We'd had a rather pleasant day in
Beijing, having walked about and then taken a great bike tour to see
the new Olympic stadiums. But after we sat down for dinner we were a
little surprised by the menu!
You expect to be careful about
pickpockets and what not in a big city, but cannabalism?
OK, turns out it's just the literal
translation of an unfortunately named mushroom, but we got a pretty
good chuckle out of it... and we didn't order it.
This morning we saw Tienamen Square,
with it's throngs of Chinese tourists and ever present security. I
wondered after the fate of man in front of the tanks and the other
thousands from that summer.
We also took a nice bicycle tour
(thanks Nina) and explored the city a bit. We got to see some of the
remaining Hutongs, the traditional neighborhoods of courtyard houses.
But the highlights were the new Olympic stadiums, nearing
completion, especially the swim and dive center which is designed to
look like it is made of giant soap bubbles.
But riding around Beijing on a bicycle
is really about seeing the city from the local perspective. At first
I was nervous about braving the chaotic streets, but I quickly
learned that what appears to be a lethal mix of bikes and buses and
cars all hurtling towards each other from the perspective of a
stationary pedestrian takes on a totally different form when seen
from a moving bicycle. First of all, the city is very helpful to
bicycles, with separate lanes along major roads, often separated by a
curb and greenbelt or sidewalk. Also the traffic here is very
sympathetic to the bikes. Aware of them, but also ready to ease off
a little for example, when the bike needs to swerve into the main
lanes to get around a stopped bus, the cars anticipate this and ease
back just enough to let you swerve. At intersections, where the
vehicles love to plough through the right-on-red at breakneck speed
whilst honking at pedestrians who deign to cross when the little
green man says “walk”, the vehicles will thread between the
bikes. In general right-of-way follows the law of momentum; like
elsewhere in asia the biggest and fastest wins, but the exception to
this rule seems to be that bikes need to slow down only to the point
where they get wobbly. If a car going first would actually make a
bicyclist put their feet down then the car will yield. This holds
even when your insane minibus driver, who happily mows down
pedestrians, has to sqeeze through a narrow alleyway and a parked
car. Pedestrians have to get out of the way, but we'll wait for the
oncoming bike.
I wonder whether, in the end, the
traffic flows faster in sum as a result. In the west there is much
more stop and go, with right-of-way strictly enforced by the
expectation of a full stop (behind the line). The traffic here is
more like a dance, and as long as you aren't the one whos toes are
occasionally stepped upon, it works nicely.
