OK, I mentioned the traffic in an earlier post but I don't think I gave a clear enough picture. Traffic here is downright scary. Until recently China was not a very wealthy country. Most people got around by bicycle. Many people are still on bicycles or scooters, but now there's a rapidly growing middle class and the first thing many people do to show off their new status is buy a car. Don't forget, this is a big place - the "smaller city" we visited had 6 million people. Now add all these new cars to the multitude of pedestrians, buses, and the construction that seems to be everywhere, and what you've got is a hot mess.Being on the street is one big game of chicken. Scooter vs. bus, pedestrian vs. car, no one yields to anyone. They just keep going until one of them stops, usually before a collision, sometimes after. And the bit about pedestrians not having the right of way even on the sidewalk? Sometimes cars will ease up onto the sidewalk to get around traffic. And it's not unusual for a hotel or restaurant to have their parking spaces on the sidewalk in front of the building. So, not only is crossing the street an adventure, you can't even relax once you've successfully made it to the sidewalk.
I'm sure there are traffic regulations, but I think the philosophy is "just go!"
1 comment:
On our last day in Shanghai four years ago, it was absolutely pouring and the tunnels were flooding (water gushing into the lowest points of the city). What a trip to watch the cars maneuver through the traffic jam. One driver decided he'd had enough and backed his way out of the mess of cars. Another made a U-turn and headed in the opposite direction, one car moving upstream against a sea of oncoming traffic! I have no idea how we actually got to the airport in time to catch our plane...
Sandy
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