Rush hour in Shanghai (My descent into madness)

Rush hour in Shanghai is brutal. And I ride trains / buses between 4 and 6 hours every day, Monday through Friday. You read that correctly. 4 to 6 hours. I can watch The Lion King (89 minutes) four times on one of my long days, just on the metro.

This is the madness of my life.

A man tries to squeeze into an already overcrowded bus. He's not getting on...

You see, the bus I take to the subway station is crowded, and people often have to make tough decisions. Do I pull the old lady off the bus, or do I arrive late to work? 70 people waiting to board, and only 60 spaces… Only the strong get to board the bus, because there is no civilized line. I have been elbowed, shouldered, and shoved by people who wanted to get on the bus before me. Leave all humanity behind.

Once you enter the station, you have to pass security. This is more for show than anything else, and all it does is slow people down. The security check is similar to what you experience at an airport, and yes, that fancy x-ray machine is at EVERY subway station in Shanghai. (Also, you can they have Jurassic park posters up right now.)

Next you have to go through the turnstiles. There are a few hundred people pushing and only three working turnstiles. Fun, huh?

This is the same turnstile at night when the station is near empty.

Next you descend the stairs, and go to the train platform. The people here are waiting to fight one another- I mean, waiting to fight for a seat. I mean, they’re waiting to board the subway. In most cities, the riders get off of the subway first, then new passengers can board once it’s clear- not in Shanghai. People rush and bump onto the train, doing ANYTHING THEY CAN to get a seat. So if you want to get OFF the train, you’ve really got to work for it, and push against a flowing river of warm bodies. (Not proud of it, but I’ve had to shoulder check some people, just to get off at my station)

Now, once you get on the train, you have to deal with the passengers. Most people in China are very kind, however a few have very different ideas of what’s appropriate on a subway.

Here we see a woman clipping her toe nails.

Here’s a man clipping his fingernails- with fingernail clippers. I once saw another man shaving with an electric shaver. Many more will talk loudly on their phone, sometimes so loud that you can hear people's conversations in the next train car. You’ve got people who come by begging. Others come by with a suitcase full of suspenders, or kitchen utensils, or whatever, looking to sell them. People come by ‘passing out flyers,’ but all they really do is shove a paper into your face. The flyer people are incredibly rude, and pretty much everyone on the train hates them.

Getting home

The trains in Shanghai stop fairly late, around 11:30 or so. However, the buses stop earlier, some as early as 8 pm, with most of them winding down around 10 pm. Because of this, many people arrive at their train station to find that they’ve missed the last bus home. Because of this, a flurry of cab drivers descends on the train station, crying out for passengers. Here’s a fun little video.



Note* My train station is especially loud because it’s nearest to the airport, so the cabbies want to get the airport bound people.

Next you have to get on the bus to go back home. And boy, if you think people are vicious in the morning when they are going to work, wait til you see them in the evening, when they’re tired, hungry, frustrated, and all they want to do is go home, but it’s the last bus of the evening and you’re standing between them and their bus. I've seen people do some unpleasant things to get on a bus.

People waiting in the rain for the last bus. When it arrives they will sprint to it and crowd around the door. The first time I saw this happening I thought of all those zombie movies where mad zombies run through the streets and surround people. There really is something mad and desperate in the way they run to, and crowd around, the bus. It's quite a thing to behold, watching a hundred people sprint and push and struggle for something that will only accommodate sixty of them.

 People crammed so tightly onto a bus that the front door can't open.

This is my life, Monday through Friday, and sometimes Saturday and Sunday.  (Currently working 7 days a week) Pushing, getting pushed back. Trudging, shoving, standing- crammed into the corner of a bus or train, for longer than you can stand. Trust me, it's much worse than it sounds.

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