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The cost of driving in Nanjing:-
1) Parking: on the street -¥2-7 per hour, at the airport - ¥15 per day, at the train station - ¥8 per day
2) Parking fines are ¥50
3) Jumping a red light will cost you ¥200
4) Road tolls: Yangtze River Bridge (Da Qiao) - free, Nanjing No.2 Bridge - ¥20, Nanjing No.3 Bridge - ¥30.
Driving in China & Nanjing for foreigners:-
There is much talk that foreigners should not consider driving in China. Often cited for this are the unusual customs of local drivers and law enforcement and the general perceived lawlessness of roads in China.
A lot of this is simply not true. The fact is that any competent foreign driver should be able to cope well with traffic in China after some time spent becoming accustomed to it. Obviously, it is a great help to be able to read Chinese, but this is not absolutely necessary as long as you follow what all the other cars are doing!
The Wikitravel entry on driving in China is very informative - check it our [here]. Of particular note:-
"Ubiquitous pedestrians, bikes, and cycles, often acting oblivious or even negligent toward surrounding traffic, are generally considered to have possessed Right of Way in any collision between them and a vehicle. If a larger vehicle strikes a pedestrian or rider, the larger vehicle will generally be assumed liable."
In other words, you as driver of a car, are to blame if you hit a cyclist or a pedestrian, whatever the circumstances.
This legal definition can be combined with a further generally observed principle:- if you first fill the gap on a particular piece of tarmac, then that gap is rightfully yours.
You may apply for a drivers licence in Nanjing at the Nanjing Drivers Licence Issuing Centre, beside the Nanqi Driving School (this is on Google Maps) located on Hongshan Road.
You will be subject to a simple health test and eye examination before you can apply for a license. The fee for this is RMB2. The fee for the driving license itself is RMB40.
Your driving license from your native country may be translated to Chinese by an official translation agent, i.e. one recognised in the translation of driving licenses. The Jinling Institute of Translation in Nanjing is one such agent. Then you need only complete the theoretical part of the test; 100 multiple choice questions which can be taken in Chinese or English. If you choose to do the test in Chinese, you may also have a translator present with you to translate the questions (and possibly provide the answers!).
An important note:- Some foreigners in China would like to acquire a Chinese driving license but already have a car and a driver, reserving their own personal driving for so called 'emergency use'. The truth is that under emergency conditions, a foreigner with little or no experience driving in China is going to make the emergency worse, not better!