Originally Posted by
mosburger
Well, GPS use is actually fairly widespread now.
And no, I don't think Chinese are any worse in reading maps than others but there is a certain unwillingness to do preparations for any tasks.
Even a Chinese company driver will not check maps or routes beforehand and will rather risk having his/her boss do the navigating. It's a sort of cultural phenomenon, I guess. Might be that Chinese view proper preparations for a job too boring and a waste of time.
Yeah, maybe there's some of that, but how do you explain not being able to read a Chinese language map once I stick it in the driver's hands?
I used to think it was "risky" to ride the subway (like in Beijing) because I thought I would be confused finding my destination on foot once I reached my stop. That hasn't proven to be the case, yet -- I just take a map along, and I'm fine. If it weren't for the fact that Chinese taxis are still astonishingly cheap, and often time-saving, I'd probably avoid them. I do think that any foreigner who has any map skills whatsoever should study the city layout and assume he/she will be pressed into service to get the driver to the destination. It doesn't happen in the majority of instances, but it does happen regularly.