GoKunming Forums

Covid testing, Anyone had one done in Kunming.

tigertigerathome (172 posts) • 0

I am travelling to Shanghai next week and have been told by Ctrip that because I have a UK passport, I need to have a Covid test.

Does anyone know here I can get this done in Kunming?

AlPage48 (1394 posts) • +1

@Tiger
I'm interested in knowing more about this covid testing, from two different points of view:

First of all, since I may soon be forced into returning to Canada, I'd like to know about the test itself.

Is an appointment necessary?

Is there a cost?

What's the time from test to results?

Second of course is - why is the test required just for foreigners?

I would bet you'll be the only one on the flight, so if the virus is present the odds are it's one of the Chinese passengers.
Is this a new requirement because of:
1. The new virus in Britain and you have a British passport (despite the fact you've been in Kunming forever)?
2. Is it specific to the destination (Shanghai)?
3. Is it an airline requirement?

My daughter and a friend recently returned to Canada (Vancouver via Guangzhou on China Southern).

Neither of them were asked to provide covid test results despite the fact they travelled on Canadian passports.

Also, neither of them booked via Ctrip.

DanTheMan (620 posts) • 0

Can get them at most any big hospital, I think. I've had one at Kunming 2nd hospital (the big one on Dianmian Dadao). Pretty streamlined by Chinese hospital standards, but still some amount of running around to different departments and windows. Can get the test in the morning and results in afternoon if memory serves. I've heard there are also some smaller clinics that are even quicker.

tigertigerathome (172 posts) • +2

@AlPage48, this is what I have found so far and I will try to address your questions.
The test is available in many hospitals, and it can be speculated that procedures will be similar. What follows is information related to The First People’s Hospital of Yunnan Province (locally known as Kunhua Yiyuan) on Jinbi Lu.

At Kunhua an appointment is not needed, but you do need to be registered. Registration is not hard, but I cannot tell you the registration process as it was several years ago.

You go to the clinic in the morning between 8 and 11.30. The hospital recommends you go before 11.00. The results are available later on the same afternoon.
The cost at Kunhua is 122 RMB.

The hospital told us the test is a throat swab test.
The test certificate is valid for only 7 days.
Important note, not all hospitals offer a same day service, and some hospitals do not offer the tests every day of the week.
The test is not just required for foreigners. I am now aware of at least two local people who have been required to take the Covid19 test for travel.
This is not currently a government requirement. It is also not an airline requirement.
This requirement seems to be set by Ctrip for hotel bookings. A few months ago I remember seeing cases of foreigners with ‘firm bookings’ on Ctrip being turned away from hotels on arrival.

Not all hotels in Shanghai will take foreigners. We had to phone 5 four star hotels before we found one that would take me as a guest. The hotel we booked does not currently require the Covid negative test certificate, but they did suggest I got one in case Kunming’s Covid19 risk rating increases in the next few days.
The fact that I have a UK passport is a bit of a ‘red herring’. I specifically told my wife to say that I have a UK passport when booking. Ctrip said that I needed a test certificate. It is probably safe to assume that all foreigners would fall under the same Ctrip advice, and/or the company policies of different hotels.

I will have the test on Monday, because I fly out on Tuesday and the certificate is valid for 7 days only. I will update after my test on Monday, if additional relevant information presents itself.

AlPage48 (1394 posts) • +1

Thanks Tiger.
I asked a friend who is a pilot with China Eastern about testing.

He asked his wife who is somewhere in the offices at CE.

She suggested several hospitals for the covid test but said the best one is the same you've chosen.

I hadn't thought about hotels, but that could be an important consideration for me when I finally do travel.

Xiefei (539 posts) • 0

"I would bet you'll be the only one on the flight"

Absolutely not true. People have been cancelling some travel recently due to the new cases in Beijing and elsewhere, but every domestic flight I've been on in the past few months has been at least half full, with many completely full.

The test is now available at most large hospitals in Kunming. I got my last one at Boya a few months ago, and it was a very painless experience. Make sure you get a red stamp from the hospital on your negative test results, because... China.

I have not heard about any requirement for UK citizens to have a test for travel in China, but the specific rules will vary from one city to the next.

Since all this started, I have made a point of calling any hotel where I have a booking to confirm that they still accept foreigners, and whether they require any further documentation beyond the green health code.

AlPage48 (1394 posts) • 0

@Xiefei
You've misinterpreted my comment of "I would bet you'll be the only one on the flight".

Tigertiger's requirement for a covid test was because he was a foreigner, and therefore most likely the only one on the flight.

I've been on many flights in China in regular times that were absolutely full, but I was the only foreigner.

l4dybug (89 posts) • 0

Tiger, have a good trip visiting your daughter next week. Just an update. There may be a bit of paranoia upon your arrival due to recent discovery of UK variant in Shanghai just recently. So foreigners holding a UK passport like yourself may face extra scrutiny in coming days. The mini-outbreak in Dali, Yunnan just days ago will also add to their

extra precautions. Good luck.
Source:
www.caixinglobal.com/[...]

Related forum threads

Login to post