NoisebridgeChinaTrip5: Difference between revisions

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* You also need:
* You also need:
** a printout of a filled-out [http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/visas/fd/W020130830801798289342.pdf Visa Application Form V. 2013 of the People's Republic of China] (I'll email you my filled out form as an example to follow).
** a printout of a filled-out [http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/visas/fd/W020130830801798289342.pdf Visa Application Form V. 2013 of the People's Republic of China] (after we have everything we need I'll email you my filled out form as an example to follow).
** a copy of the information pages of your passport.
** a copy of the information pages of your passport.
** a copy of your most Chinese visa (if you have been to China before).
** a copy of your most Chinese visa (if you have been to China before).
** one 2"x2" recent color photo (not a printout).
** one 2"x2" recent color photo (not a printout).
** a screenshot or printout of hotel reservation confirmation (I'll email this to you).
** a screenshot or printout of hotel reservation confirmation (I'll email this to you when I have this).
** a printout of your invite letter (I'll email this to you).
** a printout of your invite letter (I'll email this to you when I have them for us).
** a copy of your airline ticket.
** a copy of your airline tickets (both to and from China).


* For US citizens, the visa cost $140 (much cheaper for other nationalities).  Starting this year, you can get a multiple-entry, good for 10 years.  We should all apply for a Tourist L visa.
* For US citizens, the visa cost $140 (much cheaper for other nationalities).  Starting this year, you can get a multiple-entry, good for 10 years.  We should all apply for a Tourist L visa.

Revision as of 13:40, 4 July 2015

NOISEBRIDGE CHINA TRIP #5
-- Start Date: 2-October-2015, in Hong Kong
-- End Date: 21-October-2015, in Shanghai

Trip #4 Welcome to China!, Beijing
Trip #3 Kung Fu Hacking: Hackers In Residence Kickoff event at Tsinghua University, Beijing
Trip #2 Visit to Petrochemical Univeristy, Beijing
Trip #1 Jingshan Park, Beijing
Trip #1 Visit to injection molding factory, Shanghai

This will be the 5th Noisebridge Hacker Trip To China.
In previous years' Hacker Trip To China, we've visited cities that currently have a hackerspace, and visited my manufacturer, Seeed Studio, and other manufacturers. We also visited Tsinghua University, considered the most prestigious university in China, and other schools -- all of which are now starting hackerspaces. We also went to the International Exhibition of Inventions Kunshan (IEIK 2014), near Shanghai. And everywhere we went, we were shown around by local geeks, to see what they thought was interesting where they live. Also, wherever we went, those of us interested gave talks, presentations, workshops, and demos.

You can see info on the Noisebridge China Trip 1, that happened in 2009,
Noisebridge China Trip 2, that happened in 2011,
Noisebridge China Trip 3, that happened in 2013,
Noisebridge China Trip 4, that happened in 2014,

-- Mitch.


When: 2-October-2015 (Hong Kong) through 21-October-2015 (Shanghai).

Flight, transportation, and hotel Info: We were each be on our own to book our own air fare to meet in Hong Kong on 2-October, and fly home from Shanghai on 21-October (or from wherever you decided to fly home from).

I'll organized the itinerary and the hotels and other transport. I'll pay in advance for all of this, and you can pay me back.


Where: In each of the cities we will go to, we'll visit their local hackerspace(s), and will be shown around by local geeks to see what interested them where they live. We'll also have plenty of time to do "normal" (and spectacular) tourist things too!

Here's some possible places we might visit:

  • We'll start our trip by meeting in Hong Kong on 2-October-2015. We will visit Dim Sum Labs hackerspace. We'll also see lots of other cool stuff in Hong Kong.
  • We'll next go over the border into Mainland China to Shenzhen / Guangzhou for a few days to visit Chaihuo Makerspace and SZDIY hackerspaces, visit Seeed Studio - the open source hardware company - to meet the cool folks there and to see their manufacturing facilities, and to visit with Dangerous Prototypes - another open source hardware company. We'll also visit some other manufacturers, to see where all the things we use in our daily lives come from. Of course, we'll also visit the famous (and totally awesome!) Huaqiangbei electronics market in Shenzhen.
  • From there we'll go to Shanghai where we'll visit my manufacturer (Etonnet) that I have used for TV-B-Gone remote controls and NeuroDreamer sleep masks, where will all, hopefully, get to see how products are made, from start to finish, learning how manufacturing works. We will also visit XinCheJian hackerspace in Shanghai, and maybe Onion Capsule Makerspace in nearby Hangzhou. We can also visit the Shanghai electronics mall.
  • We'll also go to Beijing. We'll visit the Beijing Makerspace hackerspace. We'll also visit Tsinghua University, where they'll just be finishing construction of the world's largest hackerspace.
  • We'll make our way back to Shanghai, where, for most of us, our trip will end.

Many people on our trip will fly home from Shanghai on 21-October-2015.

I will be staying in China until 2-November-2015, when I fly home from Shanghai. Before then I will be traveling around China. Everyone is welcome to join me for any or all of these further adventures. (And, of course, are free to leave whenever you like.)


Cost: For the third Noisebridge China trip, I paid about $2k total, including air fare from SF and food and everything -- including all the electronics stuff that I bought.
Part of this year's trip may be paid for by Tsinghua University.


#hashtag: #httc2015      (Hacker Trip To China 2015)


Actual Itinerary sketch for Hacker Trip to China 5

1-October-2015 -- Leave home for Hong Kong
2-October-2015 -- Meet in Hong Kong
2-October to 6-October -- Hong Kong ???  (Subject to change)
6-October to 11-October -- Shenzhen ???  (Subject to change)
11-October to 14-October -- Shanghai ???  (Subject to change)
14-October to 20-October -- Beijing ???  (Subject to change)
20-October to 21-October -- Shanghai ???  (Subject to change)
21-October-2015 -- fly home (arrive NA or EU on same day)

Everyone is welcome to join me for any or all adventures after 21-October

I'll stayed in China, traveling around until:

2-November-2015 -- fly home from Shanghai






Photos from Hacker Trip to China #4

Mitch's photos from Beijing, Nov-2014
Mitch's photos from Shanghai, Nov-2014
Mitch's photos from Shenzhen, Nov-2014
Mitch's photos from Kunshan, Nov-2014
Mitch's photos from Shanghai (2), Nov-2014
Mitch's photos from Beijing (2), Nov-2014
Mitch's photos from Tianjin, Nov-2014
Mitch's photos from Beijing (3), Nov-2014
Mitch's photos from Singapore, Dec-2014

You will Need a Chinese Visa!!

To go to China, you needed to get a visa!

  • And to get a visa, you need to have a passport that is valid at least 12 months after you planned to fly away from China (so, e.g., if you are leaving China on 21-October-2015, then your passport needs to be valid through 20-October-2016). Your passport must also have at least one entirely blank page.
  • You also need:
    • a printout of a filled-out Visa Application Form V. 2013 of the People's Republic of China (after we have everything we need I'll email you my filled out form as an example to follow).
    • a copy of the information pages of your passport.
    • a copy of your most Chinese visa (if you have been to China before).
    • one 2"x2" recent color photo (not a printout).
    • a screenshot or printout of hotel reservation confirmation (I'll email this to you when I have this).
    • a printout of your invite letter (I'll email this to you when I have them for us).
    • a copy of your airline tickets (both to and from China).
  • For US citizens, the visa cost $140 (much cheaper for other nationalities). Starting this year, you can get a multiple-entry, good for 10 years. We should all apply for a Tourist L visa.

You can pay the fee by Visa, MasterCard, Money Order, Cashier's Check or Company Check. Cash or Personal checks are not acceptable.

To get a visa, you can go to your local Chinese consulate. No appointment is required. You go in one day, and it will be ready for pick up 4 business days later. My experience is that it takes about an hour the first day, and takes only a few minutes to pick up the visa a few days later. (2 to 3 business-day and 1 business day/same-day express service is available for $20 or $30.)
NOTE: The Chinese consulates are all closed for holidays on: 1-May, 25-May, 3-July, 31-July, 7-September, 1-October, 2-October, and other dates:
2015 Chinese Consulate Holiday Schedule

(Citizens of US and Europe do not need a separate visa for Hong Kong.)


Here is the application form for the China Tourist L Visa (same as the link given above):
http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/visas/fd/W020130830801798289342.pdf

I'll email you my filled out form as an example to follow -- but here is the basic idea (from my 2014 visa form):

On this form, most of the fields are obvious.

  • For section 2.1, check "Tourism".
  • The date of first entry in section 2.4 is the date we entered China, which was 2014-11-03.
  • Longest intended stay -- section 2.5: 30 days.
  • Itinerary in China -- section 2.6:
    • Date: 3-11-2014
    • Address:
      • Orange Hotel Beijing Zhongguancun
      • 北京市海淀区北下关街道皂君庙甲7号
  • Who will pay -- section 2.7: myself
  • Information of inviter in China -- section 2.8:

          Name: Xia Hui Dong
          Address: Shun De Building #410, Haidian District, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084
          Phone number: +86 186-1832-8671
          Relationship with applicant: host

  • For sections 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5: check the "No" box for all these
  • For sections 3.6, 3.7, 3.8: leave all these blank

Previous Noisebridge China Trips

If you're curious about the previous Noisebridge China Trips, they have their own wiki pages:
Noisebridge China Trip 1
          That first Noisebridge China Trip was inspired by Bunny Huang's "geek tour".

Noisebridge China Trip 2

Hacker Trip to China 3
Hacker Trip to China 4


-- Mitch.



People interested in going on the Hacker Trip to China #5, 2015:

PLEASE NOTE: THIS TRIP IS NOW FULL -- Below is a list of all people on this year's Hacker Trip To China.

You do not need to be a member of Noisebridge to go on this trip!

Please email me if you have any questions, or if you would like to meet up with us on the trip:
mitch *AT* CornfieldElectronics *DOT* com

The trip is limited to 20 people total (including Mitch)
-- the first 19 people (after Mitch) who are either there already, or who bought tickets to meet in Hong Kong on or before 2-October-2015 are the people who are in this Trip
       (which probably means flying away from home on or before 1-October)

Note: Many people have gotten good deals on their plane fares (including me) with the help of my friend Vlad at:
       Flystein
Feel free to email me, and I'll send your email to Vlad, who will be happy to help you with your flights.


Name Purchased flight? Flight info
1 Mitch Altman Yes Arrive: 2-October-2015, 6:40pm, on United UA869 from SFO
2 Sergiusz Bazanski Yes Arrive: 2-October-2015, 3:40pm, on Lufthansa LH796 from FRA
3 Jeremy Zunker Yes Arrive: 2-October-2015, 8:25pm, on Delta DL281 from SEA
4 Chris Lombardi Yes Arrive: 2-October-2015, 6:40pm, on United UA869 from SFO
5 Simon Schubert Yes Arrive: 2-October-2015, 4:45pm, on British Airways BA27 from LHR
6 Emily Hammes Yes Arrive: 2-October-2015, 4:45pm, on British Airways BA27 from LHR
7 Blake Griffith Yes Arrive: 30-September-2015, 11:30am, on Air China CA101 from PEK
8 Steve Young Yes Arrive: 29-September-2015, 5:05pm, on Air Canada AC7 from YVR
9 Tudor Tarlev Yes Arrive: 1-October-2015, 11:15am, on Hainan Airlines HU8169 from PEK
10 Colten Jackson Yes Arrive: 2-October-2015, 8:20pm, on Cathay Pacific CX807 from ORD
11 Dave Tharnstrom Yes Arrive: 2-October-2015, 6:40pm, on United UA869 from SFO
12 Alex Alekseyenko Yes Arrive: 2-October-2015, 6:40pm, on United UA869 from SFO
13 Hugo van Santen Yes Arrive: 2-October-2015, 5:30pm, on Virgin Atlantic VS206 from LHR
14 Conor Riches Yes Arrive: 30-September-2015, 9:45pm, on Etihad Airways EY834 from AUH
15 Scotty Allen Yes Arrive: 2-October-2015, 5:30pm, on Virgin Atlantic VS206 from LHR
16 Melanie Rieback Yes Arrive: 2-October-2015, 9:35am, on Aeroflot SU212 from SVO
----- ----- -----
17 Ulrich Gall Already there Joining PART of trip only, TBD.
18 Cedric Already there Joining only for Hong Kong and Shenzhen.
19 Jonas S Karlsson Already in HK/China Joining parts/HK/SZ/Shanghai
20 Michael Aschauer Already in Shanghai Joining PART of trip, TBD (already in Shanghai before and after)
21 Frank Teng Already in Shenzhen/HK Joining part of the trip, SZ/HK and possibly SH