My first metro ride was a memorable event, I was surprised how many people there were and the efficiency of the schedule, there is never a long wait for a train.
I saw the travellers in worlds of their own but moving together and adjusting to each other, getting on and off, sitting and standing, but very little talking to anybody but the companions they came with. Even though the stations names are written in an English style, they are very strange to the inexperienced Western ear, Long Cao Road ,Cao Xi Road on line 3 are two of the great challenges; when I first came to China I could not remember the name of the stop nearest my hotel for about two days.
The unfamiliar names also give the Westerner a feeling of being in a strange and wonderful land, Line 10 has some wonderful examples: Youdian, Xincun, HongQiao Road, Xintiandi, Laoximen are few of many. These very names suggest an idea of the Orient as a mystical and wonderful place. There are names that reflect Shanghai's traditions in politics, science and culture: People's square, East and West Nanjing Road Jing'an Temple, Tongji University, Science & Technology Museum, Zhangjiang High Technology Park. The modernity and history of Shanghai, and the dynamism of its people are all encapsulated in a metro journey.
The one below is my observations of travel on the Shanghai subway, written as guide to someone who has never used it.
 |
| Wyn Jenkins [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn] |
You can ride the metro for a few kuai
As a mode of travel it's worth a try
First buy a ticket from a machine
By following instructions on a screen
Then climb the stairs or the escalator
Choose your route from the indicator
Scan your ticket, enter the gate
If there's no train you'll have to wait
The yellow marks on the platform floor
Place you next to a carriage door
Where some maneuver to be at the fore
The train stops and they push some more
Children with mothers, middle-aged men
All colliding in mindless mayhem
Leaving the train as others squeeze in
Rushing and pushing to get seating
The train moves and the struggles subside
Passengers are finding space for the ride
Some seated and some standing,
Age and gender not withstanding
Strap hanging and eyes meeting
Strangers touching without greeting
Map reading and head scratching
Station watching announcement catching
When you use an inter change station
Look for the signs for information
Remember the yellow part of the floor
And shove and push just once more
When you arrive at your destination
Reverse what you did at the starting station
Follow the signs and get outside
Your next experience could be a taxi ride
The author is currently studying Chinese full time at Shanghai Normal University. He was a teacher of management at Staffordshire University in England.
