Day 5: the Importance of Traffic Lights

Crossing roads in China is realitively simple.. whilst in England, we have the phrase “stop, look both ways, cross”, in China there’s a slightly more upgraded version, titled succinctly: “Stop, look both ways, advance several paces into the road, stop again, step back, dash forward, and finish with a leap” The reason for such a complicated ritual is that stop signs only apply to cars turning left. In theory, green lights for pedestrians mean you should cross, subject to bikes and cars turning right. In practice however, traffic lights are largely ignored by all, and each traveller, be in car or on foot, must always be hyper-aware of their surroundings. The roads are a constant stream of traffic, and pedestrians just cross whenever there’s space. This means that for the dazed tourist, crossing the road is like sumersalting over an angry bull. 

Our first crossing of a dual carriageway was a spicy experience. In hindsight, it’s clear to see that we went wrong at the start: we waited politely for the pedestrian green man. When the traffic lights flickered red, we waited for the cars to stop so we could cross. Nothing happened. If anything, there were more cars turning right than not, so it was even busier than before. We looked around us, noticing a girl and a bike, and an old lady burdened with plastic bags waiting for the red light to cross. Perplexed, we watched them as they made their way across the road, sticking together and walking slowly and carefully through the busy traffic. 

We had been waiting quite a while in the head and decided it was time to act. A local lined up next to us and we stuck to them, mirroring their speed and pace. After several false starts, we made it over the road, having picked up several other people on the way - safety in numbers means less chance of getting hit (or, worst come the worst, a bigger dent in the offending car). 

When crossing roads, we now always follow a local. People pushing bikes act as shields, and we recon prams have a sympathy aspect. However, crossing with old ladies is undoubtedly the safest option - they have wills of iron, simply picking out a time to cross and just walking. Slowly and in a measured manner, the traffic seems to flow round them like water over a pebble. It’s quite a spectacle to watch.