A drivers view on China

[MikeVictor]

I've just spent the past 3 weeks in what we came to call the Wild West of China, just outside of Chengdu, a week in Beijing and finally a couple of days in Singapore to grab some chilli and pepper crab. I think I'm still taking it all in as I type this out back in my cosy suburban townhouse!

Sichuan was eye poppingly amazing, flying into the fog covered Chengdu then heading out to see Ms Mattyv's family in Suining and Shehong was where, after some long head-scratching, I figured out the only road rule in China.

Don't be confused about the matter, there is only one road rule, the rest are "guidelines". The rule is this- Don't Hit Anything.

If in doubt, refer to this rule. Holy crap I think I became numb to the chaos of it all after a few days. Those who have been will understand, those that haven't, nothing you can picture short of Mad Max style driving will prepare you!

Beijing was very different though, much more orderly by comparison.

Audi A6's abound in China, essentially because Audi has the Government stitched up to supply the government fleet with them. So you see black A6's everywhere.

Most taxi's are VW's or Hyundai's.

There was a distinct lack of BMW's that I saw, with only a handful of 740Li's, the odd X5 and I saw a 120i hatch and 130i on my last day in Beijing along with a few 320i sedans.

China is an amazing place, and I'd go back again any time to anywhere we visited. It helps a lot Ms. M is a native speaker as my limited vocab would have barely gotten me through things I think. English speaking isn't uncommon among the younger crowd, especially in Beijing.

Our taxi driver in Beijing was a great guy too, if any of you are heading there ask me and I'll send you his phone number.

Today is my first day back home after hitting the hay at 2am this morning. I'm finishing breakfast as I type this and having a coffee before I go and warm up my car and go for a drive on a beautiful June day in Brisbane

zai jian.

[MrBlonde]

Sounds like a fun time! Any photos?

[aus135i]

hahaha yea driving in China = great fun!!!

[Jeef Beef]

Yep China's an insane place to drive! Lane markings don't mean anything and everyone seems to drive with high-beams on during the night.

Also worth a mention is the strange car market over in China. The Audi A6's are all made in China over there, so they aren't exactly luxury or prestige price-wise (for those of you wondering why the government would supply an executive saloon to employees). IIRC, the Camry costs the same as a mid-range 3er, and they are also both made in China. So if you've got a Camry, you're pretty well off. Then you've got the 1er, which is still made in Germany. This means that the 1er coupes can be more than twice the price of a 3er sedan. Go figure.

SUVs are considered to be the top dog of cars - the Audi Q7 has an almost godlike perception. I know, it's crap but for some reason it's considered the poor man's Rolls Royce. My dad was telling his friends about his X6 and they kept asking when he became a millionaire. I believe it costs more than the 7er over there.

[d3syd]

Sounds great. Thinking of going over in August to check out the World Expo in Shanghai. Do you think we can travel independently or do should we join a tour. Just wary about getting fleeced on the street without a 'native' to accompany us.

[Taymaishu]

Originally Posted by d3syd

Sounds great. Thinking of going over in August to check out the World Expo in Shanghai. Do you think we can travel independently or do should we join a tour. Just wary about getting fleeced on the street without a 'native' to accompany us.

You'll be fine in Shanghai. Just like any other place, just keep your wits about you.

I travelled for 10 days on a project with a client through rural India - obviously in places they had never seen a white person before. It was a little surreal and intimidating, but got used to it very quickly (the mob of ~40 people following you EVERYWHERE).

Then went back to Mumbai in 2008 which was lovely. Shanghai followed that trip and thoroughly enjoyed the 3 days i had there

[135BANDIT]

Beijing and shanghai - are safer than Sydney , although a simple phrase book will help enormously.

jd

[MikeVictor]

d3syd - if you're an experienced traveller you'll be fine to go it alone, but a tour group wouldn't be a bad thing either if you didn't didn't speak any Chinese (either Shanghainese or Putonghua). You should be able to get through ok in those places though as English is reasonably common in Beijing at least. The street vendors would call out "Hello!" to try and attract your attention.

Lonely Planet books are worthwhile to give you a rough idea of what's going on, just make sure to get a recent edition.

We avoided Shanghai because of how busy it'd be... I reckon it'd be insane and you'd spend half the day queueing.

Also, local prices may be inflated as a result of the influx of western devils!

All being said, if you've got an open mind and are up for it, go experience China the place is simply amazing.

I miss the food from Sichuan already :*(

[aus135i]

Originally Posted by Jeef Beef

Also worth a mention is the strange car market over in China. The Audi A6's are all made in China over there, so they aren't exactly luxury or prestige

SUVs are considered to be the top dog of cars - the Audi Q7 has an almost godlike perception.

LOL coz the A6 in China have 1.8T in them ROFL HAHAHAHHA and they use old shape too!

yea Q7 is godlike in my city too, dont know why... i hate it! however there is 1 other SUV that is greater in the minds of the Chinese people.... the HUMMER H1 or H2... kinda have to agree =)

[Jeef Beef]

Originally Posted by aus135i

LOL coz the A6 in China have 1.8T in them ROFL HAHAHAHHA and they use old shape too!

yea Q7 is godlike in my city too, dont know why... i hate it! however there is 1 other SUV that is greater in the minds of the Chinese people.... the HUMMER H1 or H2... kinda have to agree =)

Haha actually a lot of them still have the 2.4L 4cyl engine from the 90s in them..except all cars are equipped with leather, sunroofs, satnav, the LOT. The drivelines (things you can't see) don't get updated.

Maybe it's got to do with the price, the Q7s a bit more expensive than a 911 over there. Gotta agree with you on the Hummer perception.. if you own a Porsche Cayenne or a Hummer (doesn't matter which one) you are pretty much kingshit.

[05C4R]

I am glad your trip to china was safe and enjoyable.
However the most dangerous thing you can do in china is get in a car, more people die in car accidents in china then from malaria now, which is massive. I have seen first hand the most horrible accidents in china, really brutal deaths and injuries on the highways, i would of seen something horrific just about every time i go there. if its a very foggy day do not even dream of traveling on a highway, especially on the Hangzhou bridge between Ningbo and Shanghai. that stretch of highway is just a death zone on a foggy day.
As i have to keep going back for business i hire mercedes or bmw cars with proper drivers, its expensive but worth it if it lowers the chance of a 60 year old 10 ton truck with no brakes slamming into your car and doing damage to you. i couldn't imagine the horror of getting hurt over there in a rural area and waiting for an ambulance to take you to a rural hospital.....

on another note, i love the food in china

[s747]

well quite a few ol' china hands on the 1ers forum hey!

Shanghai's my local, was up there for 3 years. 7's and 5's everywhere - but Mattyv you saw more 3 and 1's than I ever did in that whole time. GFC hey haha

@ d3syd - get someone in the know to write down a whole bunch of place names in chinese to show taxi drivers otherwise you're a bit screwed with getting around to anything other than the tourist spots

where's your city aus135i?

anyone know if they sell E92 in China? or only by import?

[Jeef Beef]

Originally Posted by s747

well quite a few ol' china hands on the 1ers forum hey!

Shanghai's my local, was up there for 3 years. 7's and 5's everywhere - but Mattyv you saw more 3 and 1's than I ever did in that whole time. GFC hey haha

@ d3syd - get someone in the know to write down a whole bunch of place names in chinese to show taxi drivers otherwise you're a bit screwed with getting around to anything other than the tourist spots

where's your city aus135i?

anyone know if they sell E92 in China? or only by import?

I'm pretty sure they do - but it'd be around triple the price of the E90 sedan.

E90 - made in China, E92 - made in Germany.