The Xiali era recedes even further with the addition, in time for the Paralympics, of 30 "London-style" taxicabs to Beijing's fleet. The big cabs are prominently marked as handicapped-accessible (as are an accompanying group of new minivan taxis), which feels like a nice bit of progress on behalf of the disabled till you stop and think about what it would be like to get into the other 99.975 percent of the current Beijing taxi fleet if you were in a wheelchair. So despite my curiosity, I have yet to hail one of the new cabs, especially not one of the ones that are always waiting at the taxi stand outside the Main Press Center on the Olympic Green.
The cab here was parked right out back by the river, on Zuojiazhuang Xilu, across from the Yuyang Hotel. The little round badge in the middle of the back hatch identifies it as a product of "The London Taxi Company," while the nameplate to the left says it's made by "Shanghai Yinglun"--"Ying" as in "England" and "Lun" as in "London." London itself is reportedly looking at alternatives to its classic cabs (maybe some nice Red Flags?), but China sees a future in the body type: besides the Shanghai Yingluns on the road, the Beijing auto show this past spring included a display of the Geely TX4, another London-style taxi.
