Eric's Beijing Diary

I think there must be more bicycle rickshaws in Beihai than anywhere in the world. The are all over the place. I have seen them other places, of course. There are plenty of them in Beijing, but in Beijiing, they tend to be used by tourists, so if you are anywhere near a tourist attraction, they will tend to jack the price up, and they can be a bit stubborn about negotiating. Generally, in Beijing, they will charge 10 yuan, which is the same as the basic taxi rate in Beijing. I don't complain about that, because other things being equal--that is, if I have time, and the cost is the same, I will take a bicycle rickshaw. You really do see more. I went to college in a small town in Oregon. Some students from the geography department did a survey. They asked people on the street to identify different locations around town. They found that the one group of people who scored the highest were 12-year-old boys on bicycles. It just seems to be the optimal speed for surveying the scene, so to speak. But as I said, sometimes they will try to charge twice the normal rate, and they dig in their heels if you try to get the regular rate, especially if you are a foreigner It is a frustration for foreign tourists. I was riding my bike through Houhai Park one Saturday morning, and a lady from New Zealand saw me, "Where did you hire that bicycle!? I said, "I bought this bicycle." I felt sorry for her trying to deal with the rickshaws who make their living by taking advantage of weary, unsuspecting tourists.

In Beihai, the bicycle rickshaws are used much more by average people for basic transportation. Some of them charge me 3 yuan, and some charge 5 (again, probably because I am a foreigner). But I don't complain. Bicycle rickshaws are especially handy if you know the name of the place you are going to, but you don't know how to get there. They are slow, though, so it is probably not wise to use them unless you have a pretty good idea what part of town you are in relative to where you want to go. You could end up hiring a rickshaw to take you on an hour journey. Generally, though, if you are careful to get a firm statement on the price, it is a good mode of transportation for short distances.