This. You should have seen the scenes at the intercity bus stations back then, especially in Shanghai. The older Yutong buses had cargo racks welded in both the front and back of the bus, and someone would ALWAYS want to strap an entire motorbike loaded with cargo to the racks and they would get into shouting matches with the drivers when they are told that the external racks are not for motorcycles or cargo of any kind because of previous incidents involving construction supplies strapped to buses falling off on the highway. One time, an exasperated driver told a hardheaded traveler: "If you want to take your motorbike with you, how about I tie your bike to the back of the bus on a chain so it can be towed along, but you have to sit on the bike the whole time, not inside the bus". The passenger cursed him out and rode off without buying a ticket.
My little niece LOVED riding on the bus because the Yutongs had individual adjustable AC/heat vents on top of every seat and an adjustable lamp that one can use to read by when the entire bus is darkened at night. She always made a task of adjusting these things, constantly, and felt like she was being personally chauffered on a luxury private limo. Me, I was more interested in learning how to drive the darn thing and sitting by the front watching the drivers operate the manual transmission while dodging reckless motorcyclists on a constant basis, I think that is how I pretty much had stick driving already down packed even before I started driving stick myself.
The Yutongs are interesting. Instead of the engine at the rear like most large coaches, the Yutong's 400 HP diesel is mounted at the front next to the driver, and there is a large box like protrusion inside the bus in front of the windshield where half of the engine compartment is IN the vehicle. Even with the AC running full blast, the waves of heat coming off the engine while it is running is palpable when you are sitting by the front.
Yutong 1995 series intercity coach.
