The right side

This is another in my series of out-in-public-in-China posts [blog entry lost].

Chinese drive on the right side of the road.  Which is the wrong side.  That is, they don’t drive on the left side. Which is the right side.  Got it?

This takes a bit of getting used to.  But all things considered, it is a very minor difference.  One bigger difference is that in China, cars go on the footpath while pedestrians go on the road.

Well, okay, that is not completely true.  But the general rule of street life in China is this:  Do whatever you want that is easiest for yourself.  Don’t consider the needs of strangers.

If you can internalise that rule, then you will understand all of street life and survive on the Chinese streets.

So, to apply this rule.  If the footpath is too nice, then vehicles will use it.  If the footpath is too bad, then pedestrians will use the road.

Some examples:

This footpath is too nice.

 Motorbikes use it as a motorbike lane.  As you are walking along it, you will hear horns beeping behind you.  You are expected to jump to the side of the footpath to let the motorbikes zoom past.

(Actually, the reason the motorbikes use the footpath and not the road is that there is a tunnel under the motorway a little further along.  The tunnel has a vehicle lane, but with a barrier so that only bikes can fit through.  But there is no ramp over the curb at the tunnel entrance, so motorbikes cannot get up there.  Instead, the motorbikes use a ramp at this end of the footpath and then drive along the footpath to get to the tunnel.  Don’t ask me why the road engineers never put in a ramp at the tunnel entrance.)

This footpath is not nice enough.

It was constructed about a year or so ago, at the West Gate entrance of Sun Yat-sen University (we watched them doing it).  But the engineers didn’t think to connect it with the main road footpath.  A little further inside the university, the footpath is very uneven.  And there are trees planted in the middle of it.  And there are no ramps there at all.  So us locals tend to walk on the road when going in and out at the West Gate.  (Did you notice the post right on top of the markings for the visually impaired?  It is also exactly in the way for pushchairs, etc, using the ramp.  But at least it stops the motorbikes.)

As for bike lanes, they make excellent car parks.  As do footpaths, when they are wide enough.  And in China, cars park on the curve of intersections.  So, if you are a pedestrian and actually do want to use the footpath, there is a good chance that you won’t even be able to get on to it (especially if you are pushing a pushchair).

How about buses at bus stops?  Buses stop about a metre away from the curb.  Why?  Because that is the bike lane, between the footpath and the bus stop.  Before stepping down off the bus, look both ways.  There may be bikes zooming by (from either direction), centimetres from the bus doors.  And if you are struggling to carry your pushchair down the steps of the bus, don't expect bike riders to slow down to let you down.  In fact, they will abuse you if you dare to make them slow down.

Enjoy your stroll.