Beijing Subway: My WTF Rant
-
Oh no, today has been absolutely terrible in Beijing! I swear, I've never hated the subway so much!
To give you a heads-up, I chose the subway because I was worried about traffic blocking the ground roads, fearing missing my train. However, the experience was terrible!
A Heads-Up for Newcomers to Beijing or a Less Frequent Subway Rider: During peak hours (approximately between 7-9 AM and 5-7 PM), road traffic in Beijing becomes very congested. Hence, many locals choose the subway as their mode of transportation to go to the train station or airport to avoid traffic jams.
I'm not sure if it's because of some urgency that locals rush into the subway; once the door opens, everyone just squeezes in frantically with no regard to who they might bump into. There were people who came last and managed to squeeze on despite the doors refusing to close. Even after staff advised them to wait for the next train, they insisted on staying onboard, causing the door to open and close several times.
Friendly Tip: If the carriage appears completely full, or if staff recommend waiting for the next train, it's best to listen. The trains in Beijing are quite frequent, particularly on major lines, so you won't have to wait too long. Being impatient can affect other commuters' travel experience and could result in potential safety hazards.
There are those who exhibit behavior that goes beyond common sense. When getting off the subway, if someone is slightly blocking the entrance, some passengers will just push through without saying "excuse me" out of sheer rudeness.
Watch Out!:
- When Exiting: If you need to exit but someone is blocking the entrance, be courteous and say, "Excuse me, let me pass" or "借过 (Jie Guo, meaning 'excuse me, passing through')." Most people are kind enough to make way.
- If You're Standing Near the Door: Be mindful if someone needs to leave before you do so, consider alighting temporarily to the platform, awaiting others to disembark, and then re-entering once they've got off.
To compare my experience taking the subway in Spain to this trip in Beijing, I must point out there's a minority of riders here who behave less elegantly than those abroad. It made me question whether being empathetic and civil in such a shared setting is really so difficult.