I’ve heard of a bunch of schemes to get money overseas but as far as I can tell, there is no way that’s easy and won’t cost you a lot. I’ve heard people suggest taking 10,000rmb in cash at a time across the border from Shenzhen to HK. I would feel like a drug smuggler doing that.
I used to know a guy in Chengdu who exchanged RMB for dollars at a very reasonable exchange rate but the whole thing was pretty sketchy. He’d come to your house with a stack of cash and would inspect your bills before offering you crisp U.S. bills for one rate and tattered bills for another. I exchanged like 10,000rmb with him years ago but lost his number years ago and don’t know where he is now. I suspect there are others like him still in that business but personally I’d feel more comfortable (and would be willing to pay more) to have a bank handle this part for me.
@JerryS Bank of China is everywhere in Chengdu. I haven’t heard of any association with Wells Fargo but if that is true that would be incredible. Somehow I’m skeptical that it would be that easy though. That might be because I’ve been conditioned to think that everything involving China currency and banks is designed to be an enormous pain.