Day #93: Beijing Subway

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I have traveled on the Beijing Subway every day since I arrived in the city. From a technical point of view, it's brilliant: 20p per journey wherever you go, air conditioning, clear English signage, smooth travel and no delays. Most of the network was built in the last 15 years and, as one Beijinger put it to me, "We learned from other cities' mistakes".

The people element, though, is harder for a Westerner to contend with. There is little concept of queuing in China and this is very evident when getting on a Subway train: no one waits for anyone to get off or for the people waiting in front of them to move, so boarding a train is like being in a scrum. Everyone gets stuck in the middle, pushing against those moving in the opposite direction, and the process takes twice as long as it would if everyone just waited their turn. Elbows and shoving are not frowned upon: it's every man/woman for him/herself. It's not because there isn't enough time: the doors don't close until everyone is on.

Even more perplexing is the habit of passengers on the train standing directly in front of the doors as if in preparation to get off, and then not moving at all when the train has halted, meaning that those actually getting on or off have to muscle their way through.

There is also a token nod to security at every station: before you board, you and your bags go through airport-style security (though it often seems they are barely glancing at the bag contents). In order to take a bottle of liquid onto the Subway, you have to drink a mouthful in front of the security staff - although only the Chinese have to do this, Westerners are just waved through.

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