China and Myanmar set to open the Ruili-Muse border gate to international visitors in October

[Tomtomtom69]

More good news on overland travel to/from Myanmar.

According to Xinhua news, China and Myanmar plan to open the Ruili/Muse crossing for international visitors with passport and visa as Ruili-Muse will become designated as an international border gate in line with the 4 Thai-Myanmar crossings that opened on August 28. Under the new rules, visitors will be able to cross between China and Myanmar in either direction, with an appropriate visa, and exit from their choice of international airports (and presumably the Thai crossings as well although only the 3 international airports of Yangon, Naypyidaw and Mandalay were mentioned).

I travelled to Muse back in April and spent 2 nights there - in the same way that overland access to Myawaddy has been allowed from the Myanmar side since March (but few travellers knew about this), the road to the Chinese border from Mandalay has also been open without a permit since then BUT only next month will crossings to/from China be allowed without a permit, similar to the 4 Thai-Myanmar crossings, including Mae Sot/Myawaddy where this is now allowed.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-09/12/c_132714545.htm

[Tomtomtom69]

An interesting development is that apparently, visas can also be extended after entry into Myanmar, something which was apparently not possible on tourist visas until now. Anyway, the report does not elaborate on the details but this is welcome news nonetheless.

[SeaVisionBurma]

Excellent news Tom, thanks for posting. Should be good to monitor this one!

[Tomtomtom69]

Excellent news Tom, thanks for posting. Should be good to monitor this one!

Absolutely. Perhaps you could pin this thread.

Just re-reading the article, it says "entry visas can be extended" which is a bit ambiguous, since most travellers will be in possession of a tourist or business visa, with the vast majority of those entering on tourist visas - perhaps this is what is implied, not that only "entry visas" which is one of the many different types of visas issued by Myanmar, can be extended. Anyway, time will tell what they mean, or perhaps asking Myanmar immigration will yield a more useful answer.

[Halfaboy]

Two years ago I made it to Muse but was not able to get transportation to the Chinese border. So this is a good development.

Is there any info on transportation once you have crossed the Chinese border (coming from Muse). Are there any places or cities (on the Chinese side) you would recommend ?

[Tomtomtom69]

Two years ago I made it to Muse but was not able to get transportation to the Chinese border. So this is a good development.

Is there any info on transportation once you have crossed the Chinese border (coming from Muse). Are there any places or cities (on the Chinese side) you would recommend ?

That's very strange as you could have hired any motorcycle taxi or van driver to take you to the border post. If you made it to Muse, you made it to the Chinese border since Muse is a border town. The only thing that may have prevented you from crossing the border would have been the permit requirement, but that's it.

Once you're in China, there is PLENTY of transport from Ruili to all points in Yunnan and beyond. The nearest airport is in Mangshi, about 90-100km away and also serves Ruili and there are flights from there to Kunming and a few other cities in Yunnan and elsewhere in China. Long distance buses from Ruili to Kunming leave about 29 times a day in either direction from what I've read. In addition, buses can also take you to Dali, Lijiang, Lincang, Nujiang, Baoshan and of course Mangshi or you can charter a vehicle.

[Tomtomtom69]

Looks like it will be another couple of months, 2-3 months, according to the article I am posting for this crossing to open. But given the opening of the 4 Thai crossings, I expect this crossing to open soon, possibly before the end of the year:

http://www.ttrweekly.com/site/2013/09/china-checkpoint-upgrades/