Getting Around in China

So I know next to nothing about getting around in China.  Except maybe that it's terrifying, and I can't imagine getting around there any way other than what we did.

The Bus

We were on a tour.  We were bussed everywhere in relative luxury.  Well, I would have called it luxurious if there had been a toilet in the bus.  But bathrooms are almost an unknown luxury, and a topic of a future post to themselves.

We saw China through the windows of the bus.  Some stories are best told in pictures:

Yes, that's a beggar.  On the ground.  Face down.  With one leg.   This is not the only beggar in this condition we saw.

Out the window, we saw much interesting architecture.  And no real way to know what all of it was.

There was lots of space at the back of the bus.  Mona had room to stretch out.

The buses are huge, and the mirrors they use that stick out way into the front amused me.

Non-bus vehicles and traffic

The population density in China is ridiculous.  Over the top.  You can't imagine it if you've not seen it.  In Beijing, the roads are bumper to bumper traffic all over the city, pretty much all day long.  Buses, cars, all moving along at a decent pace, never as jammed as you'd think.  But it's very dense.

It's unclear whether it's because of the cost of cars, the density of traffic, the difficulty of navigation, a combination or something else entirely that drives it, but a lot of people drive scooters or bicycles instead of cars.  There were huge scooter drop off locations all over the place (I hesitate to call them parking lots, since they didn't look all that organized), and same with bicycles.  

Add to that the number of crazy vehicle hybrids.  We saw all manner of bicycle/scooter/auto hybrids. Franken-vehicles that boggled the mind.  Suffice it to say that traffic was incomprehensible to a westerner, and I'm sure glad we were on the bus. See some examples below:

Bicycle and scooter travel is so common they have their own light.  Note the green bike sign above the green pedestrian sign.

This feller's riding in the bike lane.  Many times the bike lane was fenced off as a separate lane.  Many times not.

And what the heck is this monstrous thing?  I'll tell you, it's no Elio... There were dozens of variations on the bike/car hybrid.

Ok, so this intersection makes no sense to me.  I could never drive here.  Or ride a bike.  Or pedestrian.

The Cab

Hoo boy, we only rode in one cab.  It was from the hotel to the Chinatown in Shanghai.  It was a white knuckler for sure, and being in the front seat made me so nervous.  The driver got us there safe, but I'm not hankering to get in another cab in China.  That stuff is scary from street level.

Me in the suicide seat with Kevin, Sarah, and Nicole in the back.  

Out the window of the cab.  Yes that's a bicycle under that enormous haul.  All those goofy pictures on the internet of people with stuff piled high on their vehicle or bike?  Yeah, those could all be taken in China.

Another bike just laden with stuff.

You'd think with all the craziness there would be accidents everywhere making it worse.  But there wasn't. We didn't really see any accidents that I recall.

Well, except that one.

While we were waiting to get back on our bus in Hangzhou, we were standing on the sidewalk when there was some commotion.  A scooter had slammed into a pedestrian crossing the street.  I didn't see it, but some in our group did, and it sounds like it was the pedestrian not paying attention.  Evenso, the scooter operator just nonchalantly sped away.

But that was it, and that wraps up our little discussion about Chinese traffic.  Next up, let's talk about toilets, people!