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I have extended a tourist visa in China before in Guangzhou, which is a big city with a lot of foreign expats. The building was dedicated to this stuff and the process was exceptionally smooth. It was easy and efficient even though I only had about one day left on my current visa.

Without VPN I have no Google and other search engines are absolutely useless for finding this info about Xi'an, even though it's also a major city. (Please don't answer or comment telling me to get VPN. Ask me in chat if you want.)

Other answers I find for other cities or smaller towns seem to be much more involved than what I had to do in Guangzhou. If it's that complicated here I might not bother. If it's easy like in GZ I'll probably do it. For instance many say you need a week or more left on your visa. This was not the case in Guangzhou at all.

Is there an official site on this for Xi'an? Or can somebody find a traveller's description of the process in Xi'an? (Blogspot is blocked in China so if you find somebody's story there, please add the key points in your answer.)

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Obviously, you will need to go to one of the Exit & Entry offices. An online search in Chinese gives the address of the Visa Office of the Exit & Entry Administration Division, Xi'an Municipal Public Security Bureau: 2 Keji Road (at the intersection with Taibai South Road), Yanta District, Xi'an. It is in the transportation police building, near the Taibai South Road (Taibai Nan Lu) subway station and the Xixie 7th Road (Xixie 7 Lu) bus station.

I am rather sure that other exit and entry offices only issues passports and border permits to Chinese citizens and don't deal with foreign citizens. It is suggested that you directly go to the office at Keji Road; that one for sure will deal with visa issues.

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    I can verify that this is current and correct. I scouted it out yesterday which was a Sunday and plan to head back soon.
    – hippietrail
    Commented May 15, 2017 at 3:59
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The Xi'an Public Security Bureau 西安市公安局 has a page which lists a number of locations with entry and exit functions:

  • Economic and Technological Development Zone Entry and Exit Administration Hall Address: Weiyang District Fengcheng Road 16 (Fengcheng Road police station on the east side). Tel 86259667
  • Beilin public security entry and exit accreditation hall Address: South Second Ring Road slope Ding word Changan Road police station west. Tel: 029-86772722
  • Metro public security entry and exit hall Address: New City West Road after the door 51 (Provincial Maternal and Child Health Hospital next door). Tel: 029-86752435
  • Wild Goose Prison Public Security Entrance Office Address: Yantai District Yan Zhan Road 250 (National Exhibition Center North Gate North). Tel: 029-89315021
  • Lianhu Public Security Entry and Exit Office Address: No. 129, Xiguan Street, Lianhu District (next door to the Fifth People's Hospital of Xi'an). Tel: 029-84354942
  • Baqiao Public Security Bureau entry and exit accreditation hall Address: Baqiao District spinning all the way on the 23rd. Tel: 029-86758183
  • Weiyang Public Security Bureau Entry and Exit Administration Hall Address: Noah District Xuanwu Road 50 (Weiyang Branch Daming Palace police station next door). Tel: 029-89379723
  • High-tech Zone Public Security Bureau Exit-Entry Office Address: High-tech Zone High-tech Management Committee (City Gate) Block B on the west side of the first floor. Tel: 029-65690800
  • Chang'an Public Security Bureau Exit and Entry Office Address: Chang'an District Changan Road South (Houjiawan integrated market). Tel: 029-89250855
  • Lintong Public Security Bureau Exit and Entry Office Address: Lintong District, South Street, on the 5th Street. Tel: 029-83825150
  • Yan Liang Public Security Bureau Exit and Entry Office Address: Yanliang District Yan'an Street on the 9th. Inquiries: 029-86879139
  • Huxian Public Security Bureau Entry and Exit Administration Hall Address: Huxian County Road No. 12. Tel: 029-84817558
  • Lantian County Public Security Bureau Exit and Entry Office Address: No. 173, Changping Road, Lantian County. Tel: 029-82726474
  • Gaoling County Public Security Bureau entry and exit accreditation hall Address: Gaoling County Grass Street No. 53. Tel: 029-86911485
  • Zhouzhi County Public Security Bureau entry and exit accreditation hall Address: Zhouzhi County Erqu Road, No. 32 Road. Tel: 029-87154235
  • City Exit and Entry Reception Hall Address: Science and Technology Road No. 2. Tel: 029-87275934
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  • Wow that's a shedload of options in comparison to Guangzhou!
    – hippietrail
    Commented May 12, 2017 at 10:50
  • @hippietrail and do add to the Q or A after your experience to include the details :D
    – Giorgio
    Commented May 12, 2017 at 15:11
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    Are you sure all of these process visa extensions? My suspicion is that at most one does. Even in Shanghai there is only one.
    – mts
    Commented May 12, 2017 at 20:03
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    @Dorothy I can't know for sure, but I searched for "Public Security Bureau Exit and Entry Office" (in Chinese, i.e. 出入境受理点) for Shanghai and what I get seems to be the places where you can register as a visitor, but for Shanghai there is still only one place you can go to to extend your visa. Now I don't know about things in Xi'an, but my suspicion is that it is much similar there, and thus only one of the 16 places you list is the correct one to go to (however going to any of these, they would likely send you to the correct one then). See also the first link in my answer.
    – mts
    Commented May 13, 2017 at 7:22
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    @Dorothy I am pretty sure that only the main exit & entry office in each city do visas & deal with foreign citizens. Other exit & entry offices are just identification document processing centers; only issue passports and other border control documents for Chinese citizens.
    – xuq01
    Commented May 13, 2017 at 16:26
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I imagine you are interested in the relative ease of the extension process in Xi'an. With a quick search I found mixed results:

  • An older blog post from 2010 claims it's relatively easy (at least compared to Beijing) and gives some instructions (see also the comments there for more or less recent changes to the process)
  • some posts in the LP forum as of 2014 instead make it look rather cumbersome, with a lot of time needed, and this travel report from the same year indicates similar.
  • Another report from 2013 suggests similarly that it takes on the order of ten days to process the visa extension.
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