Taxis in Xian have mainly 3 different color schemes. Light green taxis with yellow strips are most commonly seen, usually China made BYDs. Green taxis are usually older Volkswagen Jettas and Citroens. Black taxis with more expensive rates are Volkswagen Passats and China made Redflags which are rarely seen on street, usually waiting for business around high end hotels. Taxis with other colors are not legitimate to operate in Xi’an city.
Taxis of three different color schemes parking in line
Tips to hire a taxi in Xian
- It’s rather easy to get a taxi at the airport and the train stations. Just look for signs for taxi and queue.
- Taxi drivers don’t speak English at all. Taking a card with your destination written in Chinese will be nice.
- It’s very hard to hire a taxi in rush hours especially the time between 15:00 to 17:00 because of the taxi shift switch.
- It’s not rare a taxi driver may try to rip you off by taking you for a longer detour ride. Ask your hotel concierge to negotiate the approximate amount to pay.
- It’s very usual that a taxi driver will refuse to give you a ride if he doesn’t want to go the place you are going or he thinks the traffic to your destination is bad.
- Always remember to ask for a taxi receipt, which may be useful to retrieve lost belongings.
- A taxi ride within the City Wall is generally around CNY10. Trips out of the City Wall costs around CNY20. Usually a taxi ride from major downtown hotels to the Xian Xianyang International Airport costs around CNY80(fare)+10(toll) if you insist taxi meter turned on. But many taxi drivers prefer to negotiate a flat rate about CNY110-120, even up to CNY150 if your flight lands late at night. (There will be about 40-50% taxi price rise since April 1, 2015. )