China Driver’s License
You cannot drive with an International Driver’s Permit in mainland China; China has not signed the convention which created IDPs. You must have a Chinese license to drive in China. (Hong Kong-, Macau- or Taiwan-issued licenses are not considered Chinese licenses.) PRC laws say that foreign residents can have driver’s licenses and that an IDP can be converted to a local license, possibly with an additional examination. It is now possible to get a provisional driver’s license very easily in major cities like Beijing. You can get one directly from the counters at Beijing Capital Airport without any tests. Actually getting a regular license may be quite complicated. The particular complications seem to vary from place to place and over time.
