Walking in China should be listed as a extreme sport …I joke you not….in the time I have been here in Nanjing I have had a number of close encounters of the worst kind with cars, bikes, pushbikes, busses and people…
For those of you who have travelled to China you will have a good idea of what I am talking about but for those of you that haven’t…
close your eyes and let your imagination take you there!
The streets in Nanjing are wonderfully designed …there are 2 lanes in each direction for cars and busses, a small medium strip and then a special lane for e-bikes and bicycles and then a footpath for pedestrians.
There are lights at major intersections, telling you how many seconds the light will remain green or red and signs at other crossings all designed to help the walking person navigate the busy metropolis …
There is also the underground routes linking shopping malls and the subway so that you can avoid crossing some of the major arterial routes through the centre of Nanjiin
It sounds like a dream and yes it is ….of nightmare qualities…it is chaos with cars, e-bikes, bicycles and people all mingling in numerous directions and trying to avoiding each other.
Crossing the road
…at the lights is of course the safest option but no guarantee that an e-bike won’t creep up on you from the somewhere sounding its horn just as it swerves to avoid hitting you – serious heart attack material!
….using the ‘zebra’ crossing is simple at matter of faith…that the moving vehicles will actually see you and stop…
The first time I tried this on my own I spent about 2 minutes in the middle of a very busy road with my eyes closed…yes that is correct with my eyes closed …I was a scared shitless and didn’t know which way I should go …..back or forward…. so standing and pretending I wasn’t there seemed the only option.
Walking on the footpath
It is fairly obvious that the bike path is for the bikes but what I took a while to work out is the footpath is also for the bikes and occasional cars who become frustrated with the traffic delay..
…and they don’t necessarily obey the traffic direction so you can walk into a bike or be run over by a bike and sometimes it might happen simultaneously.
Of course there are also heaps of other people also trying to avoid bikes and each other so generally they don’t see you ….
Underground walkways and malls
From what I have described so far it would be fair to say that it is safest to avoid the streets where ever you can and stick to the underground routes
Yes but no
…you see all the other people who are tired of getting nearly run over (or rained on in the rainy season) have also decided to go that route….and I mean lots of people …population is 6 million in Nanjing and I swear they are all in Deji Plaza when I am!
People people everywhere and bloody hell they just don’t walk in an orderly fashion….no they meander, often in groups and they walk really slowly whilst I am trying to get to work on time or getting home for that much needed drink!!!!
They do not look up as they walk …eyes are generally glued to a smart phone or talking into a smart phone or watching a movie on a smart phone….
I am serious
Stop laughing
They have seemingly have no understanding of anything spacial or that there is anyone else walking in the same or opposite direction…
They stop suddenly and then look at you when you nearly walk into them, they bump into you and glare at you likes its your fault …sometimes at the last minute they may actually walk around you or again just stop and they walk in all directions at the same time
I said stop laughing ….well ok go ahead and laugh….and at my expense….
oh and I forgot to say that the weekend are even worse!
Answer…stay home and watch re-runs of Game of Thrones
Happy Bumbering
