How to Obtain a Beijing Motorcycle License (Without an International License to Convert)

To drive a gas motorcycle legally in Beijing, you need to obtain a motorcycle license, for which you have to be able to pass the Chinese written tests and a driver’s education course that is “instructed” in Chinese.

Chinese licenses are classified by the types of vehicles you wish to operate. Class D includes both three-wheel (sidecars) and two-wheel motorcycles; if you get an E license, then you are only legally licensed to drive two-wheel bikes. Class F is for the cute 49cc scooters. My recommendation is to go for the gold and get a Class D license, so you’d be able to work for the cool folks at Beijing Sideways and also have your own little Suzuki at home.

1. Register at Laoshan Driving School

In order for foreigners to obtain a motorcycle license in Beijing, they must go through Laoshan Driving School. No other driving schools will accept foreign students. Laoshan is way out to the West on Line 1 near Babaoshan Station.

• Call the school (8897 0748 or 6886 2551) to confirm what you need to bring to register. Last time I checked it was: a copy of passport and visa (not sure if there are any visa restrictions; I did it on a Z visa and a classmate of mind was on an X); several passport photos; a health check certificate (can acquire from going to local hospital and explaining that you need a health check for a jiashizheng 驾驶证; I went to the hospital near Haiyuncang called 北京中医药大学东直门医院, Dongzhimen Hospital Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, and it took about 10 minutes. You need pictures for that too); and the fee (around RMB 3,000 for Class D and a bit less for the E (it changes occasionally and is higher for foreigners; their price list for Chinese nationals is available here).
• You have to go all the way out there to register, so make sure you call ahead and have everything before you make the trip.
• Once you register, you’ll be expected to pass the first written test (out of two),and will be given a slip from Laoshan to take to the testing center/traffic bureau.

2. Prepare for the written test (Test 1)

• Preparing for the written test just requires going through the practice questions online. You can search in Baidu for the year you’ll be testing in + D (or E if you don’t need that extra wheel) motorcycle license Beijing (2016年D照摩托车题目). Here’s a link for one of the sites I practiced.
• That website provides several different ways to prepare, including flash cards, and practice tests. Just make sure you know all the keywords and understand the traffic rules, which are not always based on common sense. Some questions are about the law as well, so you’ll have to know what the penalties are for various infractions (fines, points deducted from license, jail time, and so on).
• The website provides you the pool of questions from which 50 are selected randomly for the written test. The test is on a computer and there is no English option, so you’ll have to get familiar with the Chinese testing environment.

3. Register for and pass the first written test (Test 1)

• Once you feel ready to take the test, go to the 北京车辆管理所涉外管理科 (Foreigners’ Wing of the Beijing Vehicle Administration Department) of the 北京市公安局公安交通管理局车管所 (Beijing Municipal Traffic Management Bureau Vehicle Administration). It’s just off the Southeast Fourth Ring Road. You’ll see the big entrance in front of you, and the department for foreigners is around the left side of the building. There is a small sign, and you’ll see some other foreigners excited to cruise (or sit in traffic).
• Bring your slip of paper and whatever other documents you need to register for the test. I can’t remember what they are but Laoshan should tell you. They may even send someone to meet you there to make sure that you have all the documents. You’ll be bringing some passport pictures which will ultimately be used on your license, so make sure you look good in them. I apparently didn’t, so my photographer decide to Photoshop my skin to make me look even whiter and younger.
• You can’t take the test on the same day you register, unfortunately, so this is the first of several trips.
• Remember your date and return that day to pass the test. Again, it’s on a computer, and you’ll be going up into a big room with other people who are all taking the written test (but not necessarily for the same license).
• When you finish, you’ll receive a printout with your score. Usually the person in charge has to sign it. You will need that to be able to start your skills classes at Laoshan. If you fail, you can reschedule to take it again at another date.

4. Go through Driver’s Ed and pass the driving skills test (Test 2)

• Once you take your written results to Laoshan, they’ll tell you that they’ll be in touch with you to arrange your skills class. They should be able to tell you in how long that would happen, but it could be a few weeks. They’ll call you to let you know.
• The class takes about 4-5 days, from either Monday or Tuesday through to Friday. Go the first day, and the instructor will explain the course that you will have to drive through to pass the test. Then, it’s essentially a free for all, taking turns with other students vying for a license in the same category to practice various parts of the test. The instructor doesn't really stick around for this part.
• If you are going for the D license, you will be practicing on extraordinarily old and unmaintained Changjiang sidecars. Skills required to pass the D test are: Being able to do figure 8's around flags without knocking them over, being able to get up into second gear, being able stop on an incline and then keep going, being able to keep the sidecar tires over a few raised ridges (spatial skills). If you are going for the E license, you will be on the little 80cc Jialings, on which you’d want to be careful to not do a wheelie by accident since they are very light bikes. The skills test is essentially the same.
• You don’t necessarily have to go every day to practice driving. Just make sure that you show up for the test. They’ll tell you what you need to bring that day. Basically, during the test, a policeman just sits in the middle while everyone does the course. Half the time they aren’t even watching, though you should still know how to operate the vehicle for the sake of your life as well as everyone else's. 
• When you pass the test, they’ll give you another little slip. When I did it, Chinese students had to wait and take another test, but they let the foreigners who passed that test just proceed to the next step. I’m not sure why, though I presume that’s the ominous Test 3. Anyway, that’s the last time you’ll have to go out there.

5. Register for and pass the second written test (called Test 4)

• With your little slip of paper in hand, go back to the place where you took the first written test. Register for the final written test, which, when I did it, drew from the same pool of about 400 questions that the first one does. Again, it won’t be on the same day.
• When you pass, bring the signed slip downstairs and talk to the moderately friendly people at the desk. They should be able to issue your license that day.

Congrats, you've passed! Just remember, if you purchase a motorbike, keep in mind that the bike itself has a booklet that should accompany it (if it’s plated, which it is required by law to be), and that procuring gas in the city often requires you to display both documents.

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