Foreign visitors to Beijing can usually afford to take a taxi everywhere they want to go. The price ranges from 20 - 50 RMB for most destinations. Airport can set you back up to 100 RMB. Still, when you convert it back into local currency is still cheaper than most inplaces the world. The main problem is communication. Be prepared to have your destination written in Chinese characters to hand to the driver. English is almost non-existent and even place names all have their own unique Chinese name.

Comprehensive Price: price = starting price (RMB 10 yuan) + (mileage - starting miles (3 km)) * priced per kilometer (2 RMB yuan) Remote Area: price = starting price (RMB10 yuan) + (long-distance mileage standards (15 km) - start a few miles (3 km)) * + price per kilometer (mile - Long Distance standards (15 km)) * Remote unit price per kilometer (RMB 3 yuan)

Every Beijing taxi has a meter which, in theory, cannot be tampered with. On the top of the meters is a big lever to start and stop it. When the meter is off, the "For Hire" symbol appears in the window. It is a small red sign, which lights up at night to varying degrees. Some even have an LED version which really does light up quite well.

When you get in the taxi and agree upon where you are going, the driver should drop the lever thus taking the sign out of the window so other potential customers can see it is already occupied. In the photo below left, the lever has been put down and removed from the window, the meter should then start. At this time, the 10.00 RMB price should appear in the meter, 11.00 RMB late at night, around 11 or 12pm. This price will take you quite some distance in Beijing, then the price will steadily increase. If your meter does not look like the one below soon after you start moving it is likely it is not turned on.

If your taxi fare is above 35 RMB you must have gone a very long way. The most expensive taxi ride you are likely to take is the 45 minute expressway journey from the airport to the city centre which might set you back 80 - 130 RMB including the expressway toll (about 15 RMB). We've heard horror stories of people paying up to 400 RMB for this journey.

Every official taxi should have his license prominently displayed in the front of the cab facing the front passenger seat. If your taxi has no license displayed, we suggest you find a different taxi.

If the driver says the meter is not working you should also get out and find another taxi. Also, do not use a taxi where the driver tells you the price of your destination before you get in. In general, the most likely taxis to give you a fair deal are the ones speeding past you. Just flag them down. Parked taxis, who solicit customers, especially around major tourist sites, you should be especially wary of. If a person walks up to you and asks you if you need a taxi, bluntly refuse, as this person most certainly represents a non-legitimate taxi.

When you complete your journey, the taxi driver will flip the lever back up and a receipt is automatically printed. Take this for your records.

1) The taxi situation at Beijing Airport is a little worse. The taxi sharks are quite active at the international arrivals doors, come straight to the official taxi area after you come out. Official taxis have a taxi sign on the roof, and on the dashboard on the passenger side is a placard with the drivers registration number. If this placard is missing then avoid it. At your destination, you should requrst a fappiao (a receipt, which is generated by the meter). If the meter isn't working, you can refuse to pay, and if the driver threatens to call the police, encourage him to do so. At this point he will write a hand-written fappiao, but make sure he (or you) writes down the car registration and the driver registration before paying your mo for the taxi.

2) Please keep the adress card from your hotel or written by your hotel staff in Chinese to show the taxi driver. A hotel card with the Hotel's name in Chinese for your return trip. So always carry a card from the hotel in the event you get lost in the city. Shown the car to the driver and ask him to bring you there. Most of the drivers are not able to speak in English with exception of a few that is specially trained lately for the 2008 games.

3) You can also charter a taxi ( as a private your own car ) for day trips to the Great Wall ( which is around 1.5 hour drive from city) or just to transfer you around various locations like Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven, Panjiayuan, Wangfujinging, etc. As long as it is within the city, most drivers are more than willing to let you charter their car for the day. A typical taxi will cost around RMB450 to RMB600 for an 8-hour day rental with driver. Each car can hold 4 comfortably. If you are sharing the car among 4, that is less than US$20 for a day.

4) Travlling around Beijing by taxi is quite easy. However, when it rains, it becomes a totally different situation. Keep in mind if you have a plane or train to catch, expecially if you have an unchangeable ticket! Firstly, cabs can be very difficult to find in the rain. Secondly, many taxis will simply refuse to take on longer journeys, especially to the airport and they also will refuse to go anywhere if it involves driving on the 3rd Ring Road which is jammed completely in the rain! So check the weather report and it is better to plan to get to the station or airport three hours before check-in time if your ticket is unchangeable.?

5) The bridge and road tolls will be paid by passengers. For a journey that takes longer than 10 kilo or running after 23:00, the fares will be charged at 50% more.