Bicycles Everywhere (but no helmets)

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When we got off the plane we immediately got into a taxi and headed for the city. All the taxis here are VWs plain boxy 1998 Jetta type cars. Traffic is horrendous, cars go everywhere, people go anywhere, and bicycles or electric scooters rule. I was surprised when I heard that there are strict regulations on riding bikes and motorbikes because it seems they just go where ever they want. The sidewalks are painted for bicycle parking but many blend in with normal pedestrians.

There are rickshaws operated by young old; and all walks of professional life. Despite all the madness I have not seen anyone wreck or fall off, and only seen a couple people with any type of head protection.

I went into the office yesterday. I was pleased to find that my asian co-workers are not so much different than people I know back home. I find it strangely comforting that people are people no matter where you go, we all have a common humanitarian bond. Apart from the language barrier there is little that separates us.

I went for a walk around the hotel last night, it is amazing how different the city feels at night than the day. Daytime office buildings turn into all night discos with neon lights when the sun sets. Walking down the street I was bombarded with offerings of anytime of entertainment you could imagine. People followed me for several blocks trying to get me to come into their "special club" and just have a look, I had to keep my head down and just keep walking before they would finally leave me be.

I went for a walk in a nearby park this morning and again was reminded how much it seems the city was directly modeled after New York. However there were lots of people practicing yoga or focusing their chi just out in the open. But there were also families feeding a black swan. But you could not go far without seeing fully uniformed police officers keenly keeping order in case trouble came to be. There were also a strong presence of street cleaners with homemade brooms and dust pans.

We had a business lunch today. I'm learning that even though China is developing quickly there is still progress to be made. As more of the younger generation studies abroad they bring back the western culture cues to their traditional families. We went to the financial district and commercial district known as the Bund today. I'll post pictures and write about that in my next entry.

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Comments

[Mom and Dad]

Found Your Blog of China
Very interesting thanks for sharing this exciting adventure.