If you often frequent Beijing's Shichahai Scenic Area in Xicheng District, you are probably familiar with the sight of tricycle rickshaws carrying beaming tourists zigzagging through the hutongs.

Now changes will be made to the tricycle rickshaw fleet, to provide better and standard services to tourists, the Beijing News reported.

Beijing's Xicheng District government announced Monday that it will cut the current number of tricycle rickshaws from 1,000 to a mere 300 to rectify market disparities and initiate a franchise operation that will provide a unified, standard service to tourists.

A certain number of the 1,000 tricycle rickshaws in operation are unlicensed rickshaws. The illegal rickshaws often have disputes with tourists over the price of their services, which produces a negative effect on the area's tourism.

The Xicheng District government has posted an invitation for public bidding on two Web sites. The qualified tender must have a registered capital of no less than 1.5 million yuan, a settled office within the scenic area, a parking lot to hold all the vehicles, professional tour guides, rich experience in operating hutong tours and no punishment records.

The district government deemed that the scale of the fleet has overstretched the area's capacity, and the endless flow of rickshaws is now disturbing the life of local residents and affecting the area's historical atmosphere.

After the reform, the new tricycle rickshaw fleet will be able to provide a standard hutong tour for tourists, including routes, signs, and tour guide service.

The government also entitled the Shichahai Scenic Area Administration the right to oversee the franchise.

Hutong tours, rickshaw trips into Beijing's time-honored alleyways that were dominant before 1949, are a tourist attraction special to Beijing.

(CRIENGLISH.com December 26, 2007)