From nervy taxi-user, to car-hailing convert

I have harbored a long-standing distrust of taxi drivers, because when I was little my "tiger mother" told me traumatic stories about how young girls who got into strangers' cars ended up being kidnapped, losing a kidney, or even being killed.

Even though I suspected the odds of being a victim of such atrocities were less than one in million, I was still terrified.

When I grew up and made my way from small-town girl to strong-working woman in Beijing, I was still discreet about taking a taxi by myself, especially at night.