Taxi drivers in Xi’an tend to fall into one of two categories: the nice ones and the nasty ones. The majority of drivers belong to the first group and are usually talkative and friendly. If a
foreigner manages to say his destination convincingly in Chinese, they will likely react with an excited “waaaa!” and go on to complement the foreigner’s language level,despite the fact he or she may have only said three words. This kind of driver tends to engage me in conversation throughout the journey, asking the usual things about Chinese food, my opinions of China, and
wildly overestimating my salary. But some drivers move quickly beyond the standard script, and get into very diverse topics. I have had some of my most interesting Chinese conversations with Xi’an taxi drivers, who each seem to have their own special field of expertise, carefully developed and honed on their endless journeys around the city.