How to plan your trip
Travelling to China to carry out activities within the framework of SDC should be viewed as any other travel activity carried out by employees at the Danish universities. This means that you are responsible for your travel arrangements, which include:
• Applying for visa (if required)
• Booking airline tickets and other transportation
• Booking hotel
For more extensive information of relevance to your stay in China, please see “Going to China” on Moodle.
If you have not registered at Moodle, please see the guidelines about how to register.
Travel expenses
Please note that settlement of travel expenses must be made with your own university. SDC will subsequently reimburse your university in accordance with the compensation structure. Consequently, there are no financial transactions between you and SDC.
You find the compensation structure here.
Travelling with research equipment
If you need to bring any kind of scientific equipment, research material etc. to China, make sure you meet the requirements of the customs laws of China.
If you fail to declare goods, you risk a penalty and to have the equipment/material confiscated.
Applying for a Visa
Temporary visa-free policy
From 30 November 2024 to 31 December 2025, Danish Citizens may enter China visa-free for stays up to 30 days for tourism, business, family visits, exchange and transit purposes.
This means that teachers and researchers, who are Danish citizens, do not need an F-visa (exchange, visits, study tours or other relevant activities) to travel to SDC in China.
Please note, the Chinese Visa Application Service Center in Copenhagen recommends you bring documents (invitation letter) which help to verify your purpose of visit if any doubt should arise.
If you are going to stay in China for more than 30 days, you still need to apply for a visa.
Before planning your travel to China, it is recommended to stay updated on the Chinese Visa Application Service Center’s website.
How to apply for a visa
You apply for a visa at the Chinese Visa Application Service Center in Copenhagen and all relevant information regarding the application process is found on their website.
Normally, researchers and teachers should apply for an F visa (exchanges, visits, study tours and other activities).
One of the requirements for obtaining an F visa is an invitation letter, which is issued by the Danish SDC Office.
Note: Teachers and researchers who plan to stay in China for more than 90 days must apply for a permanent residence permit and an X visa.
If you have any questions regarding the visa application process, please contact the Chinese Visa Application Service Center.
Show up in person
In most cases, The Chinese Visa Application Service Center in Copenhagen will collect fingerprints from applicants on behalf of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Denmark in accordance with Chinese laws and regulations.
This means that you will have to show up in person at the center in Copenhagen in order to get the application process underway. If you have already submitted your fingerprints make sure to check the validity with the Chinese Visa Application Service Center. The same applies if you have been issued a new passport.
Invitation letter
Before applying for an F-visa for China you need to acquire an invitation letter. We recommend that your request for an invitation letter is send in due time prior to your trip to China.
An invitation letter is obtained via the Danish SDC Office in Aarhus. Please send an email with the topic “Invitation letter” to contact@sdc.university.
The email must include:
• Full name (as it appears in your passport)
• Passport no.
• Date of birth (DD.MM.YYYY)
• Expected arrival and departure date(s) for your stay(s) in China
• Purpose of visit (e.g. teaching, research, workshop)
The agreement that SDC can issue invitation letters is solely between SDC and the Chinese Embassy in Denmark meaning that if you are applying for a visa at a Chinese Embassy elsewhere, you must ask Qin Yihong for an invitation letter.
Announcing your trip to China
SDC have integrated a calendar on the Moodle dashboard. Here you can see when your SDC colleagues are in China. Therefore, we invite all Danish and international + non-Beijing faculty to use the calendar once your research/teaching trip is booked.
Go to “Planning Teaching” to find more information about how to register your presence on campus in China.
Information security
As an employee at the Danish universities, you need to think about information security when travelling – especially to high-risk countries. When you travel within the framework of SDC you must adhere to your home university’s travel policy.
Here, you should find a number of recommendations and rules for example in relation to IT security (change of passwords, use of Bluetooth, 2-factor authentication, secure connections like VPN etc.).
Accommodation on or near campus
SDC Building Apartments
SDC hosts 20 modern hotel-apartments on the 5th floor of the SDC building on the Yanqihu Campus.
The apartments are not serviced as regular hotel rooms and should be viewed as an Air B&B. You must buy food and drinks yourself; cleaning is every 5th day or by request; you must do basic tidying up (e.g. dishes) yourself. There is no room service.
The apartments are managed by UCAS International Conference Center and follow their pricing of 350 RMB per night.
Booking procedure
To book an apartment please send an e-mail to Qin Yihong, yhqin@ucas.ac.cn, at the SDC Office in Beijing.
Remember to include the following information:
• Full name
• Arrival and departure dates
• Special requirements (if any)
Check-in address:
UCAS International Conference Center
Yanqihu North Jingjia Road
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
Huairou District, Beijing, China, 101408
Go to Moodle for description of the different apartment types, list of equipment etc.
Hotels
SDC teachers and researchers who prefer to stay at a hotel are recommended to stay at the UCAS International Conference Center (350 RMB per. night), the Swan Lakeview Hotel (700 RMB per. night – deluxe room),the Sunrise Kempinski Hotel Beijing (800 RMB per. night) or the Qihu Hotel(850 RMB per. night -garden view. Except holidays.). Prices include breakfast for one. Additional fees may apply on Chinese holidays.
Booking procedure
Due to the high demand in the hotels in Yanqihu, please book your hotel room directly with QIN Yihong at least 2 months in advance. Your room is not booked until you receive a confirmation letter or e-mail from QIN Yihong
To book a room please send an e-mail to Qin Yihong, yhqin@ucas.ac.cn, at the SDC Office in Beijing.
Remember to include the following information:
• Full name
• Check-in date
• Check-out date
• Purpose of stay
• Preferred accommodation
(UCAS International Conference Center, the Swan Lakeview or the Sunrise Kempinski Hotel Beijing)
UCAS International Conference Center
Yanqihu North Jingjia Road
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
Huairou District, Beijing, China, 101408
国科大国际会议中心北京怀柔京加路雁栖湖北岸中国科学院大学雁栖湖校区
No.1 of Yan Xiu Road, Yan Qi Lake,
Huairou District, Beijing, China, 101408
北京中建雁栖湖景酒店北京怀柔区雁栖湖雁秀路 1 号，近京加路
Sunrise Kempinski Hotel Beijing
No. 11 Courtyard, Yanqihu South Road, Huairou District, Beijing
怀柔区雁栖湖南路11号院 北京 北京市
No. 11 Yanxiu Road,
Huairou District, Beijing
北京市怀柔区雁栖湖雁秀路11号 怀柔 北京市
Accommodation in Beijing
For researchers who have to stay in Beijing during their trip, SDC have agreements with the following hotel. We are currently working on establishing more hotel agreements in Beijing.
Park Plaza Hotel
UCAS has signed a corporate agreement with Park Plaza Beijing Science Park at 638 RMB per night (single deluxe room) including breakfast for one person, service fee and tax.
To book rooms on the UCAS agreement send an e-mail to Qin Yihong at yhqin@ucas.ac.cn.
In the subject field write “Park Plaza Hotel Reservation – UCAS agreement”.
The email must contain the following information:
• Family Name
• Given Name
• Date of Arrival
• Date of Departure
• Smoking/non-smoking room
Park Plaza Beijing Science Park
25 Zhichun Road., Hai Dian
Beijing 100083
China
Hilton Hotel
UCAS has signed a corporate agreement with Hilton Hotel for rooms at 815 RMB per night (single deluxe room) including breakfast for one person, service fee and tax.
To book rooms on the UCAS agreement send an e-mail to Qin Yihong at yhqin@ucas.ac.cn.
In the subject field write "Hilton Hotel Reservation – UCAS agreement".
The email must contain the following information:
• Family Name
• Given Name
• Date of Arrival
• Date of Departure
• Smoking/non-smoking room
1 Dong Fang Rd, North Dongsanhuan Rd
Beijing, 100027
China
ID/canteen card for UCAS
All teachers Yanqihu campus must get a personalized canteen card (this card is also your teachers ID card). To get a personalized card you must send the following information to yhqin@ucas.ac.cn.
• Name
• Gender
• Passport number
• Professional Title
• SDC MA Programme
• E-mail address
• Chinese visa photo (35mm tall by 25mm wide（295 pixels × 413 pixels (resolution 300dpi))
It will take about 2 weeks for your personalized card to be issued, so please order it well before arriving in China.
Assistance from SDC staff
Events
Event and Relations Coordinator Kristian Brandt Samuelsen can assist with guidance and practical issues, if you plan to host an event at SDC.
Contact information:
Email: ks@sdc.university
Mobile: +86 178 0116 9581
Study administration
For study administrative assistance, please contact the relevant staff from the Chinese or Danish SDC Office.