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| Motorcycles take over the pedestrian sidewalk |
Traffic and right-of-way in China is very different from what I am used to e.g. nice, polite, follow-the-rules Minnesota. Instead, my first impression is that it is a free-for-all involving busses, cars, motorbikes, small three wheeled wagons, bicycles and of course people. Plus, there always seems to be traffic- either fewer cars moving more quickly as they change lanes, jockeying for the fastest route (if only for a few seconds), or lots of cars with everyone frenetically trying to move into even the smallest crack of a space. While there are street lights, its not clear when you are actually supposed to follow them and when everyone is agreement about ignoring them.
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| Card playing while waiting to board the train in Beijing |
I keep trying to figure out who has the right-of- way, but here are my thoughts so far. First, pedestrians seem the most expendable, perhaps because we can always hop out of the way (assuming we have time). Vehicles will keep going, or sometimes speed up if I am crossing the road. If I am lucky they beep a few times, to indicate that they have absolutely no intention of slowing down, so I better figure out how to get out of their way. Cars and busses, while the largest vehicles in motion, seem to be limited to streets or alleys, so they are actually more predictable. It does seem though that cars can stop anyplace they want, to let off or pick up a passenger. Of course others will honk at them, but that doesnt actually seem to impact the car that is stopped and blocking traffic.
Finally there are bikes and motor bikes, and in my assessment, these seem to be the 'alpha vehicles' of the pack. Motorbikes seem to be able to go any direction, at any time, squeeze between cars and busses and of course do not need to pay attention to pedestrians at all. I continue to be amazed at their skill at manuvering between larger moving vehicles through complex road situations such as intersections of multiple roads, with cars and busses entering and turning from all possible angles. It is quite a beautiful and graceful dance that happens, and I have yet to see any type of accident or injury occur.
Finally, on a more personal level is the challenge of crossing the street. One of the most useful skills I learned in Vietnam (where motor bikes can also emerge from buildings, not just streets and sidewalks) was to stay close to either a pregnant mother, an adult with a child or an older woman as they crossed. The trick I also learned from them was to keep aware and alert, but also keep walking in a consistent direction, rather than stopping, or darting in a different direction. In some ways, it feels like this traffic dance is one more expression of the relationality of this culture as well as the daily experiences everyone has moving together- including children participating in unison exercises in school, office workers gathering each morning to stretch and chant words of unity and encouragment to each other, and older citizens dancing, exercising and doing t'ai chi together. It feels like everyone's body is attuned to each other and this also extends to their vehicles. Now, if I can only get a sense of the rhythm so I can join without having to work so hard.
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| Wheat field from train window |
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| River/canal on the way to Shanghai |
Another travel experience: we took the high speed train from Beijing to Shanghai. The distance by train is about 520 miles and took about 5 hours. We often were traveling around 110 miles per hour. Inside the train the seats were roomy and comfortable as we sat watching the view from the window, travelling from the north toward the east coast of China. It was amazing to see the changes in landscape, from flat wheat fields (some now being harvested with old threshers) to smaller rice fields as we moved south. At times there would be craggy hills and rivers. What was also interesting was crossing what appeared to be large canals, which had been constructed to connect Beijing to Shanghai in the past. We also noticed many, many, many large buildings on the horizon, as we sped toward Shanghai. (I am including a photo
from the train, but given how fast we were going, many that I took were blurry. Bruce will hopefully post some of his photos as well).
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