How do people get around Chinese cities, and what does it usually cost?

One common method for getting around the city is 出租车 (chu1zu1che1) taxis, but depending on where you are in China, the prices and availability can vary.  The 上海起价 (shang4hai3qi3jia4) Shanghai starting price is 12 RMB.  While in Shenzhen it fluctuates.  Formerly it cost 12RMB at flagfall, but this cost was later lowered to 10RMB.  Before long, a gas levy of 2RMB was assessed for each cab ride, making the effective price once again 12RMB.  I was recently in Xi’An, but I don’t recall the flagfall price (it may have been around 8-9RMB) as much as I remember the difficulty in getting cabs.   Drivers might be afraid that 语言不通 (yu3yan2bu4tong1) we wouldn’t be able to communicate and therefore would not acknowledge the presence of me and my two traveling buddies.  Drivers that weren’t concerned about linguistic concerns were 交班 (jiao1ban1 switching shifts).  By the end of the trip, when we saw passing cabs that we couldn’t flag down it was 见怪不怪 (jian4guai4bu2guai4 – nothing strange to look at.  It would’ve been nice to at least find a 黑车 (hei1che1 – unlicensed taxi), given that we had only 2 days in Xi’An.

Subways are another way to get around the city, and they too vary depending on city location.  During the day, the inside of the subway car can be rather 拥挤 (yong1ji2 – crowded), this is the case regardless of city.  In Beijing, you can travel the whole city’s subway system (excluding the airport express train) for 2RMB, while in cities like Shenzhen and Guangzhou, your fare is 按目的地算 (an4mu4di4di4suan4) calculated by your destination with a top fare of 5RMB.

Public Buses (公交车 gong1jiao1che1)

Public buses are the cheapest form of transportation, with Xi’An’s cheapest bus not costing more than 三毛钱 (san1mao2qian2) 0.3RMB (about 0.04USD).  In Beijing, it’s more likely to cost several RMB, with pricing based on end destination.

Coming up next, I’ll be discussing the different ways that public transport fees can be paid.