Watching an Olympics match on TV at Liangmaqiao station on subway line 10, I read the lips of Chinese fans saying "zhong guo, jia you" or "china, add energy!"
With gas prices skyrocketing, public transit ridership in Beijing may be at an all time high. Beijing has been working to reform its public transportation services in preparation for the Olympic Games. This has provided affordable travel options.
The spanking new subway lines provide a convenient, inexpensive, and safe way to get around Beijing. It is a veritable subway system. Right now Beijing's residents and tourists are more likely to add cash to their subway cards than pump gas into private vehicles.
The nine subway lines give a broad reach to places in the center and outskirts of the city. Lines 10 and 13 have air-conditioned trains with soft seats and TV monitors. Line 8 gives access to the Olympic Sports Center and Olympic Park and the blue line goes straight to the airport.
In this sense, Beijing's preparations for the 2008 Olympics have far surpassed Los Angeles' preparations for the 1984 Olympics. I lived in Los Angeles for four years without a car. I could never get around LA as easily as I can in Beijing by subway and bus.
The technology makes the subways in Beijing a breeze to use. Passengers can add cash plastic subway cards. It requires a 20 renminbi deposit. Each ride costs 2 renminbi--that is the cost of a bottle of water. Scan the card once when entering the subway, and when departing the subway station, scan once again to exit the gate. The cost is the same regardless how far or how many times the passenger transfers to different lines.
The alert, hyper-active security at the subways makes traveling in the underground subways feel safe day or night. Passengers have to toss bags through the security X-ray machine. The officials have been courteous and polite.
I have been told that the subways are only open until 11 p.m. each night. However, I have been on the trains past that hour. Last night 11:30 p.m. I was still on the train going home to Sihuidong. A grandfather held his sleeping granddaughter on his lap. Grinning so wide that his tanned leathery forehead wrinkled, he told me he was happy because their son had purchased them all tickets to watch a 100 m race.
The subways, of course, are not always as convenient as driving from point A to point B. Driving in Beijing during the Olympics is currently illegal for some. On odd numbered day of the week only cars with odd numbered license plates can be on the road. The total number of private cars on the road are less than half as usual. My guess is that the only cars on the road every day belong to taxi drivers, government officials, police and military officers, Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee officials, and any coaches and athletes.
The biggest winners of this policy have been those who do not own cars. They gain a new and improved public transportation system without having to invest in cars. Those who can afford to hire taxis currently gain the benefit of less congestion on the roads, now shorter travel time.
The losers are the employees at gasoline stations. All of the stations have gasoline attendants, and their salaries have dipped since there have been half the usual sales in gasoline. Taking cars off the road has temporarily stopped people pumping gasoline. Less car exhaust in the air has brought improved air quality.
Drivers are not the only ones that have made sacrifices for the Olympics. Many others have been given the "no go."
The government has halted sectors of its economy to improve the air quality and provide security for the Olympics athletes and visitors. All of the polluting factories within a 100 mile radius of Beijing have been closed for the Olympics. Many of the family restaurants have been shut down with their employees leaving Beijing for their hometowns. Companies have postponed work to after the Olympics. All of these changes have led to loss of revenue.
Locals here continue to believe in the big picture.
The Chinese dream for the Olympics is to attract the attention and pocketbooks of the global economy. There is the expectation that the Olympics will improve China's global image and in turn attract the international investment to bring more development and more wealth to Beijing.
After the Olympics, cranes for construction and pumps for gasoline all resume.
Some of my Chinese neighbors think the government will continue its commitment to improve the environment and reduce the number of cars on the road. Others say that by October there will be more cars on the road than ever before. If the huge number of taxis on the road creates grid lock now, letting more cars on the road will be miserable.
Early in the morning Chinese peasants drive into my neighborhood in the southeastern part of Beijing to sell fresh produce. As I purchase some hot peppers and potatoes, I casually ask one farmer what she thinks traffic will look like after the Olympics. "I really don't want to think about it," she said.
Purchasing cars, not bicycles, is the wave of the future of Beijing. There are more and more cars on the road every year. Families go into debt to purchase a car. It brings not just convenience, but status.
I personally hope to live in a city where the public transportation is so good that I will never have to purchase a vehicle. But I know that is not everybody's dream.
Sometimes I wish that the Chinese had more creative license in their choice of cheers. Listening to the chant over and over again grows almost as monotonous as sitting in traffic in Los Angeles. Then again, maybe this just goes to show the Chinese have just as much of a right to add energy (or gas) as anyone else.
With gas prices skyrocketing, public transit ridership in Beijing may be at an all time high. Beijing has been working to reform its public transportation services in preparation for the Olympic Games. This has provided affordable travel options.
The spanking new subway lines provide a convenient, inexpensive, and safe way to get around Beijing. It is a veritable subway system. Right now Beijing's residents and tourists are more likely to add cash to their subway cards than pump gas into private vehicles.
The nine subway lines give a broad reach to places in the center and outskirts of the city. Lines 10 and 13 have air-conditioned trains with soft seats and TV monitors. Line 8 gives access to the Olympic Sports Center and Olympic Park and the blue line goes straight to the airport.
In this sense, Beijing's preparations for the 2008 Olympics have far surpassed Los Angeles' preparations for the 1984 Olympics. I lived in Los Angeles for four years without a car. I could never get around LA as easily as I can in Beijing by subway and bus.
The technology makes the subways in Beijing a breeze to use. Passengers can add cash plastic subway cards. It requires a 20 renminbi deposit. Each ride costs 2 renminbi--that is the cost of a bottle of water. Scan the card once when entering the subway, and when departing the subway station, scan once again to exit the gate. The cost is the same regardless how far or how many times the passenger transfers to different lines.
The alert, hyper-active security at the subways makes traveling in the underground subways feel safe day or night. Passengers have to toss bags through the security X-ray machine. The officials have been courteous and polite.
I have been told that the subways are only open until 11 p.m. each night. However, I have been on the trains past that hour. Last night 11:30 p.m. I was still on the train going home to Sihuidong. A grandfather held his sleeping granddaughter on his lap. Grinning so wide that his tanned leathery forehead wrinkled, he told me he was happy because their son had purchased them all tickets to watch a 100 m race.
The subways, of course, are not always as convenient as driving from point A to point B. Driving in Beijing during the Olympics is currently illegal for some. On odd numbered day of the week only cars with odd numbered license plates can be on the road. The total number of private cars on the road are less than half as usual. My guess is that the only cars on the road every day belong to taxi drivers, government officials, police and military officers, Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee officials, and any coaches and athletes.
The biggest winners of this policy have been those who do not own cars. They gain a new and improved public transportation system without having to invest in cars. Those who can afford to hire taxis currently gain the benefit of less congestion on the roads, now shorter travel time.
The losers are the employees at gasoline stations. All of the stations have gasoline attendants, and their salaries have dipped since there have been half the usual sales in gasoline. Taking cars off the road has temporarily stopped people pumping gasoline. Less car exhaust in the air has brought improved air quality.
Drivers are not the only ones that have made sacrifices for the Olympics. Many others have been given the "no go."
The government has halted sectors of its economy to improve the air quality and provide security for the Olympics athletes and visitors. All of the polluting factories within a 100 mile radius of Beijing have been closed for the Olympics. Many of the family restaurants have been shut down with their employees leaving Beijing for their hometowns. Companies have postponed work to after the Olympics. All of these changes have led to loss of revenue.
Locals here continue to believe in the big picture.
The Chinese dream for the Olympics is to attract the attention and pocketbooks of the global economy. There is the expectation that the Olympics will improve China's global image and in turn attract the international investment to bring more development and more wealth to Beijing.
After the Olympics, cranes for construction and pumps for gasoline all resume.
Some of my Chinese neighbors think the government will continue its commitment to improve the environment and reduce the number of cars on the road. Others say that by October there will be more cars on the road than ever before. If the huge number of taxis on the road creates grid lock now, letting more cars on the road will be miserable.
Early in the morning Chinese peasants drive into my neighborhood in the southeastern part of Beijing to sell fresh produce. As I purchase some hot peppers and potatoes, I casually ask one farmer what she thinks traffic will look like after the Olympics. "I really don't want to think about it," she said.
Purchasing cars, not bicycles, is the wave of the future of Beijing. There are more and more cars on the road every year. Families go into debt to purchase a car. It brings not just convenience, but status.
I personally hope to live in a city where the public transportation is so good that I will never have to purchase a vehicle. But I know that is not everybody's dream.
Sometimes I wish that the Chinese had more creative license in their choice of cheers. Listening to the chant over and over again grows almost as monotonous as sitting in traffic in Los Angeles. Then again, maybe this just goes to show the Chinese have just as much of a right to add energy (or gas) as anyone else.