北京出租車 (Beijing Taxi) .... i will miss U!

before my current stint living here a wee while, i had previously visited Beijing 4 or 5 times on short biz trips during the past decade and hadn't been a fan of the taxis here (they seemed old, tattered, with no air-con and seemingly always coupled with rude incoherent drivers) ..... that was until this time round .... the huge improvements in the last year or so have been quite phenomenal .... all-in-all now, in terms of value (meter starts at 10rmb), spaciousness, comfort (not including the old Citroens), driver courtesy levels, professionalism and the newness of the cars ..... in my humble opinion, Beijing's taxis are probably the best in Asia (though Shanghai isn't bad either).

all of the new taxis coming out are either Hyundai Elantras or Volkswagon Jettas .... though there are still some of the older and smaller Citroens and the larger Hyundai Sonatas (very comfy if u can find one) whizzing around too.

Hyundai - Elantra

Volkswagon - Jetta

the drivers' level of English comprehension is still an "amusing" worry as the Olympics loom ..... but the drivers are trying hard.... recently, several seperate drivers on noticing that i'm an oddbod from outta town, have tried to converse with me from the "terrible" Putonghua --> English pinyin English translation sheet that the Government have provided to all drivers for them to learn basic English phrases .... it's quite charming and heartwarming, even though you will barely understand what they are trying to say ......

Beijing drivers these days are a nice breed ...... generally very polite, friendly and professional ..... in my 6 months here, not a single driver has tried to rip me off ....I will miss Beijing taxis!

i'm not looking forward to having to pay for Hong Kong's $16 starting meters and constant meter jumps every few seconds once again soon ...

the below pic is especially for Wendy, and of what people call "mian bao che" (bread cars - as they look like a loaves of bread) .... they are "officially" illegal one-person moto-taxis ..... so, they don't dare go long distances, but only charge and standard 5rmb a ride for around local areas .... lovely, fun and cute!