Wow! I drove in China!
December 15th, 2007 by wooly
With my British driving license, I’ve managed to use it as a valid document to rent a car in many countries. In Taiwan, because it didn’t have a photo (I didn’t change it to the new card version), and the fact that it had an EU logo on it, I managed to convince the car renter that it is something as good as an International License.
It has served me well – until China. In China they don’t recognise nor want foreigners to drive. If you want to drive, you get a Mainland Chinese driving license, which I put off getting until I was just itching for the freedom of having a car to explore around. Having a car also meant it is easier to take the family.
Gettin the license is one thing, renting the car is also another complicated hassle. Last weekend, I managed to put my CNY700 investment to thrill use! 
… I rented the car from the local AVIS in Beijing. For documentation, they wanted:
- Passport
- Credit card
- Deposit of CNY5k – only refundable after 15 days
- Letter from company confirming that I am not a tourist nor a loafer
If you think that’s crazy, here’s what is reputedly the largest local car renter wanted:
- Passport
- Cash deposit of CNY10k
- Letter from company
- Guarantor from a local Beijing resident that he will be responsible for me.
- Photo
Well, TIC (This Is China) – just like the banks here don’t provide bank statements. I don’t know how am I gonna prove to any potential bank back home that I am actually earning X amount of money. Some agencies are really picky that not only you have a letter from employer, but they also want to see the money actually going into a bank 
Anyway, I got a small Chevy ‘Sail’ – which is really a Korean Ssangyong rebranding since Chevy and Ssangyong belong to GM. This has got to be the narrowest car I’ve ever been in. It is 1.4l but the has the width of a Kancil! But OK … it was at least an auto.
How was the driving? I can safely say – if you can avoid it, rent a driver as well. It is not that people are nasty on the road – they just don’t want to follow rules. Being they usual Malaysian driver (or from any other country), you usually get pissed off big time if people cut queue. Not in China – people just don’t seem to get into fights if some idiot just barge in, or try to block you off while turning.
At the end of the day, I didn’t scratch the car, but I did almost wanted to step out of the car and give a few people a good piece of my mind. But then I remember, TIC. And when in Rome …