China Guide
Getting around
By car
Driving a car across China is an appealing idea, but an experience currently forbidden to foreign tourists (though foreign residents can take a driving test). It is possible, however, to rent vehicles for local use in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong, from rental companies at the airports. You need an international driving licence and a credit card to cover the deposit. Special licence plates make these rental vehicles easily identifiable to Chinese police, so don't try taking them beyond the designated boundaries. Rates are about ¥300 a day plus petrol.
The mainland Chinese drive on the right, although in practice drivers seem to drive wherever they like – through red lights, up one-way streets, even on the left. They use their horns instead of the brake, and lorries and buses plough ahead regardless while smaller vehicles get out of the way. The exception is in Hong Kong, where they drive on the left, and actually take traffic regulations seriously.
Elsewhere, the only option is to rent a taxi, minibus or Chinese Jeep, complete with driver. Prices are set by negotiating and average ¥400 a day, and you'll be expected to provide lunch for the driver. It's cheapest to approach drivers directly, though if you can't speak Chinese your accommodation should be able to help, and some tour operators run vehicles, too – and might include the services of an interpreter. In Tibet, renting a Jeep with a driver is pretty much the only way to get to many destinations.