On our second day, after breakfast, we decided to go out and visit some shopping malls. But this story isn’t really about shopping. It’s about transportation in China — more specifically, how to get around Dalian. We found a really good way of doing it for ourselves.
Our Taxi Experience in Dalian
The easiest way to get around Dalian, at least for us, was by taxi. This was especially important because we were traveling with my grandmother, who is quite elderly, and we didn’t want her walking long distances or having to look for bus stops. That would have been difficult for us. With taxis, there were no problems at all. And at the time, at least, they were relatively inexpensive.
We basically forgot about public transportation, like buses and everything else. We stopped trying to figure it out or worry about it.
As far as I could tell, Dalian’s taxi system didn’t really seem to have private companies providing rides, although I could be wrong about that. The taxis seemed to be organized on a more official level. And as for ordering a taxi — I won’t say for sure whether you can do it by phone or not, but I don’t think that’s really how it works there.
But here, there’s something warm and old-school about it. You walk outside, stick out your hand, and hail a taxi. There’s just something about it.
The system seemed to be pretty simple: taxis drive around the city, and you just flag one down. At least, that’s how we understood it and that’s how we used it.
You simply walk out of the hotel, see a taxi, wave your hand, and the driver stops. And these drivers have an amazing eye for passengers. They can spot someone waving from quite a distance and, being experienced drivers, immediately understand that you want a ride.
Sometimes a driver would even be going in the opposite direction. If the taxi was free, the driver could turn around at the next intersection and come straight to you.
Most of the taxis were older Volkswagens. There were a few other models too, but I can’t remember them now. I don’t remember the exact Volkswagen model either, but they were old, well-kept cars. Most of them had manual transmissions.
And the main thing was that the price was very low.
Since we were traveling with two separate budgets — my wife and I paid separately, while my mother and grandmother paid separately — we could even cross a large part of the city by taxi and split the cost between us. It was really, really cheap.
At least compared with my hometown, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, it was several times cheaper.
I doubt much has changed since then. I just want this information to be useful if you’re planning a trip and you’re worried that taking taxis everywhere might be too expensive. Of course, things change over time, but I think this system is probably still a perfectly workable option.
For us, it was incredibly convenient. We walked out of the hotel, found a taxi, and went wherever we needed to go. The beach? Sure. The city center? No problem.
The most important thing was simply to show the driver where we wanted to go.
We dealt with this by using interactive maps. Well, sort of. My mother already had an old one from her previous trip, and we bought another one so that we could show the taxi driver exactly where we were going.
A map, an address, a location — whatever worked. No problem. The driver would look at it, say, “Let’s go,” nod his head, and off we went.
Of course, if you don’t speak Chinese, you won’t be able to explain much to the driver. And they don’t really speak English. But apart from that, we had no problems.
And of course, riding around in a taxi and watching the city go by through the window is pretty nice. Public transportation, like a bus, simply doesn’t give you the same vibe. There’s more rushing around, more hassle, and you’re more likely to get tired.
So that’s how we spent our entire two-week vacation — getting around by taxi. And did we spend a lot of money on it? No. It was actually a very manageable part of our travel expenses.
But I wouldn’t want to speak for the whole of China. It’s quite possible that taxis look completely different in other cities — the cars may be more modern, and the whole taxi system may work differently too. Unfortunately, I haven’t been to any other Chinese cities yet. Although I’d really love to visit them. I’m sure there’s plenty to see there as well.
According to them, it’s a kind of status symbol, something similar to the idea of “white-collar” workers. In a way, the person is showing that they see themselves as part of the intellectual workforce rather than someone doing heavy physical labor.
Driving in Dalian Looks Crazy — But It Works
There are a lot of cars. The traffic is very intense, and the flow of vehicles is huge. But during our two weeks there, we didn’t see a single accident.
Somehow, it all works. What looks chaotic from the outside is actually a system that seems to work quite well. The drivers already know how to change lanes and move through the traffic.
If I had tried to drive there myself, though, it would have been a completely different story. For me, it would have been a real shock. I’m simply not used to such a big city and such heavy traffic.
Still, this whole traffic “ant colony” somehow works and, in principle, doesn’t seem to break down.
I’ve heard that a few years earlier, traffic was much more chaotic, and that driving laws in China have become stricter over time. So, as people follow the rules more closely, traffic is gradually becoming more civilized and organized.
Anyway, we traveled around Dalian by taxi, and it was great. Convenient, easy, and we never really had to worry about the cost.
That’s how it was.
I wish everyone safe travels and good transportation.
More Chinese stories are coming.