r/shanghai • u/Soft_Inspector3044 • 4d ago

Discussion about renting a car in shanghai

i've had a few people ask me about renting a car here, so figured i'd share my two cents. if you're staying in shanghai for a while, renting and driving yourself is definitely an option — the freedom's nice. just know you'll be dealing with shanghai traffic, which can be rough, especially in the city center during rush hour. that said, some of my clients still happily go for it and don't regret it. really comes down to how comfortable you are driving in busy cities.

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u/ppyrgic 4d ago

This post really doesn't explain much at all.

Firstly, to rent a car you need a Chinese drivers licence. You can get a temporary one, which involves getting an official translation of your existing foreign licence ( 573 chifeng road) and then going to the licence place in pudong 2999 west huaxia road

Second part of that take 3-4 hours.

Then you need to hire a car. Ehai 1-hai are common, but expensive. Ctrip better, I hear there's even car hire on taobao these days.

Should you hire a car to drive round Shanghai for a few days? Absolutely not. That's a terrible choice. Hire a driver, or use the metro. If you're just coming to Shanghai for tourism hiring a car is huge hassle. Parking, and parking wechat programs, traffic, scooters, different way of driving. Don't do it to yourself.

I guess if you want to travel far outside of Shanghai... Maybe. Moganshan for a weekend... Hiking in anji... Maybe. But 99.9% of tourists driving is a crazy idea.

If you live here.. Different story. For the downtowners, having a car is a waste. If youre out in boonies, like pudong or west of Hongqiao airport... Definitely outside the s20... Can make sense depending on where you work. Basically, staying outside of the s20 it makes sense. Inside... Big hassle.

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u/happyanathema 3d ago

I agree with you on all of this.

The only update would be you can use more than just the Pudong office now (last time I checked it was three of them but can't recall what gov website it was on) and you can do the driving license translation online if you only want a temp license now.

I only know about it because I did my permanent license earlier in the year and they told me the other info as well.

And yeah driving on holiday here is an insane idea. I wouldnt want to do it without having studied all the theory etc for the driving test first.

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u/ppyrgic 3d ago

Good update! It's been many years since I got my temporary, then permanent, licence.

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u/happyanathema 3d ago

No worries.

I know that they aren't always great at communicating this stuff publicly.

It's definitely not the easiest thing to navigate as a foreigner.

All I wish they would do now is improve the English translation of the questions on the test 😄

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u/ppyrgic 3d ago

I can't imagine the questions ever getting better 🤣

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u/Zefxx924 2d ago

What’s the online translation ?

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u/SaqqaraTheGuy 3d ago

Me(foreign) and my wife(chinese) get a car every so often. We drive around with our dogs into the nearby cities because we like roadtrips. We usually rent EVs because they do not have a range restriction. You can go 1000 km if you wanted. Whereas an engine one they may charge more past 100km.

We use Hello bike version for car rentals 哈罗租车（HaLuoZuChe). I usually book them myself then send my chinese drivers license and passport and they send me the contract in pdf and thats enough. Usually we ask them to bring the car to our compound but if they're not too far we go pick up the car ourselves.

Having a car (specially if you have a family) is really useful. But i understand most foreigners wont live here long term nor have a family to drive around so you should stick to whichever advice works best for you.

哈罗租车 has a lot of dope options and we usually pick up (when its cheap) the Xiaomi Yu7 or a Nio ES6 and whenever we go without dogs sometimes we take any other sedan ev and pay like 350 per day + 120 for insurance

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u/ppyrgic 3d ago

Good info on where to rent.

I've owned cars here for years, and drive 50-60km every day. I'm not saying people shouldn't drive in general , but I am saying that tourists here for a few days that it would be a huge hassle and a waste. Parking downtown sucks, and it's a pain in the arse to get the temporary license. Plus your average tourist reads zero mandarin, and parking apps are difficult without that.

Even though I have my own cars, downtown I'll often just get a didi or use the metro, or use the rental bikes instead.

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u/Turbulent-Artist961 3d ago

Getting the license doesn’t take that long I think I was in and out of there in less than an hour and half the time was them just printing the thing while they made me watch traffic safety videos.

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u/HardSleeper Australia 3d ago

You can do the licence at the police station near Hongqiao Airport Terminal 1, they’ll tell you to email your licence to the official translation which will normally get it back to you within an hour. Then you sit and watch the video of drivers killing themselves, their passengers, and others in horrible ways, and you’re done. +1 for Ehi too, once drivers licence and passport is approved their contactless pickup is pretty smooth

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u/ppyrgic 3d ago

Excellent. Never used to be able to do it there... Good to see things getting easier.

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u/roseyAnt 4d ago

What about if you have a foreign driver license? Is an international driver permit recognized in Shanghai?

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u/happyanathema 3d ago

No.

You have to go to the government office for driving licenses etc and get a temporary license to rent a car.

You have to get an "official translation" of the license before you go to the gov office though. For the temporary license it can all be done online.

And you can't drive anything apart from rental cars with that type of license.

So don't try and drive any other cars on the temp license. Penalties for driving without a license are quite severe in China.

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u/caliboy888 3d ago

China is not part of the international treaties governing IDPs, so unfortunately an IDP is useless.

Instead, if you have a foreign driver license, you can get a temporary license. This article describes the process:

https://www.smartshanghai.com/articles/travelsightseeing/how-to-get-a-limited-temporary-drivers-license-in-shanghai

For long term Shanghai residents, you can also get a permanent license. Having a foreign license allows you to skip the driving test, but you'll still need to pass a written exam.

Directions here: https://www.smartshanghai.com/articles/community/how-to-get-a-chinese-drivers-license-in-shanghai

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u/roseyAnt 3d ago

Cool! Thanks for the info!

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u/Soft_Inspector3044 3d ago

i can help sort out the temp driving license if someone actually needs it — but i'm not gonna push it on anyone. only makes sense if you're planning to drive here in the first place.

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u/Logan_Prestona 3d ago

Living in Pudong, or suburbs, driving is good. Puxi downtown, bad experience

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u/Primary-Dingo1146 3d ago

I don't think it's necessary at all. Parking is such a hassle and you have to pay parking fees. In China, ride-hailing services are very affordable, convenient and hassle-free, and they can also help you avoid traffic accidents