Beijing Taxi: A Film by MIAO WANG

BEIJING TAXI is a feature-length documentary that vividly portrays the ancient capital of China undergoing a profound transformation. The intimate lives of three taxi drivers are seen through a humanistic lens as they navigate a quickly morphing city, confronting modern issues and changing values. The three protagonists radiate a warm sense of humanity despite the struggles that each faces in adapting to new realities of life in the modern city. With stunning imagery of Beijing and a contemporary score rich in atmosphere, BEIJING TAXI communicates a visceral sense of the common citizens’ persistent attempts to grasp the elusive. The 2008 Summer Olympic Games serve as the backdrop for BEIJING TAXI's story, a coming out party for a rising nation and a metaphor for Chinese society and its struggles to reconcile enormous contradictions while adjusting to a new capitalist system that can seem foreign to some in the Communist-ruled and educated society. Candid and perceptive in its filming approach and highly cinematic and moody in style, BEIJING TAXI takes us on a lyrical journey through fragments of a society riding the bumpy roads to modernization. Though its destination unknown, the drivers continue to forge ahead.

Iconic Cabs of the World

In no specif order, here is my list of the most iconic cabs around the world:

Tuk Tuk

THE TUK TUK Tuk Tuk, the natural successor of the cycle rickshaw is king in India, and found abroad south and southeast Asia. This 3 wheeler cab is commonly customized by their owner with tropical colors and flavors, it is say its passenger capacity is unlimited.

THE HONK KONG RED CAB

A theory for iconic cabs might come from chaotic traffic, as it would be the case for Honk Kong's famous red cabs, with around 16.000 of them serving one of the busiest and more dense cities of the world. Among them, the Toyota Crown Comfort YXS10 and Nissan Cedric Y31 are the most popular in the streets.

MEXICAN GREEN VOLKSWAGEN  BEETLE

Part of mexico city landscape is the green Volkswagen taxicab, with an estimated 60.000 fleet abroad, nobody could deny the impact of the green cab in the streets despite the color of the emissions.

Get a closer experience in an iconic mexican cab with the music of Nortec Collective (recommended)[

LONDON CAB

London Black Cab is a classic among the classics, personally I think is the perfect cab,  its enormous interior cab-space is proportional to its small compact overall size, it contributes positively to the traffic of his motherland..

MOST FAMOUS NEW YORKER: THE CHECKER CAB

If it is famous in New York it is famous everywhere else, however, despite all the different cars used in all different decades, the Checker Cab, particularly the model A8/Marathon manufactured from 1956 to 1982 was and it will always be a truly icon of the city, just like the Empire State and The Statue of Liberty.The film industry still portraits this icon as a truly New York landmark, even decades after its retirement back in the 1980's.