Transport

How to get a taxi in China

Taxis in China are hailed through an app — which removes both the language barrier and any argument about the fare.

7 min readUpdated: 4 September 2026🔥 Popular

photo: a phone in someone’s hand showing the ride-hailing map

Why the app rather than a hand at the kerb

The route and the price are fixed before you get in, and the driver needs no spoken address. For a visitor that is the whole point.

Didi is the country’s main ride-hailing service. It supports registration by foreigners and accepts foreign cards; the interface switches to English.

A separate app is not required: the ride-hailing section is built into Alipay and payment goes through there too. For a short trip that is the quickest route.

Hailing a ride, step by step

From where
The app fills in your location itself. Check it: in a courtyard or a shopping centre the error can send the car to a different exit. You can drag the pin.
Where to
Search for the destination by its Chinese name or pick the point on the map. Saved addresses — the hotel, the office — save time every single trip.
The class of car
You are normally offered express (the cheapest), comfort and a metered taxi. The price is shown before you confirm — it is an estimate, and it almost always matches the final fare.
The pickup point
At stations, airports and large shopping centres the app offers a numbered pickup zone. Go to exactly that one: the driver physically cannot pull up anywhere else.
Check the plate
The app shows the make, the colour and the plate. Check the plate before you get in — it is the one check worth doing every single time.
Payment
It is taken automatically from the linked card or from Alipay after the trip. No cash is needed when you hail through the app.

Worth knowing

The driver will almost certainly call before picking you up to check where you are standing. If conversation is impossible, do not hang up — write in the app’s chat, which translates automatically. A passenger who fails to answer twice gets cancelled.

Flagging an ordinary taxi

You can also flag one down. A green or red light behind the windscreen means the cab is free — which colour depends on the city.

Show the address on screen in characters: a driver will not make out the Latin alphabet by ear. Have a screenshot of your home address ready before you get in.

Payment is by the meter: QR code, card or cash. A large note can be a problem — break it in advance.

Belting up in the back is not the custom, but the belt is there. The driver opens the boot.

Tip

A ready phrase you need only show: 我要去这里 (“take me here”) together with the address on screen. Two more that help: 在这里停 (“stop here”) and 请打表 (“meter, please”). There are more in the phrases guide.

When a taxi will not save you

At rush hour a trip across the centre easily takes twice as long as the metro on the same route.

At exhibition complexes and stations when everyone leaves at once you will not catch a car at all — there it is worth keeping your own driver.

In the rain the wait multiplies: rides go to whoever ordered first. Book ahead rather than as you step out of the door.

Careful

Do not get into a car with anyone offering a ride in the arrivals hall or at the station exit. It costs two or three times the metered fare, and agreeing a price in advance without the language will not work. The official taxi rank is signposted from inside the building.

Checked: 4 September 2026

Editor: The PANDA editorial team