China- what should I be doing differently?

I feel for you. First of all there is no way to have a translation program for location names, as quite often the Chinese names bear no resemblance to the English name. So even if you have the English name of a place, the Chinese name can be something totally unrelated. As for taxi, with the popularity of taxi apps, locals are just booking their taxis using the app. If you (and most tourists) don't have the taxi app, it can be a real problem. And the same with the bike sharing app. I don't have a solution, just saying I know exactly what you mean.

Re bike share, can someone clarify for Beijing (also other cities like Hangzhou) and for all of us that you can use your subway card (assuming it's charged with a sufficient amount of money)? I heard this somewhere but haven't tried it.

Indeed, getting a taxi seems harder and harder--at least, in Bj.

Do you stay in hotels? If so, concierges might help with names and addresses in Chinese.

Side note: some good hotel tourist maps have popular places listed in Chinese and English. Old school, but it still works for me.

@bittermelon thanks for your empathy. I do have the taxi app (DiDi) but my requests are never accepted or when they are, they are cancelled by the driver before the car arrives.

So all the cabs with green lights that refuse to stop, have they all been booked already using the app?

So all the cabs with green lights that refuse to stop, have they all been booked already using the app?

Most probably.

So all the cabs with green lights that refuse to stop, have they all been booked already using the app?

Depends what time of day it was. Chinese taxi drivers change shifts at some really stupid times (About 8am and 6pm), just when a lot of people are wanting them. In that case; drivers will either not stop at all or refuse to take you where you want to go unless it is somewhere in the vicinity of where they meet to change over.

I almost never get taxis, but love the metro. I usually get a pass that I can just top up so I don't have to wait in queues, just go to one of the booths in most cities to get one, (in Xian you have to go to specific stations). Some cities are easier than others but I quite enjoy walking from the subway, having found lots of interesting things on the way to somewhere, but yes, it can be frustratingly slow because often there are no shortcuts. I found that in many cities the phone route will show up on my iphone map, though it never works in my home city! I also pay attention to bus numbers when walking and have often found a useful connection that way. Sometimes I get the wrong bus but I'm exploring, so no problem. In Hangzhou you can get a boat on the Grand Canal, either by getting bus 198 to the Grand Canal museum, though I found that somewhat confusing, (you'll need to ask the bus driver) or by metro, but I don't rememeber which station. I've generally found the staff at hostels more helpful in finding how to get to places than in hotels. Good luck.

For taxis, I tell them the closest intersection. It worked for me every time.

Unless something is so well known, like for Shanghai's Jingmao Tower in Pudong, I can just say "Jingmao Pudong."

Hangzhou is one of the worst cities in China to try and get around - at least the scenic bits where there are no subway stops and a very confusing bus system. I feel your pain!

Your App problems are Odd - I've just had 3 friends who signed up to MoBike using foreign cards and it was really simple What is it telling you the problem is?

I use Didi also regularly in Shanghai/Hangzhou and also generally very smooth. Are you using a foreign phone number? That might put them off.

... I do have the taxi app (DiDi) but my requests are never accepted or when they are, they are cancelled by the driver before the car arrives.
So all the cabs with green lights that refuse to stop, have they all been booked already using the app?

Regarding taxi, it is a simple theory of supply and demand.

I shall tell some of the things I know about Beijing. Some background factors:
- After 11pm, surcharge of 20% would apply. Therefore, drivers would prefer to pick up fare after 11pm, if near.
- For over 15km, the driver can charge you a return journey of equal distance. I can guarantee that the driver would not drive back an empty cab.
- Drivers, base on their local knowledge and experiences can easily guess the distance of fare. If they think that it is a short distance then they would not stop or refuse even after you have already crawled into the cab. They can always come up with reasons hard to argue with, such as there is a bad traffic jam approaching your destination or faking that they are on the way to change shift (at any random hours).

- when they are on their way to you or to the non foreign devil prospect standing next to you, they probably have more better prospective orders on their screen available for their pick and choose. Some driver would cancel yours and even say: “go and complain if you want”. (I read that it has gotten worse after the merger of Uber and Didi.)

A few things we had tried in some difficult situations:
* go to the direction that’s against the traffics.
* go to a spot where lesser waiting passengers, even if you have to walk several blocks.
* follow an occupied taxi into a residential side street, good chance that the passenger would be dropped off inside a compound.
* some tipsy members of our group raised their long skirts a bit to attract headlights.
* Don’t be afraid to act like Dorothy Michaels in the movie of ‘Tootsies’.

... What should I be doing differently?

Formulate a ready plan-B beforehand.