Modes of Transportation

People have asked how I get around Beijing. Well, my main mode of transportation is taxi or feet. Feet are a lot cheaper. But cheap is relative. Most trips in a taxi cost between 10 and 20 yuan, $1.25 to $2.50 per trip. Most Beijingers wouldn't even consider a taxi trip. They travel by bicycle ($.00), bus (1 yuan) ($.12), subway (3 yuan)($.37)or feet ($.00). With taxis, I use the map which has English or Chinese characters for the destinations. I also have cards with specific destinations like the Y, my home, or nearby shopping districts written in Chinese characters. Often the taxi drivers don't understand where I wish to go. I have now developed to where I can direct them to a certain extent. Left, Right, Straight Ahead, Stop. If I want to venture beyond familiar territory, it's every woman (or man) to herself (himself). We do a lot of gesturing and nodding. Then I cross my fingers and hope we get near to my destination. The taxi drivers seem to like when I use my terribly bad Chinese pronounciation to give directions. They laugh and correct my Chinese. You can pretty much get by if you can say hello (Nee How), thank you (Xie, Xie) and okay (Okay). Smiles help! They seem to like "Bye-Bye" which can be a relief to both of us. As long as I get to where I want to go, I'll play the fool! So far I have managed to naviagate the city pretty well. With about 67,000 taxis, I don't imagine I'll have the same driver twice. I've only been here for 7 weeks and I'm still getting my bearings. In the last two days, I've learned of some places that are within walking distance of my apartment, like Tiananmen Square (a very long walk) and some shopping districts. Of course, now the weather is getting colder so who knows how much walking I'll be doing in the name of research!

I much prefer the subway. It's cheap but doesn't always get you near to your destination. Then it's subway and taxi which can be a challenge. But hey, I'm always up to a challenge. Buses are very crowded and not my primary choice. In fact, I avoid them as much as possible.

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Here you can see papa moving mama and lunch on their bicycle apparatus.
Of course, in the country you see more simple forms of transportation.