The strike in Sanya, a tourist city in the island province of Hainan, was taking place just days after similar action by 9,000 drivers in Chongqing, in China's southwest. During the earlier two-day strike, disgruntled taxi drivers smashed more than 100 cabs and three police vehicles, according to state media.

Protests, once rare in this tightly controlled country, are becoming more common across China as dissatisfaction grows over issues ranging from tough living standards to official corruption.

It was not immediately clear how many taxis were participating in the strike in Sanya that began on Monday, but Xinhua said there are about 1,200 licensed cabs in the city.

"Right now, you can't see a single taxi on the roads. This causes great inconvenience to the residents and affects the city as a whole," said a man from the city's Communist Party branch who would only give his surname, Li. "The government is trying to solve this as soon as possible."

Many of the cab drivers were assembled in front of the municipal government office in Sanya for a second day on Tuesday, Li said in a telephone interview, but he did not give a crowd estimate. The official Xinhua News Agency put the gathering at more than 300 people.

Li said the protesting drivers are seeking relief from high monthly taxi rental fees and competition from unlicensed cabs.

Sanya transportation officials were at the protest trying to persuade the drivers to resume work, but negotiations are at a standstill because the group has not named a representative to meet with the government, Xinhua said.

Li said police detained 21 people on Monday who were suspected of smashing taxis whose drivers refused to participate in the strike. Fifteen cabs were damaged, Xinhua said.