Rickshaw, Beijing

En las zonas de los huton el transporte en "rickshaw" te permite ver esa parte de China con otra perspectiva de la que tienes desde los coches y autobuses .
Al ser todo muy llano no requiere gran esfuerzo del conductor

In the huton areas the rickshaw alouds you to see This part of china with a different perspective than the one you have from the cars or the buses
As all is very flat , the driver musn´t do a great effort

I love Beijing, I love the old Beijing!

I don’t know why but in recent years rickshaws have gained an amazing positive comeback.

Rickshaws nowadays are practically confined to the tourist areas, you will seldom see a local Chinese traveling by rickshaw in Beijing.

If you go wandering by certain hutongs in Beijing you will see a lot of rickshaws transporting tourists. In fact, taking the hutong tour by rickshaw is nowadays one of the most popular ways for tourists to get a little bit of the flavor, artificially though, of life in old Beijing.

It is true that taking a rickshaw is a little bit more expensive than taking a taxi but just think of the romantic side of it.

Besides, if nobody takes the rickshaws who is going to support the drivers, who is going to support the activity?

We want the rickshaws well alive (we must protect this old medium of transportation) as well as the hundreds and hundreds of Beijing hutongs that have survived so far.

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A ride on a rickshaw is a great way to experience the city of Beijing. Even the famous Americans Brad Pitt and Angelina Joli agree that this is a cool thing to do when visiting Asian countries. The guy who cycled me around had the most powerful legs I have ever seen on a Chinese man. I was surpised on how easily he went up hills and through traffic. He cycled me around the city and I got to see parts of the city I would not have gotten to see by just walking around my hotel. I made sure to tip him high.

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Not that it's any good way of getting around. It's just different. Being dragged around in a two seated sofa tied to a bicycle is just not usual for a westerner. If you cannot find anyone around hotels or tianamen square you'll probably find them between the bell tower and the drum tower, or better yet: take out a map and let them find you.

All around tourist places in Beijing there will be rickshaw drivers wanting to take you for hutong tours and other sights. There is both the moped ones, like in the picture, and the classic bicycle style.

I am sure it can be a great experience and it looked like great fun, but they were so persistent and many were accually worse than the hawkers selling goods so I became irritated and just decided not to take any rides from them.

The hutongs we saw on foot instead and for transportation we went with taxis.
But as I said, I'm sure it can be well worth the time and money if you find a good driver.

Im not really sure what its called. But it looks like a tuk-tuk in Thailand so I'll just name it this way. Anyway, riding a Chinese tuk-tuk can be another transportation experience you can get from being in Beijing. Not sure about the price, didnt get on one. But suppose you should bargain since there is no meter.

If you want to do it an old Chinese style, then get a rickshaw. You will see it around the city., specially around hutongs. To make sure you get to where you want, have a name of the place written in Chinese.

I'm not going to criticise the *hugely* popular Rikshaw industry, by saying that their riders are unreliable or rude.....but in reality they are not all angels either!!

A couple of times i was in a hurry to get somewhere, and without my trusty bicycle to cover the large open distances of central Beijing, i seeked the aid of nearby Rikshaw riders. Here starts a twisted game of Rikshaw Roulette.......

On the whole they are good, but i seemed great at locating the dodgy ones, and the fact i was in a rush did not seem to cross their minds, as they desperately haggled for some ridiculous price to cross the minutist of distances.....

They are an 'interesting' alternative to walking, and it can be an amusing but bumpy ride!! But just a word of warning, dont be held to ransome by the few riders, who bank on the fact that your another rich western tourist who is prepared to simply throw money away..... TRY ONE!!!