set off to Wangfujing, a nice shopping area in the city. We took the
train from Wudaokou (very close to BLCU). This was the first time I
caught the train (actually, subway) in Beijing and I was quite
excited to see what it would be like! Just the night before, I saw on
the news that a new train line has opened in Beijing and the
government decided to reduce the price of the train fare from 3 yuan
to 2 yuan per single trip (very cheap!!) to encourage more people to
use the train. I thought it was a good idea as it will reduce the
horrendous traffic jams in the city. However, one of the passengers
interviewed said he was concerned that more people will use the
train. Can't be THAT bad, I thought!
It started off well enough. I bought a public transport card for 20
yuan and added 30 yuan. The train on this line is actually quite new,
similar to Singapore's MRT. On the way back though, there were SO
many people! I'm not sure if it's normal to have so many people
catching the train, or if it's because it's the last day of the week-
long national holidays, but the station and trains were packed like
sardines in cans! From Wangfujing we had to change trains 3 times and
at some stations we had to wait for the next train as we couldn't
squeeze in! On top of that, these interchange stations & trains on
these lines are quite old - no aircond. It was actually quite a cold
day, but it was quite warm in the station and the train, especially
in our autumn gear (a bit like Sydney's winter at the moment)- I
can't imagine what summer would be like!
As I said before, may be there were a lot of people because it's the
last day of the holidays, and hopefully my next train travel
experience will be more comfortable! I'll try to avoid peak hours
though!
Still, it was another interesting experience. The train (subway) is
really convenient and for 2 yuan, I can't really complain! ...but
hopefully the government will increase the number of trains (which is
already quite frequent) and the number of carriages.
Tips for taking Beijing Subway:
- The public transport card is very convenient and can also be used
on buses. The best thing is we don't have to queue up each time to
get a train ticket.
- Take care of valuables & watch out for pickpockets!
- Avoid peak hours if possible - I haven't tried it (and not game
to!) but I think it will be pretty crowded!
-and like what one of my friends told me before coming to China - be
patient and have an open mind! I say - have a good sense of humour
and go with the flow. Remember , when in Rome... I think this works
out pretty well since like the locals, we have to push (sometimes
"fight") our way into and out of the train! : )
Just a little note on the word "train" - when I use the word train
here, people look at me funny. I only use the word "train" because
this is what we call them in Australia. "Train" in China actually
means country trains. I should really call it "subway", or "ditie"
which literally translates to "ground iron", although it's not always
underground - sometimes (like at Wudaokou), it's above ground...may
be then it should be called "tiantie" or "sky iron" ...but then no
one will know what I'm talking about...hmm...
This is getting silly - I'd better go back to studying!
No comments:
Post a Comment