The first one is the metro is probably the most convenient for us since we have a metro station within a five minute walk from campus. The metro system here has been recently developed thanks to a large contribution from the government. You can definitely tell they’ve been focusing on improving it within the last few years. Every station has a security check where you are supposed to place your bags on the conveyor in order to check them, but barely anyone listens to the security guards. I asked my Chinese friend about this and she said that the security checks were built for the World Expo when lots of people came to Shanghai for it; now people just ignore the fact that they even exist. It is also fairly cheap to take the subway, ranging anywhere from 3 yuan to 8 yuan ($0.48-$1.29) depending on how far you go.
The newest one I have discovered is the bus system. Shanghai has around 1000 bus routes! I was simply overwhelmed when I found that out. There are no apps to help you figure out which route to take. You have to simply know what bus stops are near you and which road you want to know. With that being said, you also have to be able to read Chinese characters in order to accomplish this because the signs on the bus stations are written only in characters. Once you are on the bus, they announce what stop is coming up in both Chinese and English. The way I figured out what bus to take is by looking it up online, but I also have taken pictures of numbers of the buses which are nearest to my campus so if I ever need to get back to campus from somewhere that I am unfamiliar with, I can just look for certain numbers. Buses are only 2 yuan ($0.16) so I like using the buses even though the bus drivers are risky drivers!
Taxis are convenient whenever I need to return to campus later on because the metro closed, or if we have an exact location to go to and we do not have access to wifi to figure out the buses or metro. The rates of the taxis are not too terrible in prices but it just depends on how far you are going.
And finally, there is always walking. For example, this morning at 7 am I walked from school to Luxun Park and then to Starbucks which took about 20 minutes, but it was so refreshing to see so many people up and about so early. The park is always filed with elderly who were doing their various activities, like dancing, practicing tai chi, writing calligraphy on the sidewalk with water, and using the public exercise equipment. Our campus is not too far away from various places, and it’s always nice knowing that you are protecting the environment especially when it is a smoggy day in Shanghai. And let’s not forget about the fact that there are 24 million people living in Shanghai, so rush hour makes traveling so much more interesting! I can now say I have experienced the way that the Chinese squish onto the metro, and let’s just say, I am glad that I am not claustrophobic.
I’ve added some pictures for you all to see. My favorite is definetly the one with the two ladies on top of this giant pile of wood on the back of the bike. Oh the things you see in China…
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