Have memories of childhood practical jokes? Like calling random-local numbers claiming to be from a power utility, saying, “Is your fridge running”. They disappear for a moment and return in the affirmative, to which you say, “Better go catch it then!”.
还记得儿时的恶作剧吗？就像拨打自称来自电力公司的随机本地号码一样，说“你的冰箱在运行吗”。他们消失了一会儿，然后返回肯定的信息，你对此说：“那么最好去抓住它！”。
Hilarious. But that’s the kind of immature behaviour which has gripped a signifiant number of people of late, not only in Nanjing, but around China as a whole, in their idea to book a taxi to Lhasa.
搞笑。但这种不成熟的行为最近引起了相当多的人的兴趣，不仅在南京，而且在整个中国，他们都想预订一辆出租车去拉萨。
Reporters have learned from ride-sharing platform, Didi, that since 5 April, there has been a significant increase in long-distance orders for taxis to Lhasa.
记者从打车平台滴滴获悉，4月5日以来，前往拉萨的长途出租车订单大幅增加。
More than 300 users then cancelled their orders, after paying tens of thousands by way of deposit. They have, of course, received those monies back.
300多名用户在支付了数万定金后取消了订单。当然，他们已经收回了这些钱。
According to the Yangtze Evening News, one reporter noticed a Zhejiang resident who had booked a ride to the spiritual home of Buddhism, the Potala Palace in Lahasa. This they had shared on Douyin.
据扬子晚报报道，记者注意到，一位浙江居民预订了前往佛教精神家园拉哈萨布达拉宫的乘车服务。他们在抖音上分享了这一点。
But while the mix that is the Potala Palace and Douyin is worrying enough in itself, it is also hardly a practical joke.
尽管布达拉宫和抖音的结合本身就足够令人担忧，但这也不是一个恶作剧。
Let’s talk numbers. One Didi user from Guangxi who booked a ride to Lhasa was faced with a fare of ¥13,545.12, but in the end, the transaction failed due to “abnormalities” preventing payment.
我们来谈谈数字吧。一名广西滴滴用户预订了前往拉萨的车费，票价为13545.12元，但最终因“异常”无法付款而导致交易失败。
From Nanjing, it was found that it would cost ¥12,505.45 to make it to the Tibetan capital, in a 3,295-kilometre ride that would take more than 2 days.
从南京出发，到达西藏首府的费用为12,505.45元，全程3,295公里，需要2天多的时间。
According to Didi’s user agreement, long-distance orders require payment of the estimated fare before departure. Such a clause protects driver rights; upon arrival at the destination, refunds will be made based on the actual cost.
根据滴滴的用户协议，长途订单需要在出发前支付预计车费。这样的条款保护驾驶员的权利；抵达目的地后，按实际费用退款。
In addition to those bookings to Lhasa, long-distance Didi orders to Sanya in Hainan Province, Xishuangbanna in Yunnan Province and other regions have also increased in recent days.
除了拉萨的订单外，近日来海南三亚、云南西双版纳等地区的长途滴滴订单也有所增加。
Didi’s official position? The ride-hailing platform reminds users to please place orders “rationally”, based on “actual travel plans”. So no practical jokes, then.
滴滴官方立场？网约车平台提醒用户，请根据“实际出行计划”，“理性”下单。那么就不要开恶作剧了。
