Taxis

The taxi we caught from Beijing airport to our hotel didn't want to drop us at the hotel entrance. Instead he stopped in the street nearby. We thought this was somewhat strange especially because he seemed nervous about it. Some days later we realised why - he'd overcharged us for the journey and didn't want to be sprung by the hotel attendant.

It is much better for the hotel to organise the taxi because the hotel exercises some control over the taxi drivers and what they charge.

Most taxi drivers don't speak much English and so it's hard to tell them where you want to go. It pays to show them the destination written in Chinese.

We found that it was a challenge to hail a taxi at times. You need to stand in the right place - preferably near an intersection.

Check with the driver how much he intends to charge you for the journey because they often want to overcharge you. The hotel will normally give you an indication of how much the fare should be.