Registration at the Registration Office

I entered China with a family visa, which requires me to register at the registration office. Now we wanted to do that in Cangzhou, at the location of our apartment. However, since we spent the first few days in the countryside about 50 km south of Cangzhou at my wife's mother's place, the registration was delayed. That was a mistake, as when we appeared at the local registration office in Nanpi due to a passport issue in the family, I was noticeable as a foreigner. Immediately, the piercing question arose as to what this foreigner wanted here, and we were informed that I had to register here despite having an apartment in Cangzhou. Okay, said and done.
Later on, however, the scavenger hunt begins in Cangzhou. First, we stay in a hotel in Cangzhou, which routinely registers foreigners. It is important to note that only certain hotels are allowed to accommodate foreigners. We had previously called about a dozen hotels without success. During our hotel stay, we buy some basic furniture for our empty apartment and register for electricity and water. Then we move into the apartment, and our first task is the registration.
The first stop is by bus to the massive central citizen's office with hundreds of counters and two floors in a spacious, modern, open environment, where you can basically manage almost all matters in Cangzhou. Not my case, as I need to register at the district office. So we are sent back to the police station near our apartment. Now we take a taxi and arrive at our second stop. Here we already fail at the guardhouse, as they are not responsible for this matter. We need to go to the local citizen's office. Now we head there on the rented electric scooter (more about that later in another blog post). Wide new streets in our new neighborhood make this mode of transport perfect for getting around.
Upon arriving at the third stop, we are kindly informed that we first need to register at the responsible police station. It's another police station towards the city center, across from the secondary school. The kind woman immediately makes a call to let them know we are coming. So we hop on the scooter and zoom right through the neighborhood.
At our fourth stop, we first have to wait outside; at the moment, as per the phone call, there is a lot of work to be done. After a certain waiting period, we are told to please come back at 6 PM, as they are currently busy with work. We have a bit of time until then, so we look for a restaurant and fortify ourselves for the remaining tasks. Just before our appointment time, we receive a call that we need to present certain documents, but we only need to come by at 6:30 PM for that. Now quickly take the bus home, grab the documents, and with the pleasant cool evening breeze on the electric scooter, head back to our fourth stop. There, a friendly policeman greets us and apologizes for the wait, but they have a lot of work to do...
In the office, we fill out the input form together on the computer. We look for the information in my passport, in the visa, and the apartment documents; private residential registrations from foreigners are probably not that common. There’s a lot going on, and we are almost treated like family at the police station. Finally, we made it, and I sign the form, which still requires a stamp from the supervisor and therefore can only be picked up tomorrow. Then we can head home on the scooter again.
The next day, we ride the scooter back to the police station, but the form isn't ready yet. We wait again in the office area, and now we almost belong to the police family. With the right red stamp, it’s time for another visit to our third stop. Here they want another copy of the documents from the previous day, even though these have already been checked by the police. Our scooters are now heating up, as we head back to the apartment to retrieve the papers. There should be copies made at the registration office, but we also win the battle with the copier. I am registered, probably the first foreign resident of the Cangzhou Jingji Kaifaqu district.
However, the funniest episode follows. The next day, we are again out and about on the electric scooter. At an intersection, a police vehicle stops, and our nice officer is inside. He opens the side window and says he needs another copy of my passport. Coincidentally, we are on our way to the bank with all the documents, so we can pull out the copy from our bag and handle the exchange right in the middle of the busy intersection. He didn't expect that, and with a smile and a wave, he drives off.