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Ready for the road

By Liu Yujie (China Daily)
Updated: 2011-05-09 08:02

Perry Knoppert talks to a taxi driver to learn more about the industry in Beijing as he prepares for his six-month stint as a capital cabbie. Photos by Feng Yongbin / China Daily

Commuters in the capital might soon find themselves in a taxi driven by a Dutchman, Liu Yujie discovers.

The Dutchman with the crazy dream of becoming Beijing's first foreign taxi driver is about to get behind the wheel. Starting in late June, Perry Knoppert will not only be taking passengers, but also making videos of how they react when they discover a foreigner driving the cab. The program will be broadcast on the Internet for people around the world to have some idea of what Beijing is like and how people here behave in an unexpected intercultural situation.

Following exposure in the media last November, Knoppert and his team have found it much easier to get sponsorships. And if you search his name online, hundreds of items in English and Chinese pop up.

Knoppert, a 35-year-old father of two with another on the way, quit his job as vice-president of Provimi Holding B.V. Beijing, an animal nutrition company earlier this year to devote all his time to the taxi project.

"If I hadn't gone for this, I'd be just someone from an expat family, sitting in my compound, going to Costa Coffee, working over my Apple laptop and being very busy, complaining about the weather, etc. And that's it," Knoppert said.

"But now I'm meeting all these interesting people, the government people, producers, people from big companies that sponsor the show, foreigners at bars and Chinese people I don't know who are anxious to see me driving a taxi. It's much more interesting."

Before the driving came a crash course in Chinese language and culture. Knoppert has a personal Chinese teacher and takes eight hours of classes a week. He is working hard on pronunciation.

"I'm still struggling with the language," he said. "It's going to be crazy. It is not me making fun of the Chinese, but the other way round. I want to be sincere and respectful, not only creating a funny show, but also doing something that has cultural depth."

Meanwhile, Knoppert is also diligently practicing driving in the city's heavy traffic and attending hot yoga classes to be strong enough for such a physically demanding job.

Unlike most taxi drivers who usually cover their own region, Knoppert will be dragged all over the city, providing the most patient service for passengers while chatting with them in Chinese.

"I think I'll be working like hell as we start, driving seven days a week, during the day and at night. I really don't know how long it will take on the road to create a 20-minute show every day."

To add some fun to the program, the production team designed 18 crazy assignments for Knoppert to persuade passengers to do, such as inviting them to dinner, offering to help them cook their own dinner or getting them some new clothes.

"For example, I will put a backpack on the back seat, and when a Chinese passenger asks what the bag is doing there, I will say 'Oh my God, the last passenger forgot his bag. Let's check what's inside and see if we can find something valuable'," Knoppert said. "It's gonna be fantastic."

The producer in another car following close behind will be able to see the expressions on passengers' faces through the six cameras in the taxi and will instruct Knoppert on what to do next. If a passenger looks concerned by a suggestion, they will tell him to forget it to avoid offending anyone.

A leading Dutch company, which specializes in producing TV programs set in taxis, is behind the project. However, Knoppert has ensured the show is made by a Chinese production company because he wants it to be done "in a Chinese way".

"Foreigners usually have stereotypes of China," he said. "I want to change their way of looking at China through this show.

"I also want to make a show for Chinese people living outside Beijing who have never been here to learn how interesting and difficult life is in Beijing. And, more importantly, to show them how a stupid foreigner who speaks clumsy Chinese can mix in Chinese society."

Knoppert, who used to live in Hong Kong and Shanghai, chose Beijing as the ideal place to do the show mainly because he loves the beautiful interaction between people in the city.

"Interestingly, I found as I moved from south to north in China, people became happier. People in Beijing are prouder, more sure of themselves, especially the elderly. If I smile to old people in the park they smile back. In Hong Kong, nothing would happen. Everyone looks a little bit sick and stressed over there."

The program will have two phases. From July to September, it will focus on strangers who just happen to get into the taxi, while from October to December it will feature people who know about the show and want to be involved.

"If the first phase proves successful, we will install a tracking system so that people can follow where I'm driving on the Internet and book a ride," Knoppert said. "There will be live shows as well."

With about six weeks to go, Knoppert is excited that his dream is about to come true. "Even if it lasts one day or one month, I will be happy because I will be producing my own TV show in China about driving a taxi. That's the most beautiful thing that could happen to me. And I will be creating my own beautiful picture of Beijing."

(China Daily 05/09/2011)