My Wonderful Chengdu Tour with Fresh Taxi Experience 

I would like to share an experience for the benefits of future tourists who came to Chengdu by air.

My wife, daughter and I arrived Shaungliu Airport at about 1.30 am. At about 2 am, we joined a long queue at the taxi stand. Before boarding the taxi, and at about 2.20 am, I asked the driver the fare to Jinjiang Inn Dongfeng Bridge by showing him the direction, and was told the charges is meter based. The taxi driver, surname Mr Liu, told me while on our way to the Inn that Dongfeng Bridge Lu is very far away. When I puzzled at the long distance, he said that he didn’t cheat me on the long distance. But I knew from various websites that the distance to city centre is less than 20 km and normal fare is about CNY50 and more at night. I was ready to pay about CNY75. After a long ride past some dark or poorly lighted road construction sites we finally came to the well lighted city centre. I spotted Dongfeng road sign and then the Inn as I can read and speak Chinese. That’s nearly 3 am. Arriving at the Inn, the meter recorded some 41 km and the fare CNY152. As a stranger to Chengdu, I paid and asked for a receipt. He refused to give me saying the meter ran out of printing paper. Over the next few days, I learnt that’s not true as all the taxis in Chengdu provide receipt on request.

On our return to the airport after checking out of the hotel, my wife asked the reception to arrange a taxi as I’m aware that taxi driver dare not over charge on fear of being tracked down. On arrival at the airport, the meter showed CNY42 and 21 km. We did not past any major road construction site at all. He asked and I paid CNY53 only including CNY10 road toll I think, and CNY1 for fuel. That’s on 25 August at around 7.30 pm.

The lessons here for future tourists is to ask the hotel reception to arrange for taxi to the airport. The driver dare not take you for an expensive ride like Mr Liu did to us on 19 August at about 2.20 to 3.00 am.

On a more conservative note, it may also be possible that Mr Liu is new to the city. I am more willing to forgive him, if he is.

I think it is ashamed for only one Chengdu taxi driver to treat visitors by cheating them, and if he did that deliberately, and spoiled the good name of Chengdu city. I believe the city folks will be furious to learn this. Tourists are peaceful and friendly people. We spent our hard earned money in Chengdu and contribute to its economy. Tourists don’t deserve to be treated like this by a taxi driver.

Except for this single incident, we are very please with Chengdu and will recommend my friends to visit Chengdu. The people are friendly and the huge city is clean and well organized. Most important of all, we feel safe in a city where we are strangers. The traffic police and security personnel any where in the city are very pleased and helpful in giving directions. We met one who salute first when we approached him for advice. We also noticed the girls in the city are very well dressed, fair, slim and pretty too while the boys are hardly to be seen. where are all the boys?