The residence permit krefuffle part 1

Well, what can I say?  A fantastic day, my first day in Jiangkou.  I was taken to the bank in the police station in the early afternoon to get my visa changed to a temporary residence permit.  As most things to do with admin in China, it was a bit of a palaver.  No idea what was going on but it seemed difficult business for them, especially because I did not have a Chinese telephone number.  There was a space for the number, but I didn’t have one.  Problem.  I can’t get a telephone sim card in Jiangkou, because my passport "is not valid" in Jiangkou in telephone shops, and to buy a sim card, you either need a Chinese id card or a passport, and as my passport "is not valid"  in Jiangkou, I cant get a sim card and therefore can’t get a telephone number.  However, there was a space on the form, it needed to be filled.  In the end I think what happened was that the person I was with gave their telephone number and we could proceed.  The space on the form was filled.  It was not accurate, but it was filled; the form had been obeyed.  There was then a lot of discussion about my medical results and how and why they were not there then.  They should be there then. The form says they should.  But they were not.  However, I got my receipt.  I had started the process.  Job (partially) done.