Originally Posted by
matio_svk
Thank you for your help, but i speak absolutely no Chinese, so that means I wont even try...
So getting Uber to run will be a priority, I have tried 3 different phones with 3 different uber account, all of them crash and quit when I input an address in Beijing, so it probably means china uber blocks users with location outside of china (or with non-china phone number)
Hopefully once I buy a China/HK Sim card or am physically in Beijing, uber will work
I am guessing Uber will work for you in Beijing, possible credit card issues aside, but your lack of Chinese skills will pose a problem:
1. You need to enter a destination address in order to book Peoples these days
-it's okay if you change this on the fly, but choosing an address in the vicinity of your destination is good manners
-the good news is that pinyin works pretty well for popular destinations: e.g. sanlitun, wangfujing, tiananmen
2. The pin function is not perfect, so you should expect phone calls from your drivers in order for them to find you
I strongly prefer Uber/didi to taxis, but in your case, I think taxis might end up working best.
ETA: As I've mentioned in the Shanghai Uber thread, taxi drivers are far less likely to get lost than Uber drivers, and they are guaranteed to have Shanghai/Beijing plates. This is a big deal during rush hour. Whenever I get a driver who doesn't have Shanghai plates, I cancel if I'm pressed for time (it's faster in the end to get a taxi because Shanghai plated cars can use the elevated roads).