moondog

Email me and I'll try to hook you up (our Chinese partner took us to Shunyi last weekend in a 40 passenger mini bus, and I'm certain they paid less than 2900.

2cardinalalums

The RMB500 to RMB700 rates that people are getting lately for Mutianyu, could that be combined with another stop? Not sure where else would be convenient to stop at. Or, the rate is really only for one destination/stop?

jiejie

It's an unscientific estimate based on time and farthest distance. The driver or car service is calculating the driver's time commitment + fuel costs as the major variables, for a given category/quality of car.

I suspect that for the upper end of that range, you could get included another stop at a place nearby, such as Red Snail Temple. (incremental fuel cost negligible as is driver's time if he's already out that far from the city). Similarly, you could certainly arrange to have your pick-up be at your hotel and your drop-off destination after Mutianyu be somewhere back in town such as Lama Temple, Sanlitun restaurant area, etc. Generally, it's easier to release the driver at the drop point site and then on your own time frame, take public transport/taxi to wherever you want to go after the drop location--including your hotel. The exceptions where you might want to keep the driver would be for someone with mobility problems, for a party large enough to require a van, or a hotel located outside the city.

Remember: Everything in China is negotiable.

2cardinalalums

Thanks, Jiejie.

mnredfox

If there was double bold and double underline I'd sure jiejie would have done that. +1 ^

moondog

My experiences in Shenzhen this week have taught me that Beijing is not the leader with respect to either traffic or taxi droughts. If you come here, be sure to stay near where you need to be because getting from Nanshan to Luowu can easily suck up an hour.... not the case 3 years ago. This afternoon we had a meeting at a place that makes iphone cases (incidentally, the production cost is a hair short of the $30 they sell for in the US); just as we were wrapping things up, it started to rain (hard). We spent 30 minutes trying to find a taxi, which proved to be impossible because the traffic was completely stopped, cars were parked in the middle of the street, there were several accidents, and there were 100s of people fighting over maybe 10 taxis. We ended up asking the company people to drive us back to our hotel, which took 2 hours (to travel around 15 km).

mnredfox

Rush hour in Shenzhen is horrible. I once waited 30 min at the front of the IC there and was told to keep waiting. I finally walked to the street and flagged one down. Almost missed my bus I was trying to catch.

anacapamalibu

If they retail in US for 30USD the "production cost" or more likely FOB cost
should be about ~2-3USD. Thirty dollar production cost iPhone cases, what are they made out of...panda hides?

moondog

We've visited 15 factories during the course of the past 4 days (which seem like a month) and this was the only one that penciled for us.

On the bright side, I understand the picture a bit better now:

-the factories themselves operate on a cost +30% basis
-the resellers tack on an additional 5-30%
-Best Buy, Fry's, etc cut deep into the 30% mentioned above --> many of these products are cheaper in the US than in China (showing the sales people frys.com is a fun exercise)
-but, China still wins insofar as the cheap stuff (cell phone cases, chargers, watches, laser pointers) is concerned
-if you hire an insider, it's possible to get higher value products on the cheap (back door deals; yesterday's products)
-the prices offered at Buy Now and Zhongguancun in Beijing are only 20% higher than what I've found here ---> I won't waste much time haggling with them in the future
-I'm going to roll with this iphone case idea; those things sell like hot cakes, and I hope to have iphone 5 cases on offer a week before the phones themselves launch

anacapamalibu

Maybe you can integrate an antenna into the case so it gets better reception and doesn't drop calls.

Jamoldo

I was in Beijing for four days (ending yesterday) and in my numerous conversations, noted that many cabbies I talked to are working 24+ hours straight and insist they are "not tired." Given the traffic, the pollution, and not even mentioning oil price hikes and other inflation, I'd imagine these guys are under quite a bit of stress as it is, but when you combine a 24 hour shift with it...

I recall until recently, most cabbies I spoke to maxed out at 16 hours or did 12-14 shifts with their significant others/friend/business partners...

tauphi

This is what happens when fuel price rises and isn't passed on to the cab users.

You can always take the public transport, or get a rental car.

ejh25

I just setup a day car hire with Peter for tomorrow 750 RMB for Ming Tombs and Badaling. He spoke English well enough for us to communicate (I don't speak a lick of Mandarin). I probably overpaid a little bit but oh well. I'm assuming no tip is required?

Many thanks moondog.

moondog

Yeah, "600" is the number I've been seeing recently, and that will get you to Mutianyu, which is further away. That having been said, like tauphi pointed out in one of the other threads, driving a taxi in China is a pretty crappy job, so I'm guessing Peter (who I've never met) will appreciate the extra $20. You certainly don't need to tip, but I often treat drivers to lunch. Either I eat with them, or I give them y30.

ejh25

Whatever you do, DON'T use this driver/ number! I spoke to Peter the day before we wanted the car service and he told me 750 RMB for the Ming Tombs and the Badaling section of the wall. He told me he would come to pick us up at 8 am. We called him the morning of to see if he could come a little earlier as we were up early. He said that it was too late and this is when he told us that another female driver would be coming to get us. At this point we should have bailed due to this bait and switch tactic. He promised us the driver would speak some English.

At 8 AM, a woman who spoke English relatively well greeted us at our hotel without a car. Another big issue. She told us that our driver would arrive shortly. I then told her that we expected only a driver and that we were going to pay no more than 750 RMB. She assured us that the 750 RMB included her and the driver. We should have bailed here too.

The driver arrived in a white Mercedes minivan. We got in and as we started driving away our "guide" told us that we were going to pickup other tourists at another hotel. I immediately told her to stop the van and that we would get out if other tourists were to join us. The woman then called Peter who agreed that the tour would only be for my wife and I. We continued on.

We then made an unexpected stop at some jade outlet. I had heard about these traps and it infuriated me. I was furious. We begrudgingly went inside and I told the guide that this wasn't in the cards and that I was very unhappy. I told the guide and the jade people that we didn't want to be here and that we were being held against our will. My wife told me to cool down so I sat in a chair waiting for the BS to end. The guide came over to me and asked me to be patient. I then asked her what other unexpected stops would be in store for us. She told us there was a "free" massage and tea stop after the wall. This made me fume. I told her we would not make any such stop and that this was completely out of the negotiated deal with Peter. She then told me we could cut the massage and tea stop out of the deal so long as we stayed at the jade store for another 20 minutes.

The guide then asked my wife if she needed to use the bathroom. The two of them then went to the bathroom. I should have stopped this. After about 5 minutes I started to get worried. I went and knocked on the bathroom door and my wife said she'd be out in a moment.

When my wife came out she looked alarmed. The guide had taken her into a stall, locked the door, and tried to give her 200 RMB and plead with her to buy some jade or else our guide would get in trouble. My wife refused. This was the last straw.

I took my wife's hand and we left the store. The guide chased us out. I yelled at her and told her that we wouldn't pay her a dime and we would find our own way home.

She then called Peter who instructed her to leave us but let us use the driver for the negotiated rate of 750 RMB so long as we paid 1/2 up front. I told her we'd pay 300 RMB up front. The driver agreed.

We left the guide at the jade store and the driver took us up to the Ming Tombs and Badaling. Everything else worked out well. The driver turned out to be very nice and helpful although he spoke very little English.

This whole experience left a bad taste in our mouths of China.

Moondog, please remove Peter's number from this thread.