Ever been to China? I haven't, but I will be very soon! You will need a visa, but the process isn't hard. Aren't things like this always easier when you have someone or have some info on how the process works? Before I start writing about that, I'll tell you about my experience! If you do things properly and with any helpful advice from others who have gone through the same process, you'll have a better chance of having a more enjoyable experience. I only heard one person speak to a more senior employee there because he wanted to argue a point that "it didn't say I had to do that". Well, lets get something straight here folks - if they say, "no", arguing and debating is not going to do you any good. Everyone there is nice, they have a person at the entrance to help you and they are all very calm. Super pleasant experience with zero stress :) This isn't a restaurant or food I'm reviewing, it's the whole experience I've had with my visa application. And having an easy, pleasant experience like I had is all I'd like to share with you and hopefully will help anyone planning a trip to China one day. Start off on the right foot! My friend told me to go to the visa website and print off the visa application then just I drop off my application... and that's all he said. As I learned, there's a lot more to it than that: 1. visit calgary.china-consulate.org and go to the visa application section. Once there, you can choose to fill out your application online or print a blank one and fill it out by hand. I filled it out online. You will need the name, address and phone number(s) of where you will be staying. 2. Once you complete you form, use the online appointment booking system to know when a good time to come in to drop your application off is - this saves you from having to wait a long time at the office; When you arrive there, they have a qeue ticket system and the first option is, "booked appointment online". 3. Bring a photo for your visa application. Believe it or not the photo used for your application is 2"x2" and not your standard passport photo size. The photo guy at Costco geeked out on this :P now I know lol. It costs $7 at Costco. 4. Bring your passport. They will actually keep your passport during this process until you come back to pick up your visa. This is normal, don't be alarmed haha Note: It can take up to 4 - 5 business days I process your visa. Tip: Book your plane ticket first. In the application, it says that you may need an invitation letter if you are visiting friends an it has to be signed by them. If you can't get that, all you need is a printed copy of your flight itinerary. 5. When your done submitting your application, they give you a piece of paper that tells you when you come back to pick up our visa and passport. 6. Come back to pick up your visa as early in the day as possible. They open at 9am weekdays. Bring $82 - that's how much it costs. If it says something cheaper than that somewhere, don't believe it - there's additional service fees that isn't clearly posted everywhere. That's it! Bon voyage! and thank you Chinese Visa Service Center :) read more

Chinese Visa Application Service Center - it's on the second floor - Embassy Near Me - Calgary, Alberta

People here barely speak a lick of English. Frustrating and slow service due to the fact that they take people who aren't in queue or shout out and have conversations with people in waiting area while with client. Most frustrating experience I've had with a visa centre! Also, they just sit around as incompetent applicants who have incomplete forms go and complete at the computer station. Why not take another client? Come prepared to wait for a min 1.5 hours. read more

I dropped off a visa application on behalf of my daughter who was unavailable to go herself. She is going to China to study for a year. She gave me all the relevent information as per the instructions on the website along with the invitation letter for the school she will be attending. She also called the centre with a couple questions which were handled by a helpful and pleasant person. I went to the application centre early in the day and was greeted by a pleasant gentleman at the entrance who directed me what to do. I didn't have an appointment, but it didn't matter as there was only one other person there. I was helped immediately by an agent who was very efficient and corrected a couple small errors which I needed to initial. She had me make a copy of the passport with a copier in the waiting area where the helpful reception gentleman did for me. So there was no need to leave the passport with the agent, and unlike one reviewer mentioned on this site, a passport photo was adequate. Very pleasant experience. I was in and out in less than 15 minutes with a slip to pick up the visa in 5 days. read more

My husband and I had no problems filling out our application online and printing the forms. We made an appointment and were there half an hour early. Five minutes after arriving, our number was called and after checking our applications, we were finished within fifteen minutes. It's a great service they provide and are very helpful. read more

I echo the sentiments of the previous reviewer. It is a delight to interact with this center. They are very well organized and make the process painless. They have an appointment system so you can sign up for a time but you can also walk in and drop off. I was not sure about that so I called their published phone number. I did get the recordings of what time they open and the web site address but then an option to talk to a person. That person came on very quickly and answered the question. You do not need to enlist or pay for any help to fill in the forms. When you are at the desk at the center they will assist and allow you to make changes and initial. So if you are not sure of an entry or get it wrong the center can help you fix it. China is great destination. Take advantage of the local pain free visa process and go. read more

We showed up at the Chinese Consulate in Calgary. We wanted to ask basic questions about the border between Hong Kong and China, as the hotel we wanted to stay at seemed to be on the border and we did not which side. Can you believe for a Chinese Consulate there was not a map of China in the place, they could not tell me where the border was, just three teller windows like a bank to receive cash. The tellers were excellent at receiving your money and telling you how to go about acquiring a Visa read more

The staff here don't speak English. I asked questions that were straight forward and simple and I kept getting " I dont know". I was denied a visa and offered a different kind and when asked why I was denied the one I had applied for they couldn't tell me. She had to ask her supervisor and still could not give me an answer. This place is in serious need of some fluently speaking English speaking staff. I think you would be further ahead to send your application to Vancouver to get approved then do it here. read more