October 16/2012
I heard from a friend who referred to traffic while she
visited China about a year ago as “hair raising”. Twenty years ago in Xuzhou, I would have said
the same thing. In that city, at that
time, bicycles, cars, thousands of company vans, buses and 2 ton lorries all
vied for territory in the vehicle lanes.
The only time my husband got hit by oncoming traffic was when he stopped
obediently at a crossroads where there was a crosswalk, a stop light, and a
traffic officer. Bicycles and
pedestrians shared the bicycle and pedestrian walkways about equally. Now, at least in Nanjing, I have come to the
view that traffic here is only slightly more hectic than in a western city at
rush hour. The difference is that rush
hour begins at 7:05 in the morning and ends at 8:00 at night on weekdays; traffic is heavy on Saturday until 2:00
a.m. In fact, on Friday or Saturday
nights, it is difficult to get a cab anywhere that I have been in the city. But
really, I have been primarily within the old city walls, the core. So, this description of transportation
focuses on the city core.
Office workers work five days a week, but the stores are
open 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, banks 8:00-6:00, 7 days, albeit with only
teller cash service on weekends. Many
small street stores, and markets, are open longer, some from 6:00 in the
morning till 10:00 at night. And all
those people have to get to work.
 |
| Street sweepers work from daylight - probably a 10-12 hour shift. |
 |
| Delivering recyclables to the depot. |
 |
| Recycle truck at the depot. |
Peasants have to bring their products to the streets and
markets.
 |
| Citrus in season, 6 species of oranges. |
 |
| Street vegetable vendors. Light on right is the open market. |
You will see people from their
mid-20’s to seniors with a wooden or bamboo pole supporting heavy loads,
carrying their goods on the subway or on foot.
People pulling heavy carts of garbage and recyclables to central points
for truck pickup. E-bikes and bicycles
haul construction materials, furniture, pipe in 20 foot lengths, toddlers, the
groceries, cages of poultry, turtles or crabs, and the family. Apparently, e-bikes are not supposed to carry
passengers, but no one pays any attention to that silly rule. People take their
chances, of necessity. I have seen fellows hauling everything from a wife and
child on an e-bike, with bags of shopping bouncing along and the vegetables or
the dog on the floorboards, while talking on a cell phone. It is rare to see a car driver using a phone,
which is encouraging. A two year old on dad’s lap, balancing with
his hands on the handlebars. Beautiful
young women wearing 4 inch spike heels with a coat worn back to front as
protection from the wind and dust, mothers in lovely skirt suits or dresses on
e-bikes are too common to be noteworthy, except for the lovely mom with grandma
on the back, holding a sleeping babe in her arms.
Helmets are not uncommon on motorbikes, but I have never seen
a Chinese wearing a bike helmet. In
fact, the only e-bike or bicycle rider I have seen who wears a Helmut is a 31
year old colleague who nearly met his Master while teaching in Thailand last
year. Jim, my 70 something, colleague,
also says he would not feel comfortable without his. Personally, I think I will get one soon.
For the first 2 weeks
I was here, I took the public buses. It
was hot out, and the Chinese capitalist claiming communism government
recognizes people’s needs and desires.
Therefore, the fee to ride an air conditioned bus is twice that of a
non-A/C bus, to whit, 30 cents vs. 15 cents.
And there is a definite pecking order for priority in traffic, buses, taxis,
trucks, vans, cars, motorcycles in the vehicle lanes, e-bikes, motorcycles, bicycles
and often pedestrians in the cycle lane, and pedestrians, dogs (now oblivious
to distractions, while in heat) trees and stationery construction equipment in
the pedestrian lanes.
 |
| Building a traffic separating barrier. Shrubs come later. |
But, once I realized the only way I would see much of the
city on my own terms, get an extra 45 minutes of sleep and still get to my 7:45
classes in good time, was to become one of the cyclists. I knew I was ready when I was able to smile
indulgently when my bus cut off several cars in one trip, and pulled closer to
the light by getting into the left turn lane to proceed back into the right
lane in front of two other buses when the light changed. But traffic moves relatively slowly in any
case and accidents are rare, usually fender benders.
 |
| 7 speed Giant Momentum - double locking, one for hind wheel, one to the fence. |
I tried to buy a “used” bike, but was unsuccessful within my
time line. I wanted one before the
Mid-Autumn Festival holiday the first week of October so that I could do some
sightseeing. One of my students works
part time at a Giant shop and, showing
admirable character, sacrificed his potential for a commission at his own
shop to help me get one within my price range at another shop. He was pleased with my generous gift of
thanks. I thought I was getting a modest
machine so that it would not be a “thief magnet”, joining the thousands of
single lock bikes tossed into collection trucks, heading for the “used”
markets. Three staff members had their
high end bikes stolen in the two weeks preceding the holiday, obviously a high
need time for transportation. When I showed
off my bike to my elderly neighbour, with eyes big and round, his jaw
dropped. Regaining his composure, he
very generously offered me his bike for those times when I need a bike and am
not simply commuting to work. He gave me
a set of keys for the two locks, and said simply, if the bike is not in the
garage, I will know you have it. And if
you don’t find it there, you will know I am using it. But in fact, the next person to use the bike
will probably be his 12 year old grandson, now five.
Recently I commented that I was grateful to know how to
render lard. Now I am grateful for all
those joyous hours of herding cattle on horseback. The same principles apply commuting to
work. One must “ride actively, alertly”,
as Garth Butcher would say. Last week I
was sharply reprimanded by the guy who cut me off from behind. I swerved to avoid hitting the rider to my
right, and trying to reassert my balance touched him. Thankfully, I don’t know exactly what he said. When I asked my students what I could say in
Mandarin to express my frustration and anger, a very polite and shy student
suggested I “use that word that starts with “f”. Everybody knows that English!
At the end of my first week of commuting, I had reason to
question the degree of my own emotional response. I still don’t know whether I feel guiltier to
have been riding the wrong way in the bicycle lane, or angry at the red car
going the correct direction while blasting his horn as he insisted on forcing
cyclists out of his way. I still feel
the guilt, but no longer bother much about it.
The fact is that there are many stretches where the only choice is to
ride in the pedestrian walkway, or the wrong way in traffic because it can be
hundreds of metres to a crosswalk where one can navigate into the correct
lane.
I made a stupid mistake today, wearing a dress that was too
slim for bike riding. Pulling up to a
stopping point, the fabric of my dress, hoisted up enough to allow me to pedal
unimpeded, became hooked on the back of the seat. When I tried to put my foot down to steady my
bike, we fell. The e-bike managed to
stop alongside me, say “Ay-oooh” in surprise and awe, while I gazed at his
front wheel five inches from my face. I
skinned my knee, ran my stockings, thanked him for his concern, and tried to
look non-chalant in a very Asian effort to save face as the light changed and
traffic moved forward. I am happy for
any scratches on the bike; the less new it looks, the better, but I’ll save the
dress for walking jaunts!
Speaking of lights, now that’s an interesting concept! In morning and evening rush hour, the traffic
cops or crossing monitors will not allow cycles and pedestrians to begin
crossing the road until only about 4 seconds remain on the vehicle’s “go” time. Such a loss of travel time! Should one disobey, one gets a shrill whistle
blast. When the cops are not out, however,
cycles and pedestrians begin to move as the traffic thins, or when there are
anywhere from two to 12 seconds left on the light. But it is frustrating when cars try to force
their way through us. Yesterday, my 70ish
PhD-Chemistry colleague, a cyclist, was so peeved about car traffic in the
cycle lane near the school that he was standing in the middle of the lane as I
approached, following a car, pointing and directing peeved motorists into the
vehicle lane. He was, characteristically
apparently calm but authoritative, and they obeyed without running over him as
I saw him later at work, whole and hearty.
Did he miss his calling?
I learned later that it was his letter to the mayor of the
city, the Education Ministry, whose offices are located next door to our prestigious
school, and translated for the local newspaper, who was largely responsible for
implementation of that “bicycle” lane.
He says he often directs traffic at that spot.
The principal and his wife are still taking taxis to
work. Most take the metro (subway)
and/or the bus. Of we female expats on my
staff, only myself and a 20 something colleague are cycling though several of
the guys are. Riding partway with a
colleague the other day, he complemented me on having the fortitude to ride a
bike in Nanjing, saying “it’s not for the faint of heart”. I don’t have to worry on that score. Riding a bike in Nanjing I get much the same
high as I do riding my Harley or alpine skiing back home.
As usual, all questions, comments and encouragements are
welcome. It’s heart warming to hear from
each of you. I’m looking forward to my
sister and niece’s visit in February, and a cousin has expressed an interest in
seeing China while I’m here. Anyone
else?
