on February 24 | in Beijing, Changchun, Changsha, Chengdu, Chongqing, Dalian, Global Information, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Hefei, How to, Nanjing, NINGBO, Qingdao, Shanghai, Shenyang, Shenzhen, Suzhou, Tianjin, Wuhan, Wuxi, Xi'an, Xiamen, Zhangjiagang, Zhuhai | by Maxxelli | with 1 Comment

Taxis in China

It is possible in china to find a taxi in practically any first, second or third tier city and they can therefore be incredibly useful. Yet there are many different types of taxi available in addition to the traditional taxi and each have their own specific advantages. There are four major types of taxis in China: Official, unofficial, ride-hailing apps (similar to Uber) and electric tricycles, which shall be described in more detail shortly. But firstly, before one can take a taxi, one needs to consider if It would not be better to take one of the many other forms of transportation. For example, for long distances and during peak times, it is often much faster to take the subway if the city has it. In addition to this, many Chinese cities now have some form of bike sharing system, which can be very useful for shorter distances.

Official taxis

Official taxis are the most commonplace of taxis in Chinese cities and are all of a uniform color and general design, although some may be older than others and their color may also vary from city to city. Almost all of these taxis are officially licensed and driven by a registered driver and their driver registration can usually be seen somewhere on the passenger side dashboard, this can there fore provide a degree of safety and peace of mind for passengers. In addition to this, the interior of these cabs are usually draped in a cloth of some sort and are usually well kept. Add to this the convenience of being able to find them almost anywhere at any time, and they become an ideal mode of transport. This does not, however, mean that they are free from problems, which will be mentioned later.

Taking an official taxi

Firstly, it is very easy to distinguish whether or not a taxi is occupied or vacant in China. This is done by looking at the front of the taxi, and if they have a red or green light at the front of their roof or a red light on the dashboard, it is vacant. Conversely of course, if there are no lights on the front of the car, it is occupied. It must also be mentioned however that many foreigners are surprised by many taxis in certain cities that have lit-up writing on the back of their taxi roof sign, this writing is always on and bears no relation to whether it is occupied or not. These taxis are readily available and can easily be found at airports, train stations, other popular areas or simply by the side of a busy road.

Below is a small picture of what a typical Chinese taxi might look like in addition to their lighting arrangements:

A few tips and words of warning:

Foreigners in China are still frequently viewed as walking Yuan signs in many places, and it is always best to be on alert for people trying to take you for your money, especially taxis. Hopefully the following tips should therefore prevent you from being taken for a ride!

• Dishonest Taxis
  • When you arrive at the airport or train station and look for a taxi, you will almost always be accosted by a number of unofficial “taxi-drivers”. If one were to accept a ride from one of these drivers, you would then have to agree on a set price to go to a location. Not only would such a taxi ride be unofficial, but it would also be in both the driver’s personal car and at a much higher price than necessary. It is therefore best to wait in line for a proper taxi.
  • Much to the dismay of many, in addition to avoiding unofficial taxis, one also has to avoid any official taxi driver who tries to cheat you. These taxi drivers can sometimes concoct ingenious ways of taking your money but they mostly try the same old, transparent, tricks.
    • The most common is to simply drive in the wrong direction to push the fare up. Not only does this increase the fare, but it also wastes a lot of time. The best way to solve this is to know the general direction you should be going and subtly let the driver see that you are looking at the journey on Baidu maps. If you are a local and speak mandarin however, it is very simple to drop in the fact that you live in the area very early in the conversation so that the driver does not even attempt to drive in the wrong direction. If, however, none of the above, in addition to verbal disagreements with the driver, it is best to simply get out and get a new taxi.
    • Another possible occurrence is that the driver will attempt to bargain with you for a price or declare that the taxi meter does not work or does not need to be turned on (it is a legal requirement for these taxis to have a working taxi meter that must always be used) in these cases it is best to simply find another taxi. As such it must always be insisted that a taxi meter is turned on the moment you start to drive.
• Finding a Taxi
  • It is unfortunately fairly common for taxis to simply ignore or refuse to pick up foreigners entirely on the basis that they cannot speak Chinese. This is more prevalent in cities with more tourists, whereas in less developed regions there is no such problem. There is unfortunately no real way around this phenomenon save getting a Chinese friend to hail a taxi for you.
  • Although you can get a taxi by simply hailing one or finding a taxi rank, if needs be one can also be reserved over the phone although if you are going to do so you would be better off using a didi (Chinese uber). Nevertheless here is a list of both some phone numbers that can be used to book a taxi and some phone numbers to lodge complaints:

City	Taxi Booking Number	Taxi Complaint Number
Beijing	010-9610696103	010-68351150
Changchun	0431-88937677	0431-87691234
Changsha	0731-83848460	0731-84303488
Chengdu	028-87366228	028-96515
Chongqing	023-96096	023-96096
Dalian	0411-96826	83638119
Guangzhou	020-96900	020-96900
Hangzhou	0571-28811111	0571-96520
Hefei	0551-4211888	0551-4533111
Nanjing	025-965188	025-86655664
Ningbo	0574-87921850	96520
Qingdao	0532-86661661	82717777
Shanghai	021-96961	021-63232150
Shenyang	024-86222222	024-96123
Shenzhen	0755-96511	0755-83228000
Suzhou	0512-67776777	0512-96520
Tengzhou	0371-68881188	0371-67189900
Tianjin	022-96880	022-23549000
Wuhan	027-66667777	027-82633333
Wuxi	0510-88008800	0510-96520
Xi’an	029-96716	029-88624506
Xiamen	0592-6881151	0592-5615610
Zhangjiagang	0581-12345	0581-12345
Zhuhai	0756-12580	0756-2261133
Haikou	0898-66666666	0898-66665666
Kunming	0871-3312533	0871-3312533

• What to Expect with a Taxi
  • Taxis in China vary from city to city, but in most cases, they are clean and the seats are covered in white cloth, which usually unfortunately hide the seatbelts in the back. In addition, there is often also a metal grille or bars separating the driver from the passengers in the rear seats.
  • The driver will expect all persons to enter from the passenger side, therefore the driver’s side rear door will almost always be locked.
  • Although this will probably not be asked by the driver, it is strongly recommended to fasten your seatbelt as taxis tend to drive in an incredibly erratic and fast manner.  
• Indicate your destination Clearly
  • Incredibly few taxi drivers speak English. As such, please bring and show a business card, your Taxi-Book app or a location on Baidu maps to the driver (note: even if you have a VPN and can use google maps, Chinese drivers cannot read English and do not like it). After looking at the address, don’t be surprised if the driver looks at your destination written down and hands it back to you with silence or merely a nod.
• Paying the Fare
  • It’s best to keep small bills with you for taxi fares as sometimes drivers won’t have change for larger bills (100RMB) that you get out of an ATM. For instance, a typical (8-14RMB) would get you 3km. A table of select cities and fares is below.
  • You should only pay the amount specified on the meter and no more.
  • Any tolls should be paid by passengers.

City	Taxi minimum tariff (RMB)	Taxi tariff per 1km(RMB)	Taxi tariff for 1h of waiting (RMB)
Beijing	13.0	2.3	55.0
Changchun	5.0	1.9	24.0
Changsha	6.0	1.8	25.0
Chengdu	9.0	1.9	26.0
Chongqing	10.0	2.0	24.0
Dalian	10.0	2.0	17.0
Guangzhou	10.0	2.6	26.0
Hangzhou	11.0	2.5	23.0
Hefei	8.0	1.2	20.0
Nanjing	11.0	2.4	29.0
Ningbo	10.0	2.0	40.0
Qingdao	9.0	1.5	26.0
Shanghai	14.0	2.4	31.0
Shenyang	8.0	2.7	20.0
Shenzhen	12.0	2.6	48.0
Suzhou	11.0	2.0	24.0
Tengzhou	10.0	2.0	24.0
Tianjin	8.0	1.7	21.0
Wuhan	10.0	1.8	20.0
Wuxi	9.0	2.3	28.0
Xi’an	7.0	1.5	18.0
Xiamen	10.0	2.0	25.0
Zhangjiagang	10.0	1.8	20.0
Zhuhai	10.0	2.4	29.0
Haikou	10.0	2.0	25.0
Kunming	8.0	1.8	22.0

• Do I Tip the Driver?
  • Tipping is generally not something you need to worry about in China. Taxi drivers certainly don’t expect it and wouldn’t know what you were intending. Indeed, they’d probably get out of the car to hand you back your change.
• Get and Keep the Receipt
  • After you pay the fare, it is good practice to wait for the receipt to print and take it with you. This has the taxi’s number so if you have any complaints, or happen to forget something in the car, you can call the central number to report it. This can be convenient for forgotten luggage or purchases in the trunk.
• No smoking in Taxis
  • Smoking in a taxi is forbidden although often accepted by drivers (the driver might also face a fine for transgressions depending on the city).
• For Those Unversed in Mandarin:
  • Most taxis will not expect you to speak any mandarin but here are some simple phrases for use in taxis nevertheless:
    • Ni qu na li? – Where are you going?
    • Wo qu … – I am going to …
    • Zhe li hao de – Stopping here is fine.
    • Ting! – Stop!
    • You guai – Turn right.
    • Zuo guai – Turn left.
    • Yi zhi zuo – Go straight.
    • Xian jin – I pay with cash.
    • Xie xie – Thank you.
    • Zai jian – Good bye.
    • Qu _____ you duo yuan? – How far to_____.
    • Ji fen zhong – How many minutes
    • Qing kai man dian – Please slow down, you are driving too fast.

Ride-Hailing Apps

As with much of the rest of the world, ride hailing apps such as Uber have been drastically changing the existing market for taxis and it is only right that this is the case with China as well. However, as with many things in china, rather than this market being entirely dominated by an international company such as Uber, China has created a homegrown alternative, Didi. Whilst Uber saw some initial success in china, they quit the market in august 2016 due to a mix of heavy competition from Didi and government protectionism. This presents a large problem for foreigners in China as the Didi app is only available in Mandarin and is only compatible with Chinese credit or debit cards. This has essentially meant that foreigners and expats have been largely excluded from the ride-hailing market, there is a glimmer of hope however, as Didi has announced an internationalisation drive which would see an English interface before the end of 2017.

However, for those expats who can both read mandarin to some extent and own a Chinese credit or debit card, a Didi is an excellent way of travelling around China. This is because there is much less leeway for a Didi driver to cheat you of money as there is a maximum fare that cannot be exceeded and all their movements are tracked. Even though these cars are personal vehicles driven by people who are not necessarily professionals, they are fully licensed and their prices are usually cheaper than a normal taxi. In addition to this, because drivers are rated by passengers, cars are kept very clean and drivers often take care of their passengers better by offering them water and charging their phone and so forth. Therefore, if you are a long-term expat then Didi is highly recommended yet this service is simply not available for most foreigners.

Unofficial Taxis

Unofficial taxis in China are fairly commonplace and can be found easily. These drivers are the drivers that will often approach people (especially foreigners) offering rides to wherever they want. They drive their own cars, are not registered and are wholly illegal. However, the main problem with these taxis is not the lack of legality but rather their lack of a taximeter and the subsequent bartering over fares. This bartering over fares is fine if you are both not a foreigner and a local of the area but in the vast majority of cases, a foreigner will end up paying vastly more than necessary. As a result of both the lack of security and the extortionate fares, these taxis are not recommended and if you are to find yourself confronted with a driver, please ignore them and move on.

Electric Tricycles

Electric tricycles, whilst banned in many city centers and first-tier cities, are a fairly common sight in second and third tier Chinese cities, this is because local governments typically dislike them and see them as something to get rid of, they do however exist and can be useful in certain situations. These “tuk tuks” as they are colloquially called in the west are very small and are equipped with anywhere between a one to an impressive five horsepower engine. These vehicles are similar to the entirely unofficial private cars being used as taxis in that they are also largely unregulated or illegal, yet their drivers tend to be slightly less unscrupulous than the former. This does not mean that they are recommended however, as they are both unsafe and you are forced to barter for a price. Due to the fact that they are equipped with relatively small motors, they cannot travel at speed and if one were to want to travel more than one or two kilometers, it would be best to take another form of transport.

Taxi-Book

In order to find your way easily and be able to indicate your destination to the driver in Chinese, you can download the Taxi-book app. The Taxi-Book application is available for 30 cities in China. Go to the Taxi-Book website for more information.

related posts

« SECOND TIER INSIGHTS – CHINA’S RAILWAY SYSTEM Moving to China: How to make sure you leave well prepared? »