of our educational institutions–from high school on! Memberships in or donations to political parties and religious and other nonprofit organizations. Really? This was alarming. Where to start? And what would be the right or the wrong answers?
Fortunately, Shawn recommended skipping that. He’s a Chinese-native consultant in Chicago who boasts close guanxi (connections) to the consulate; we’d been emailing for about two years during our long quest to see the kids. He reviewed our applications and ensured we supplied various family documents, such as Eli’s and my marriage license and Jonathan’s birth certificate to prove I’m his mother, albeit with a different surname. We needed Jonathan’s China residency permit and Amy’s citizen documentation, as well as an invitation letter. Uploading all that and various photos was quite the computer skill test. We Fedexed our passports to Shawn and waited.
Success!
It worked! Within ten days of Shawn submitting the applications, we had our passports back complete with visas to enter China by January 17 for a maximum stay of 180 days but only a single-entry. Shawn, who has been trying to visit his parents for almost three years, told me he still hasn’t gotten a new visa, but our case must have gone through because of the urgency to see our “newborn” grandchildren. Whatever. This was late October.
Booking (and rebooking) Travel
China still requires a hotel quarantine period of five to eight days, down from seven to ten when the kids went back this summer. They’d flown from San Francisco to Shanghai, quarantined there for ten days, then flew on to Beijing. We had been in California with them before they left and knew that drill, including the 48- and 24-hour COVID testing requirements before flight time, where they went, etc. So, I booked United’s November 30 nonstop to Shanghai (there are only three a week) and figured we’d follow that path, with five days in San Francisco to ensure we could test in a timely fashion without flying there on the most crowded Thanksgiving holiday days.
But a week before we were to leave, Jonathan told us getting from Shanghai to Beijing could be a problem, so we should try to go to Hong Kong, from where there were a few flights directly to Beijing. He’d previously told us the hotel quarantine places in Beijing had the worst reputations but were improving. Also, now the requirement had decreased to five days in a hotel and the last three in one’s residence. As we are renting an apartment near the kids, we might be able to finish quarantine there.
Needless to say, cancelling and rebooking was a logistical task that took lots of time and finagling. In Hong Kong one has to stay for at least three days before going to the mainland while observing Hong Kong’s own protocols (no restaurants, pools, spas, bars or certain other indoor places) before passing its COVID test two days after arrival and getting a blue code the next day).
A Hong Kong Sojourn That Was Easy to Take!
In Hong Kong we stayed at the historic landmark, still elegant Peninsula Hotel, the flagship of the Kadoorie family properties for almost a century. The Kadoories were among the “first families” of Baghdadi (originally) Jews to settle and prosper in India, Hong Kong, and China (mainly Shanghai). Sir Michael Kadoorie, born in 1941, remains active in the hotel business, as well as in other industries. This five-day sojourn was relaxing and luxurious. We figured we deserved it before whatever our next hotel stay–in quarantine in Beijing–would bring.
The atmosphere in Hong Kong itself, despite its official submission to China in recent years and the pandemic, seemed upbeat, if less crowded in public areas than in the past. Everyone wears masks everywhere, even outdoors. But the COVID protocols are much less stringent than in China. Vaccination is more widespread, and western-type mRNA is available. There’s still a lot of glitz and glamour–and homeless people on the streets, though not as prevalent as in San Francisco.
While waiting for the testing and blue code, we could walk around in unseasonably warm weather, eat from the hotel’s Private Dining (Room Service) menu or bring in takeaway. Despite its age and legacy, the Peninsula is extremely updated, with tablets on both bedsides and the desk at your fingertips to control everything you need in the room, plus food ordering and other hotel services, airline schedules, and a range of local and foreign news media.
The Media in Hong Kong, Concerned Family & Friends: Sources of China Updates
Access to news, especially about the protests in China, was a surprise. It seemed to remain the same as it was ten or twenty years ago. We are grateful to those who contacted us to make sure we knew what was happening. We did, even before we left San Francisco. With the kids’ counsel, we decided not to turn back. Worst case scenario? More time in Hong Kong? Another destination? Well, we made it to Beijing Friday night. Quarantine well under way. More to come…
These photos provide some random highlights of our Hong Kong sojourn.
The Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong hosted a two-day Chanel event in the lobby. The tree remained after it ended.
Sunday night Packer game is Monday breakfast time in Hong Kong. Unfortunately not a winning game.
Chanel-inspired Christmas decor up the staircase at the Peninsula. Such a gorgeous place, it doesn’t need much dressing up.
The Peninsula’s Rolls Royce fleet. We did NOT book these for airport transport. There IS a limit!
Our key to freedom: the precious Blue Code.
First outing with code: dim sum lunch. Our masks are in paper mask envelopes the restaurant provides with every place setting.
Restaurant where robot brings food into the dining room and returns with dirty dishes.
If you know me, you know I swim. With the Blue Code I got to the Peninsula’s gorgeous pool before we left.
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