Changes at Lo Wu

[Stoob]

The immigration people at the "new Huanggang" seem to be freshly trained and keen to try their English as this is the first place any of them have ever spoken to me

I think the Shenzhen immigration officers must be going through a personality transplant program... I went through Shekou ferry terminal a few weeks back and was addressed by the officer in very polite english ("good morning sir.... etc.), he even asked me to look at my passport then asked if it was ok if he stamped it in the location he pointed to...

It is chalk and cheese between the PRC officers and the miserable pr***ks you can get on the HK side these days.

One recent example was when I was shown to the empty residents cubicle during a quiet time at SZ Bay... I politely asked if the officer ('Fat b*****d') would not be quite so rough while handling my passport.... he immediately pointed to the 'Residents' sign and gave me my passport back, unstamped. I didn't have time to complain as I was rushing for a flight, doubt it would have made much difference anyway!

[hktraveller]

...At both LMC and LoWu they seem to be handing out the new forms as if they were ration tickets. Hard to get a good supply of them but I hope this changes...

I got a good stack of them at Luo Hu yesterday.

[Sleuth]

The customs at the "new Huanggang" do not have much to do and will inspect luggage far more often and far more officiously than at LoWu and once they have decided to inspect your baggage they are overbearing and determined to find something. Tomatoes and avacadoes are on the "banned list" but I had onions from a supermarket impounded.

I've noticed this at Lo Wu also. Earlier this week they stopped me and made me go back to the xray machine and put my laptop bag through. If you count earlier business trips from the US, I have been crossing this check point for almost 3 years now (and almost daily for over a year) and I have never had to put that bag through until this week. And, in that random imigration control logic, only on that one day this week. But they seem to always have a small crowd being checked out at the desk.

[hktraveller]

I've noticed this at Lo Wu also. Earlier this week they stopped me and made me go back to the xray machine and put my laptop bag through. If you count earlier business trips from the US, I have been crossing this check point for almost 3 years now (and almost daily for over a year) and I have never had to put that bag through until this week. And, in that random imigration control logic, only on that one day this week. But they seem to always have a small crowd being checked out at the desk.

On the other hand, I had been stopped at the old Huanggang several times over the years with obviously too much carry on. Among these: 1 Color Laser printer for 15000 HK$, 1 Herman Miller Chair, Hifi Stereo, Large Speakers ...
And every time I could talk my way through without payment. When they stopped me at Luo Hu I always had to pay a deposit refundable on returning it to HK (Which I originally had no intention to).

[hktraveller]

...At both LMC and LoWu they seem to be handing out the new forms as if they were ration tickets. Hard to get a good supply of them but I hope this changes...

I got a good stack of them at Luo Hu yesterday.

Update: Yesterday they were again giving out one at a time. No stacks lying there. So try to get 2 so that you have a spare one to fill next time you want to go.

[jaykay]

Update: Today they were out on the counters so managed to make a good start to my new store of China visa slips........I wonder how many of the old ones are now filling up our declining HK land fill capacity......

[Stoob]

I wonder how many of the old ones are now filling up our declining HK land fill capacity......

I would really like to know what purpose these forms actually serve in a world of machine readable passports???

[hktraveller]

I would really like to know what purpose these forms actually serve in a world of machine readable passports???

I have stopped asking "why" in a country like China a long time ago.

[Sleuth]

I would really like to know what purpose these forms actually serve in a world of machine readable passports???

I imagine that, somewhere in the middle of China there is a tall, gray building and inside that building there are hundreds of workers who sort these forms from the various border control points into stacks; perhaps by color or size or nationality. They then feed these stacks of paper into a giant computer or machine which, in turn, spits out a list of possible candidates for deportation and/or prison and at the same time produces some sort of paper decoration which can be sold at the building gift shop for 100 RMB (tourist price).