Explore Chinatown Singapore With APEC Business Travel Card

Enjoy and Explore Chinatown Across the Globe

The APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC) aimed to reduce the inconvenience caused to business travellers belonging to APEC economies by the lengthy immigration clearance processes. The specially designated lanes help speed up the formalities at international airports and decrease the business people’s waiting time.

For people who need to travel frequently to conduct business transactions in APEC nations, ABTC is the ideal solution as it enables them to make multiple visits. They can visit any of the fully-participating APEC member nations without a visa. Presently, 19 nations are fully-participating APEC members, while the US and Canada are transitional members.

Exploring the Heart of Chinatown in Other Countries With APEC Business Travel Card

One significant advantage of the APEC Business Travel Card is that you can visit your favourite Chinatowns and explore Chinese culture, enjoy Chinese festivals, taste authentic local cuisine, and much more. You may visit any APEC nation of your choice with no need to apply for a separate visa. With the ABTC, you get hassle-free entry at airports due to the fast-tracking of clearance processes.

The Most Popular Chinatowns Around the World

We have created a list of some of the popular Chinatowns around the world that you can explore. They are:

• Bangkok: The Chinatown in Bangkok has ornate Chinese shrines, cluttered markets, numerous food stalls with the pungent aroma of Chinese delicacies, and much more that you can explore. Formed as early as 1767, during King Taksin’s reign, Bangkok’s Chinatown stretches from River City to Pahurat Market’s borders. The region is the heart of the gold trade. There is the magnificent 5-ton solid gold Buddha at Wat Traimit and the beautiful Taoist temples you can visit.
• Manila: This is the world’s oldest Chinatown, formed in 1594. Here you can discover a blend of influences, such as traditional Chinese apothecaries and Chinese restaurants. You can shop at the popular streets there known to trade in specific items like Pinpin Street for furniture.
• San Francisco: The Chinatown here is reputed as the second-largest Chinese community outside Asia. You can discover beautiful temples, restaurants, bookstores, Chinese banks, laundries, or visit Grant Avenue, the main tourist promenade here. You should surely go to the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Company to watch how they make the American-Chinese sweets and fortune cookies
• Toronto: The most popular Chinatown in the city stretches from West on Dundas Street and goes up to College street and is popular for its restaurants and stores that remain open even during the late hours at night. Formed in 1960, other attractions here include Chinese grocery stores, herbalists, fruits, and vegetable stands
• Singapore: The Chinatown here is a mix of the traditional and the modern elements, such as several high-rises, old places of worship, and conservation shophouses. You can visit the restaurants or explore the fresh produce market to discover rare Asian ingredients. There are also medicine halls, which offer traditional herbal cures
• Paris: The city’s Chinatown, bordered by Avenue d’Ivry and Avenue d’Italie, has a number of high-rise buildings, along with streets filled with Chinese tearooms, Vietnamese noodle bars, and Thai groceries. You will love the gift-shops that stock trinkets, figurines, decorations, tea-sets, Chinese dresses, and much more
• Melbourne: This Chinatown was formed in the 1850s by Chinese immigrants. Here you can dine at restaurants in the area between Swanton and Springs street, serving delicious yum cha or dim sum. You can also visit the cool bars here that get heavy crowds during weekends
• Kuala Lumpur: It is a great place to visit to soak up the local culture with plenty of ornate Buddhist and Taoist temples formed hundreds of years ago. You must explore the crowded flea markets and art galleries with several exhibits by modern and local artists. There is the Kasturi Walk where you can shop for handicrafts and souvenirs. There is Petaling Street where you can buy lots of stuff at very cheap rates
• Perth: Visit the restaurants at night here to taste the authentic local favourites. Watch the overseas student crowd sipping bubble tea or taste yummy foods. You can also take part in the celebrations of famous Lunar events like the Chinese New Year
• London: Chinese immigrants formed this Chinatown in the 1950s, located at Gerard Street. Things to look out for, including restaurants where you can taste Chinese delicacies with your family. The main attractions here are big events like the Chinese New Year, when you can watch giant papier-mache lions dancing across the streets

The Benefits of APEC Business Travel Card

The APEC Business Travel Card offers the following advantages to business travellers:

• Preclearance: Card-holders benefit from precleared entry into fully-participating APEC nations with which they have business dealings. They can make short-term visits multiple times and stay from 60 to 90 days per visit
• Separate visa application not necessary: If you are a card-holder, you can enter any of the fully-participating APEC economies without applying for a visa since you receive preclearance. On the other hand, if you visit a transitional APEC member nation, you will need a visa
• Fast immigration clearance: WIth an ABTC Card, you do not have to waste precious time standing in line for immigration clearance. The exclusively-designated lanes at international airports at the APEC nations help to speed up the immigration process
• One-time application for a 5-year card: You only need to make a single application to the home economy of which you are a passport-holder to obtain an APEC Business Travel Card that is valid for five years or as long as your passport’s validity period
• More time to focus on business: With less wastage of time on clearing immigration processes, the card-holders get more time to spend on enhancing their business operations and productivity

Eligibility Criteria

To qualify for an APEC Business Travel Card, you need to be:

• A genuine businessperson who has to visit APEC economies often for transacting business
• Engaged in trading activity, providing services, or carrying investment activities
  Free from criminal records of any kind
• A public employee who represents a government department, economic agency, or a ministry and needs to travel often to APEC nations

Once your application is approved, you will obtain the APEC Business Travel Card. It is valid for five years or as long as your passport’s validity period.

With the APEC Business Travel Card, you can make visa-free short-term visits to the APEC economies to transact business, attend meetings, or explore new business opportunities conveniently. You save a lot of precious time and money wasted on queuing for immigration clearance. You also get the chance to focus more on your core business activities.

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