Kathmandu - Lhasa and onto China . . . visas?

Hi,

I%26#39;m after some advice about getting Chinese visa%26#39;s. I was planning on getting a double-entry chinese visa from the UK (we will be re-entering China from Japan later on in our trip) before we leave.

However, on investigation of overland Kathmandu-Lhasa trips and permit/visa regulations it appears that when permits are applied for in Kathmandu the Chinese embassy invalidate any Chinese visa%26#39;s already in the passport?

This would be fine except that I don%26#39;t anticipate 25 days will be long enough to complete the first leg of our China trip (which is how long I understand the visa%26#39;s applied for by tour groups in Kathmandu are valid for) . . . and obviously won%26#39;t be valid for our re-entry a few weeks later.

Does anyone have any experience/advice of this? How easy is it to apply to extend the visa/apply for a new one in Lhasa, or Beijing for example? I%26#39;m an uber-organised person and the thought of leaving it all on the %26#39;wait and see%26#39; makes me a bit nervous!!

Any advice from more experienced travellers gratefully received! Thanks!

Kathmandu - Lhasa and onto China . . . visas?

%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;However, on investigation of overland Kathmandu-Lhasa trips and permit/visa regulations it appears that when permits are applied for in Kathmandu the Chinese embassy invalidate any Chinese visa%26#39;s already in the passport?%26lt;%26lt;%26lt;

I understand that this is the case. We met some people in Tibet that had their (expensive) visa invalidated and were issued a group visa. They were expecting that being on a group visa would cause some trouble when they would continue traveling through China, but unfortunately I don%26#39;t know how it turned out for them.

As for your second visit to China, it would probably work best to pick up a new single-entry visa from an embassy in Japan (or another country along the way).

We entered China with a regular visa and continued into Tibet and Nepal without any problem. The visa situation would probably be better if you could organise your trip to enter Tibet from within China.

Sorry I can%26#39;t provide any more details, but I hope that helps.

Kathmandu - Lhasa and onto China . . . visas?

That certainly helps - at least in confirming what i thought!

Thanks.