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The border crossing closes for the night at 8.30pm Laos time on the Lao side / 9.30pm China time on the Chinese side.
On the Laos side the guards ''might '' come up with any number of reasons to squeeze an extra dollar or two out of you.
A Lao visa on arrival costs about 30 US dollars, depending on which passport you carry. There is also an additional 2 US dollar fee for this service as noted on a large sign.
There are black market money changers on the '''Chinese side'''. You may want to change enough money here to pay for your visa on arrival. There is a large duty free shop with official money changer on the '''Lao side''' which you can use after you obtain your visa. The building has a sign saying it's open until 10.30pm, but it seems to the money changers close earlierbefore the duty free, at 6pm Laos time.
If you cannot pay in US dollars you may be overcharged. In 2015, Hippietrail was told 250 yuan for the visa although the true exchange rate would be 205 yuan, but managed to haggle it down to 220 yuan.
