I've also been to Dongchuan numerous times always by car...takes about 2.5-3 hours, god knows how many by bus. Driving yourself (or with a driver if necessary) will allow you to see as much as possible in as short a time as possible. 2 weeks in Yunnan just using land-based public transport is possible, but it won't allow you to see everything - you'll either need more time or your own transport...Yunnan is quite a big province and away from the expressways it takes a long time to get anywhere.

This is not the complete test, but it does give you an idea of what to expect: the questions and answers are all from the actual test.However, on the actual test these questions will be drawn from a pool of 1500 possible questions I believe:

www.shekouonline.com/drivingtest.html

Also check out the post below:

www.gokunming.com/[...]

Yuanyangren thanks so much for the info on getting a driver's license. I was planning on getting a temporary license in Beijing since I'll probably on use it the one time but it's good to have a backup in Kunming. Can you tell me anything about driving in the Yunnan? Are there road signs? I can get maps with the Chinese characters to compare to the signs. We drove around Costa Rica before there's were any signs posted and sometimes had to just stop at crossroads till someone came by to point us in the right direction.

If you are trying for the temporary license issued at terminal 3 of Beijing airport, then you should read this first:

www.thebeijinger.com/[...]

I'm a great fan of traveling independently. So I will provide some positive links as a counter to that somewhat depressing one. BUT BY NO MEANS IS THIS A RECOMMENDATION FOR ANY OF THESE TOUR OPERATORS. THEY COULD BE LEGIT OR A NIGHTMARE. CAVEAT EMPTOR.

drive-china.info/
www.toptrip.cc/about/know_driving.htm
www.chinaoverlandinfo.com/index.asp

I am the guy renting car with or without driver. and I have give guidence for foreigners to get a local driver's lisence.(need possibly a week to obtain). I suggest you rent a car to drive by your self in that you could enjoy more freedom along the trip. car renting price ranging form 150rmb minivan to 250rmb mpv, low deposite around 1000-2000rmb, which make car renting readly feasible.

Thanks AlexKMG for the great link. Still not sure what I'll do but it's looking like my idea of renting a car myself is very complicated if not impossible.

Yogaden.....you signed you name louanne and are from AK. Are you from Juneau???? If yes, contact me.

Yes this is louanne from Juneau, but how can I contact you.

@yougaden

You should click on KAYARAK's name in yellow, next to their post. This will take you to his/her user profile page. There is an option there to send a private message. You can then check for replies by following the 'DASHBOARD' link at the top of this page.

tigertiger Thanks, I figured it out; it didn't show up before because I wasn't signed in when I went to KAYARAK's profile. Actually, it may have been because I was on my iPad.