One of the things i have overlooked and perhaps others have too is the value of a good Taxi driver when in parts of China. In Beijing i had one day left before i flew out (pre- meeting my wife), i thought i would catch a taxi from my hotel into Tianamen Square to just wander around and look at the people and maybe line up to check out the chairman lying in state. Anyway the driver i got was very good, he spoke pretty good English, had an upmarket type taxi (an optioned Sonata) which was clean (as was he) and as we were driving into town he was asking what my plans were, i told him i was just killing time on a sunday afternoon. Well he took me to the square, got out and took me around and pointed out things and explained, then took me into another area where there were shops and markets, chased away the pest's, pointed out what was rubbish and what was good value and even bartered for me at some times, getting a far bette price than what i was about to pay. What was the cost you are thinking? Well he totalled up the receipts that printed out each time the meter went on, one small charge for parking and that was it. Total was approx 80 rmb so i gave him 100 (about 20 AUD) and he tried to give me change! told him to keep it! Anyway he gave me his card and i rang him next day to take me to the airport. Now maybe i was lucky considering how many taxi's there are in Beijing but this is not the first time i have found a "good" local taxi driver and they are worth their weight in gold if you et a good one. It can turn out to be a quite cheaper way of seeing some sites off the tourist route and at no point did he rush me along like some tours i had been on. The only other expense was when i bought a coke i bought him one too.
There are horror stories of bad cabbies and cons but a good one will give you the option and pleasurable experience as i mentioned above if you are careful and choose wisely.

This goes for the taxi drivers in Nanning too. Generally they are very good and try to be helpful. I can't say the same about the drivers in Beihai, they are just crooks* who don't take you where YOU want to go, but to where THEY can get kick-backs.
*More details supplied by PM if you are interested.

We used the same taxi driver throughout our visit to Guilin. Mei negotiated a small price for the use of his taxi daily. When we were't using him he got other fares but we just phoned him and he came and collected us and took us to wherever we wanted to go next. He also posed as Mei's husband when they were negotiating the hotel prices as the tariff would have increased if the hotel staff had seen a Westerner.
David

When we were comming home last trip the wife arranged for a taxi to collect us at 5am from the apartment. because of either excitement or sadness (you can work out which) i could'nt sleep and got up at 3am to have a coffee and give up trying to sleep as a bad job. at 4am the taxi pulled up outside the apartment and the driver then got into the backseat and curled up and went to sleep
When we were going i told the wife and on questioning the driver she informed me that he was so worried about being late and us missing the plane that he couldn't sleep so he came round and parked up so at least if he did fall asleep then we could wake him....Just like British Taxi drivers !!! yeah right
Needless to say he nearly fell down when he saw the tip he got

John

In my youth I did a spot of taxi driving in Burnley. It was great fun. The very day that the US landed a man on the moon, I was on my way back from Manchester airport when I had a puncture, only to find there was no spare wheel. I waited 2 hours for another car to bring me a spare. You can imagine the mickey taking I got from that fiasco: "The Americans land on the moon on time and you can't get back from the airport!" etc etc
I can honestly say I never missed picking up a passenger no matter what time of day or night.
Incidentally, diesel fuel was 3s 6d (17.5 p) a gallon then, not 115 pence a litre!

Graham

Your experience in Beijing was far better than mine in Guangzhou. My delayed flight out of Nanning caused me a 24 hour delay in Guangzhou. I decided to take a look around the US Consulate for part of the day. The driver gave me back a 100RMB note because it had a frayed corner. Then when I gave him another, he discovered he didn't have enough change. I gave him 3 USD and went on my way. Later, I found he'd switched both bills for counterfeits.

With the Chinese notes, rub your finger over the collar of Chairman Mao, counterfeits are smooth and the real ones have a "rough" feel. Also watch for Russian twenties in your change, they look similar in colour and are worth next to nothing in China.