Taxi Cabs in Beijing, Qingdao (and other cities for that matter)

As you can tell from many of our postings we have lived in China for a number of years, having come and gone a number of times. Many things about life in the country are changing very fast and to the better — the quality of life is definitely going up, many of the cities in China are becoming very cosmopolitan, and so on and so forth. One thing seems to be staying unchanged though is the attitude to taxis in China. Every year I expect a remarkable improvement in their cleanliness, their safety and every year I get unpleasantly surprised at the same thing — the more China is changing the more its taxis are staying the same I put a smiley face here but in reality there are many unpleasant aspects of the taxis in China. In most cases you can not find a safety belt for the passengers. If you look for them you will find that they are hidden / trapped under the seat covers or under the actual seats…. Good luck using them. Over the years the taxi drivers have become more aggressive and speedier — in some cases they drive on the city highways at speeds around 100km/hr. An accident in those conditions and with you wearing no seat belt will not be a minor thing…..

Then there is one other aspect that really baffles me — it is winter, the temperature outside could be in the range of -5 degrees C, and the cab driver cracks the window open and drives that way ???!!! What is that all about….? It is not like they are feeling warm — in all cases they are dressed in heavy winter clothing and constantly rubbing their hands when stopped at traffic lights. But the window on the driver side and in many cases on the front passenger side has to be open half way almost —> with pretty awful results — cold wind hitting you (the passenger in the back seat) in the face and causing your eyes to tear up….

Whenever I have pointed out that anomaly to the drivers they look at me as if I am asking a major / strange question. “Of course we have to keep the window open… How else will we get fresh air…”

Oh, well — cars can become technological marvels and I still will probably see the cabs going by with cracked open windows in the cold winter days of Beijing (or any other city for that matter)….

One advice. Of course dress warmly and if you feel uncomfortable — just try to ask the cab driver (or gesture to the driver) that you want that window closed…. And of course try to find a cab with safety belts that are NOT hidden — yes, they do exist! Happy travels.