Subways, Taxis, Fast Trains and Scooters

By Sally Franz

The subway system in Shanghai and Beijing is a work of precision.  It is spotless, the floors shine and there is artwork everywhere (and yes a lot of huge fashion ads on the walls of the hallways). The ticket machines are easy to operate and have an ENGLISH option. Mind you I was riding the subways during the Golden Week Holiday and a lot of the 24 million people who live in Shanghai (and their relatives) were riding the subway when I was. And while there were a lot of people crowding onto each car, especially at dinner time, there was no aggressive pushing, no elbows, no surly comments, not even man-spreading to take up extra seats. People simply shuffled together to make room for others. They moved flawlessly like the scene in “Finding Nemo” where the school of fish gives Dory directions en masse. The subway cars all connect and open to each other with accordion panels to make the turns. You can look six cars down. All the signs at the stations are in Pinyin (Roman letter phonetical Mandarin) and characters. All announcements on the subway were both typed on a scroll over the doors and also given in verbal public announcements which are in Mandarin and English. Subway maps are easy to read.

Taxi cabs are easy to take from main train stations and airports; expect a ½ hour wait, but the line goes very fast. Just as in any US city, do not take a ride from anyone who does not have a licensed cab. It is a bit harder to hail a taxi on the city street. The hand motion for a cab is a downward straight arm with a hand pointing out to the curb where you are standing. It will help you to have the address you want printed in characters, say on a business card or computer printout or to have a characters screen shot on your phone. Most cab drivers do not speak English, again, just like in most US cities. Your Translation App should be able to post what you say into characters. The word for Taxi (pronounced “Duh die) is four characters. And yes, just like the English language, it really does matter that all four characters are used in the correct order and none substituted out for other letters. Just the way car, jar and bar look the same but are not remotely close in meaning. So here is your TAXI reminder: The first Mandarin character looks like the vertical double tip of a trident spear. The next looks like a pine tree with an eagle’s nest platform. The third looks like a three shelf narrow bookcase and the last looks like the number four written poorly on lined paper. Like I said, get this written down before you go out.

The Fast Train (The Chinese Bullet Train) is amazing. And just like the fears of the folks when trains first appeared, let me assure you that you will not get nauseated because it is too fast. Objects outside are not a blur and there is no jet/train lag or time travel involved. The Fast Train was on my bucket list so I took it from Shanghai to Beijing. I love this train. First of all at 200 miles an hour you reach Beijing in about 4 hours with none of the two hour airline early arrival nonsense. The business class seats were comfy with WiFi connection and lots of luggage space above your head. Another reason to love the Fast Train is that their hostesses came up and down the aisles with snacks for purchase including a Dove-bar like ice cream concoction, chips, and sodas. If you meander to the dining car you can order full dinners with BBQ, stir-fry and rice.

From the comfort of my window seat I saw the Chinese countryside. There is a massive expanding middle class thanks to the huge amount of exporting and US investment in their economy. As a result the government is investing all that income into environmentally safe infrastructure. China leads the world in electric car production and use. In the cities, people get around on electric scooters. Everyone uses them. Kids ride on the front foot platform or on back in rain or shine. The roads all have dedicated lanes for scooters with medians away from cars.

Sally Franz and her third husband live on the Olympic Peninsula. She has two daughters, a stepson, and three grandchildren. Sally is the author of several humor books including Scrambled Leggs: A Snarky Tale of Hospital Hooey and The Baby Boomer’s Guide to Menopause. She hosts a local radio humor segment, “Baby Boomer Humor with Sassy Sally”.