Taxi In Guangzhou

For the first few weeks or months, I guess most of us will depend on taxi to help us get around the city. Let me show you some pictures of the taxis in Guangzhou:-

Sometimes, you may get newer taxi that install such TV. They are mainly advertisements, just to keep you entertain throughout your journey.

And you see the metal grilling? I guess that is to prevent robbers..

The taxi here run by meter. So, if you get any driver that quote you a fix amount to somewhere, Never take!! They just want to make more money..

The starting fee is RMB7 + RMB1 (surcharge for petrol), that is for the first few KM, after about 10mins, the meter will start to run and it increases by RMB1 each time

Therefore, if your journey is about 10mins, it is just RMB8!

After the intial 10mins, the charge is RMB2.60/KM:-

The taxi receipt looks like this, you may need it if you are on a business trip to do claims:-

Note that the journey from the airport to Guangzhou city is about 45mins (smooth traffic), if you meet with some traffic accidents or peak hour, it maybe longer. And the journey will cost you about RMB150-200. Note that you will pass by some toll stations (min 2) that look like this:-

You need not have to pay at the toll station but the taxi driver will pay first. Of course, you will need to pay the driver at the end of the journey, he will give you a normal receipt and a toll receipt.

Personally, I find that it is not easy to get a taxi especially during peak hours compare to other chinese cities like Shanghai, Nanjing where i worked previously. There are no taxi stands where people queue for taxi, so if you need a cab/taxi, you need to be like the chinese... be aggressive!!

Have fun..

Guangzhou BaiYun International Airport

Hi Folks,

Let talk a little on the airport in Guangzhou. Presently, there is 1 airport in Guangzhou, it is called the Guangzhou BaiYun International airport.

Opened in 2004, it is the 2nd busiest airport in Mainland China at this moment.

More information can be found http://www.baiyunairport.com/

It is quite new, and most signages are in English and Chinese, so you should be all right.

Photos:-

Note:- Due to the recent Olympics in China, the airport has tightened their security, therefore prepare more time for more checks.

Take care!

Accomodation

I think one of the 1st thing to consider is accomodation when an expat move to Guangzhou. Currently I am staying in a 1 room apartment 42m2 that cost me 3000RMB/month for rental. (Note that the current exchange rate is USD1 = RMB6.8). This rental does not include utilities, maintenance, internet fees etc. Generally, Utilities + maintenance + internet cost about 300-400RMB, depending on your usage. However, it should include basic things like TV/Sofa/Air-con/Cupboard

My rental at 3000RMB/month is consider expensive to most Chinese here as I am living in TianHe district which is the commercial centre. For example, one Chinese colleague who stay Yue Xiu district, that is about 45mins away, rented a 3 rooms apartment with his friends for only 1500RMB/month. That is only 1/2 of mine!! Therefore, it really depend on location for rental.

But do look for an apartment that is near a subway - easy for you to get around.

Also look for one that is near a Hyper market - you will be able to get daily groceries easily.

I have some pictures of my current apartment:-

Fa Piao - Receipt

For those expats who rental is paid by the company, remember to ask the owner to issue an official Fa Piao (receipt). I mentioned this because most companies will require this. And, most of the time, the owner will charge an additional 5-10% more if you ask for Fa Piao. Therefore, it is important to be clear on this first.

Agent Fee

There are plenty of housing agents that will help you to look for accomodation. Their offices look like this:-

For me, I used this company called hopefluent - http://www.hopefluent.com.cn/ Generally, they charge a standard agent commission of 1/2 of the rental. For my case, i paid RMB1500 to the agent for his service. The agent will also collect another 1/2 rental from the owner. Therefore, in my case, he earned 3000rmb (quite good money yah!). However, I do hear from others that some agents do the deal privately and charge commission of about 400-500rmb - that is unofficial yah..

That's all for now...