Crossing the street in China
A post that Autumn wrote a few weeks ago gave me an idea for a couple of articles about traffic in China. This one is about being a pedestrian, and the next one will be about driving in China. I hope you find them entertaining and not too scary!
One of the things that westerners visiting China never fail to mention is how crazy the traffic is. When you are used to certain rules that more or less everybody follows, taking a taxi here seems like a risky business, and crossing the street is like playing Russian roulette. Will you get run over? Will you make it to the other side of the road alive? Luck is your best friend!
If the road is completely empty, then you can cross safely. Or not…
In China, the first unwritten law of the road dictates that your right of way depends on your size. This means that buses and trucks are the absolute kings, then cars, then electric bikes, then normal bikes, and there you are in the last position, puny pedestrian. How could you even think about choosing “walking” as your transportation mode? You don’t even have money to buy a shitty electric bike??
When I first arrived to Beijing, over 10 years ago, I wasn’t sure at all when it was supposed to be my turn to cross the road. When the light was red for pedestrians, cars were passing, and when the light was green for pedestrians, cars were passing too. At first I used to get very angry because I thought everybody was running the red light. And, for sure, running red lights seemed to be a national sport back then, but the sad truth is that… many cars were actually following the rules! Because the amazing and super logic Chinese traffic regulations state that a car turning to the right can do so at all times, except in the few cases when there is a specific traffic light regulating right turns. So, in most street crossings in China, cars turning to the right and pedestrians crossing the street can pass at the same time. So you ALWAYS have to look to the left before crossing, even when the pedestrian light is green, if you don’t want to be run over or at least get a close call.
My ex office was in the middle of Nanjing West Rd in Shanghai. I was almost-run-over many times…
This regulation, that in my opinion is completely bollocks, in fact has a second part. In theory, cars should stop and yield to pedestrians when coming across a pedestrian crossing with no traffic light or with the green light on. But here is where the second unwritten law of the road comes into play: in China, no one, ever, under any circumstances, yields to another vehicle or to a pedestrian. Chinese drivers are always competing with each other and yielding is seen as being weak and stupid. After I told C. that in Spain most drivers stop before pedestrian crossings, he started trying it in China. The result: pedestrians waiting to cross don’t move (they cannot even fathom a car would yield to them, so they must be thinking it’s a joke and we are going to suddenly accelerate and run them over) and cars behind us start honking like crazy. Their morse-code honking translates as: Are you dumb or what?? Why the heck are you yielding to pedestrians??
However, things are going to change from now on. Or so I hope! To actually enforce drivers yielding to pedestrians, lots of cameras have been installed in Suzhou to photograph and fine the cars that fail to do so. The fine is not a lot, just 50 RMB, but these days I have already seen a couple of cars voluntarily giving way to pedestrians. Unbelievable!! Perhaps I will be able to stop fearing for my life every time I have to cross the road! But if the decision was mine, I would make the fine directly proportional to the price of the guilty car. I’m sure those snobby Maserati, Ferrari and Porsche drivers wipe their asses with 100 RMB bills, so for them the fine should be of a few thousands…
‘You don’t even have money to buy a shitty electric bike??’ Bahahahahaha. When I was growing up in Malaysia, pedestrians were considered puny too…like if you walk, you can’t really get anywhere :D It sounds like being a pedestrian in China is really dangerous but the people seem to take it as every part of their lives and are just used to it. It could be a good form of exercise if they dash across the road fast every time :D
People are definitely used to this and I haven’t seen accidents involving pedestrians (it’s always cars or electric bikes). I think crossing fast is not too safe, slow and waving your arms should be better, to ensure all the cars see you from the distance xD
It is interesting to hear you say that. It sounds common sense to go slow. It will probably piss off the drivers knowing there is a slow person and they have to drive slower XD
This is so true. Love it.
Thank you, haha. Stay safe out there!
You are pretty much roadkill in China when trying to cross the road. Crazy thing is that MIL just goes without watching anywhere or waiting for cars and she survived thus far!
To be fair, drivers here usually have very good reflexes and usually brake on time, because they are used to everybody’s reckless driving. Also because running over a person would mean paying a lot of money in hospital fees, hahaha.
Or they just run over you again to make sure that you are dead so they have to pay less :p
Ugh, don’t even mention that. I want to believe that it doesn’t happen in civilised cities like Suzhou…
I dont know about the situation now but few years ago it happened in every bigger city few times a year. I really do wonder what is wrong with such people that they even prefer to kill someone than facing (maybe)lifelong payment
Thanks for the shoutout. So how do pedestrians cross the road? Do they band together and form a big phalanx, since size matters?
That is one of the strategies! In crowded crossings, when the light for pedestrians turns green and everybody starts walking at the same time, cars have to suck it up and wait!
You’re right about crossing the street here, it’s definitely hazardous to your health. But the cameras are making a difference, at least here in Hangzhou. I notice a LOT more cars yielding to pedestrians. However I don’t depend on it and always hustle whenever I cross the street.
I am not walking much outside lately because it’s too hot, but I can’t wait for autumn to arrive and see all cars yielding to me hahaha. Glad to hear they installed cameras in Hangzhou too, I wasn’t sure if it was a national measure or only a local one!
YUP. YUP. YUP. It is the same in Thailand and Cambodia. Actually, a fellow blogger posted how she got hit by a car in Chiang Mai just today. She’s okay, but even in a place that is heavily touristed like CM, it happens. I HATE it. Pedestrians should always have the right of way because we are the most vulnerable. Yes, we were often ‘looked down upon’ for walking and I know we still are – crosswalks are ignored and often faded and never repainted. It’s insane the way things are done here and I get really pissed when a foreigner starts to act the same way. They know better. I know they do. The BF used to have Chinese drivers lay on their horns and speed up when he was trying to walk across the street. Insane. Okay, I better stop before I write my own blog post here :P Thanks for writing about this!!!
I see you also have strong feelings about this xD In fact I was going to mention in the post that, according to my experience, traffic in places like Vietnam is even worse but in the end I didn’t say it. In Cambodia I remember that people were honking ALL THE TIME, hahaha. On the bus trip from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap I think the driver’s hand was glued to the honk…
Here cars also honk at you when you are crossing the street. “Get out of my way!!”.
If it comes to money, people listen!
France is similar. Cars ignore zebra crossings, if they see you waiting to cross, nope. They hardly use indicators, if they do they leave them on on a motorway. They’re hopeless at parking hence many cars have dents. British drivers can’t remember. Spanish like the French are impatient in queues, honking horns a lot. French however give more respect to motorbikes, pull over slightly for them to cross with Taxi drivers here giving way more respect to cyclist. When I first started cycling here 12 years ago, cars past so close they nearly knocked me off. In the last few years there’s been a cycling boom and more respect given to cyclists.
That’s good that it’s better for cyclists now. In my district in Suzhou there are special lanes for bikes and electric bikes almost everywhere, but cars park there sometimes. Of course bikes and electric bikes don’t yield to pedestrians either xD
Ha ha! I yield when it’s their right of way most of the time. Sometimes pedestrians don’t look and just step out. Spanish crossing the road, never look at the coming traffic, always the opposite traffic. Or that’s my observation. And don’t get me started on those who walk and run in bike lanes….. :)
Ay Marta que buen post! No sabes lo mucho que me enojo aquí en Beijing con el tráfico. Quizás en Kaifeng (Henan) no lo notaba mucho porque como no tenía que estar en el centro de la ciudad todas las mañanas o tardes, no estaba todos los días expuesta al tráfico. Pero ahora en Beijing si y uff, lo odio demasiado! los autos nunca dan la pasada, NUNCA. N-U-N-C-A. Cuando es verde tengo que luchar y pasar no más, con cuidado pero decidida, levanto la mano en señal de “oye detente ahí bastardo” y generalmente funciona pero igual es super molesto. Si había notado que igual los autos tienen preferencia de girar a pesar de que nosotros tengamos el verde pero uff lo odio. Saludos hahaha
“Oye detende ahí bastardo” JAJAJAJAJA. Efectivamente, esa es la mejor manera. ¿Sabes si en Beijing están haciendo lo de multar a quienes no dejar pasar a los peatones? Bueno, si ves que de repente empiezan a ceder el paso ya sabes que sí, jaja.
Hahaha ok estaré atenta!!!
Even before there were so many cars, crossing busy streets in China was scary. I remember trying to cross a street in Hangzhou, and the bicycles were about fifteen wide in each lane and not about to stop for anyone.
Bikes used to be the kings of the road back then :D
You really do take your life into your own hands over there…but I found once you get used to it you go with the flow of people and it works (mostly)!!!
Yes, after you get over the initial shock and fear and start doing like everybody else it is mostly fine xD
My impression of Shanghai or Beijing was pedestrians ruled only by sheer numbers! In Mumbai, road crossing is an art and only for the nimble and brave! :-)
In the city center, for sure there are lots of people crossing and the mass beats the cars, haha. But in many other places (for example, my district) there are not so many people in the streets!
The traffic really is crazy, especially at a four-cross road, I feared for my life several times, and once, I was so very close to be run over by a bus.
But in most straight streets, cars have pretty much always stopped when I wanted to cross the street. Or to be more precise, I’d always make them stop by trying to look the drivers straight into their eyes :’D
If you already started crossing, then they have to stop! Looking at them with a threatening stare is also a good strategy, hahaha!
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You hit the nail right on the head. Drivers just don’t give a damn about pedestrians, especially when making right turns. What is really bad is not only would a car turning speed up even if pedestrians are crossing, but the cars behind it would do so as well.
I hope they get a lot of fines now! Some people only care about rules when money is involved…