Bentley Continental GT Gets A 7 In China

Bentley Continental GT

We all love a good Bentley, even more so when the numbers add up. That day, back in the great year of 2013, I met this fine Bentley Continental GT in central Beijing, not far from the east section of the Second Ring Road.

There are a lot of Bentley’s in Beijing but this fine example was especially notable because of its triple 7 license plate. That is a very rare sight. In Chinese numerology, seven is a good number for relationships, but it also sounds like “to deceive”, and as a slang word for penis in Cantonese. Take your pick! The Q indicates this Bentley is registered as a company-car.

Back in the 2010’s Bentley was everywhere in China. It is a bit less obvious  now, de to the changing political winds. In 2013, price of the Continental GT started just above 4 million yuan, which translated to some $660.000.

Beijing Auto Senova D320 Is A Sort Of Saab In China

Beijing Auto Senova D320

A wondrous white Beijing Auto Senova D320 sedan, seen on the streets in Beijing in 2013. The Shenbao D-Series was based on the first-generation Saab 9-5. Beijing Auto bought the rights to the first generation Saab 9-3 and 9-5 in 2009 from General Motors, then the owner of Saab. The deal included the Saab-developed 2.0 turbo and 2.3 turbo engines.

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Real Police Cars On The Police Car Show In China

Police Car Show In China

When still in China, I loved to go to police equipment shows to check out new police cars. But whereas I was there just for fun, there were also real coppers shopping for new wheels for their department, and those coppers came by police cars.

So today we have a flock of real police cars on the police car show, with white police car license plates. This was in 2013. We start with this very pretty Beijing-Jeep Grand Cherokee police car, with the characters Jingcha (police) on the bonnet and the characters Sifa (judicature, for the Ministry of Justice) on the rear doors.

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Hongqi CA7221 L In Front Of My Hot Pot Restaurant In Beijing

A very beautifull Hongqi CA7221 L long-wheelbase limousine, seen in front of the building that housed the best hot pot restaurant in the world, in 2005.

Earlier on, this restaurant was located just outside the back gate of my apartment building. Later on, when popular, they moved 200 meter, to a new location on the second floor of a new office building, which was where I saw the Hongqi.

I remember feeling very annoyed about the restaurant moving that far away. Really, I came there like twice a week, always taking friends, ordering shiploads of beer. It was my place. And then they moved 200 meters away from me…? In the end, I continued going there until they were suddenly gone in 2014.

Back to the car. The CA7221 L was based on the standard Hongqi CA7220. The CA7220-series in turn was based on the Audi 100 that was made in China by the FAW-Volkswagen joint-venture. FAW (First Auto Works) is also the owner of the Hongqi (Red Flag) brand.

On the picture, you can see the car’s driver reading a newspaper, waiting for his boss to finish his meal. The entrance to the building is guarded by a Chinese lion-dragon creature. Red band around its neck indicates a festivity, like the opening of a new restaurant, or other such fun.

A White Hafei Minivan In Beijing

This is a personally historical photo because it was the first photo I took with my brand new China-made Nokia telephone, which I got in the great year of 2003. Photo quality was still far worse compared to a real camera, which I  always carried with me until 2012, when I deemed the iPhone good enough for street pics.

The picture shows a typical street not far from my home in the Dongzhimen area, with 1970’s 6-floor apartment buildings on the left side. It must have been winter, the trees are leafless and the air looks cold. A woman in a brown jacket tried to ruin my picture but failed.

The Hafei minivan is still clearly visible. It is a standard-roof passenger variant. The blue 京A license plate indicate this is a very early privately owned car. Blue A’s are very rare nowadays but back in 2003 I had no idea about that. May I be able to look into the future in my next Hafei life.