Has Anyone travelled to Nepal by China Eastern Airlines? Do we need any transit visa for china?

 yes if you are going out of the airport to stay in a hotel or your total transit time in China is over 24 hours!

Yes Stylish, After Extensive Research, i am now aware that the VISA is Required.Also too much of hassle travelling through the same.I then decided to Use the Turkish airways. FYI, if u are looking for out boarding after Sept 1st of this year, U could try Turkish Air.I got pretty good deal on TA.

GOOD LUCK.....

Biwash have you travel led that route? I already booked the ticket and I am wondering.. Garibketa I m going on July and not September that's why...

 Hello garibketa.....how was ur experience using turkish airlines, did u had long transits...do they provide accomodation or transit visa....i am planing to use turkish airlines but i have to go thru 24 hr transit...

Please anyone travelled by China Eastern or any other airliners of China via china to Nepal ? I would appreciate. I already booked the ticket and I want to travel with peace of mind . Any experience...

Hey Stylish,

These questions about the visas are very important. If you are confused and don't know the proper answer, then call consulate office of China in USA and ask them. This is the way to get proper and authentic answer. Don't seek it here and depend on other's views. You can google for the phone numbers of Chinese consulate offices.

Aba tesai garnu parla..The nearest consulate office for china is like 4 hours drive from my place so in worst case I need to have visa stamped..

 i have NOT traveled through China but have first hand experience of talking to China Eastern staffs in the USA as well as China. Also I have extensive information gained through research about China Eastern as I was thinking about traveling through that airlines as the price was super cheap!

YES, you do need a transit visa IF you want to go outside the airport and sleep in a hotel or else you do not need visa as long as your transit stay in China is less than 24 hours. For example, if your transit is 15 hours in Beijing and 15 hours in Kunming, you will need a transit visa as your TOTAL transit time is 30 hours; which is more than 24.

you will have to collect your luggage at every transit airport and check them in everytime.

i do not think that they have hindu meal choice for inflight. reviewers have said that oriental dishes are served.

bring ipod and your own entertainment as many flights do not have inflight entertainment and no western movies and programs. some flights only have big screens and no personal screens at the seat.

 http://sajha.com/sajha/html/index.cfm?threadid=103480

http://sajha.com/sajha/html/index.cfm?threadid=103591


check those threads out. they have information regarding China Eastern and traveling through China.

dont forget to come back and share your experience so that we can know how the experience was!

Thanks Biwash for the Feedback ! Yeah I already bought the ticket before reading the reviews so I have to live with it now. I am flying from SFO -> Shanghai -> Kunming -> Kathmandu. I confirmed with one of my friends mom who just came recently from Nepal via the same route and according to him Transit Visa was not required for his mom which I was mostly Scared of rather than the luggage. I checked the china embassy website for the Transit Visa and according to it if the layover is more than 24hr then its required and also if you want to leave the airport you need the visa. Since I will be flying with my wife I guess we need to deal with it and get company of each other and heard there is free wifi in the airport..:)

 
Last year i traveled from China Eastern. The seat was not confortable, food wasn't good, charging port was not working and they were playing  only chinese movie. If you have longer transit in Kunming and you are arriving late night, you must keep chinese currency because all the restaurants at the ariport do not accept Dollars and Currency exchange counter will be closed after 10.. However, you will find many brokers at the airport, with whom you can exchange currency.. 

Thanks Nepali Waiba for sharing your experience. I am guessing you did not need to have to take Transit Visa or anything of that sort.

I did not have to take transit visa because the transit was less than 24 hrs..

Not a single airport personel could speak english, so you got to find your gates, baggage claim etc by yourselve, however, if you ask them they will try thier best to help you, but it will  really hard to understand them.. i felt really weird when the secruirty personnel hold us for while and took our passport and did not ask  us anyting. I think, since we dont have MRP passport,  they might have confused how to work with this kind of passort , so it took little while to figured them out .. So, don't feel weird, if they do the same with you.. 

One thing I really liked about the China Eastern: all the connecting flights were on time and moreover, flight from LA to shangai  and kunming to Nepal was before the scheduled time. 

I choosed this airline because it was super cheap. so-("You get what you pay for" ) i got what i pay for 

"V" Peace

Thanks Nepali Waiba. The information you provided is really helpful and really appreciate it. I would not say it was super cheap for me but it was somewhat cheaper than the other airlines. I paid $1520 per person - route - SFO ->Shanghai ->Kunming ->KTM , KTM->Guangzhou ->Vancouver->SFO.

Guys Visa not required...if the transit is less than 24 hrs... i have issued lots of ticket and no problem so far....

 if you have issued lots of tickets as you claim..........CAN YOU BE KIND ENOUGH TO SHARE EXPERIENCE TRAVELING ON CHINA EASTERN THROUGH CHINA??

probably more people would buy tickets if there was flow of information. dont you think so?

I travelled last year on China Eastern with transit at Shanghai and Kunming. Visa was not required. We do need to go through their immigration. They stamped "Stay Permit" valid for 24 hours on our passports during entry at Shanghai. And we need to submit Departure Card when we depart Kunming. During the transit, I suggest to stay well inside the airport and don't even step anywhere near the Airport gates. Sometimes the officers stop and ask questions such as where are you going. I would suggest to wait close to your Check-in counters. If you plan to go out of airport or transit is more than 24 hours, then you need to apply for visa beforehand.

I am travelling soon havent really bought any clothes hoping to shop in china

I just completed my second trip to Nepal using China Eastern Airlines. I had travelled to Nepal last year as well on the same airlines. There were no Major issues. Following are some new updates:

- I noticed this time there were more Nepalese passengers compared to last year.

- During this trip, the flight from Kunming to Kathmandu was delayed about 1 hour. Also the return flight from Kathmandu to Kunming was delayed by about 1 hour.

- When you book tickets, make sure the Full name on the Passport matches the full name in the Ticket, including middle names etc.

- Transit Visa was not required since my total transit time in China was less than 24 hours. When you calculate transit time, make sure to include the domestic flight time between Shanghai and Kunming. Not just waiting time at those airports.

- I still could not connect to the "Free WiFi" at Kunming Airport. WiFi would have helped to time pass during long transit. It asks for Chinese mobile number to setup WiFi Account. I asked the guy at the information desk but he was unable to help, instead he said free WiFi is available at Starbucks, but Starbucks was closed at late night. It is also good to carry "Travel Plug" so you can charge the laptop.

- Kunming Airport can be very cold (even during summer) so make sure to pack some warm clothes and blankets.

- I also noticed there is a "24 hour Airport lounge" near Starbucks in Kunming airport where you can pay about $27 (168 Yuan) to rest in comfortable couch. I did not use it but it may be good to know if you don't want to sleep in the chairs. 

- On the return flight from Kathmandu, the immigration officers at Kunming were taking extra time to check passports of Nepalese passengers. So the wait time was a bit longer for Nepalese. It seems they suspect we are using fake passports or stealing identity. But eventually everyone passed through without any problems.

- Following are some pictures from my travel