The reality is that the upcoming 2008 Olympic Games might turn out
to be the 2008 Olympic Grid. Traffic in the capital city is beyond your wildest
imagination. The time of day you travel and the route you take has very
little to do with how fast you will arrive at your destination. With a population of 12-15 million people, Beijing has heavy traffic all over the city and an unprepared system of how to deal with it.
Adding to the numbers of Beijing taxi’s are the drivers with taxi’s from surrounding towns that will come into the city for the profits to be earned during the Olympics. This will add to the congestion and make the gridlock even more intense.
The next thing to prepare for is the driving style of the cab drivers. Life on the edge seems to be the universal attitude of every driver I rode with in the city. It was wild to say the least. I have traveled extensively in countries such as Italy, Mexico, France,
England, Israel and Egypt. Seldom did I ever get into the habit of closing my eyes on a regular basis. I have never experienced more dodging, darting, and daring moves in a taxi than in the upcoming host city. To the drivers credit however, my trip was accident free and the drivers never seemed to be concerned in the least. It was just another typical day on the streets of Beijing. My advice to you is to get ready for the ride of your life.
What can worse than the speed of a taxi moving in and out between
other taxis, trucks, bikes, and buses. What? Stop and go? No. Stop. I spent 5 hours on
an overpass outside of the city of Beijing. I wish I could tell it was an accident,
road construction, or something specific, but I never discovered why we did not
for hours. Everyone seemed to know that delays, stops, and shut down are simply a
way of life. The funny thing was it was a toll road I paid extra to travel to cut down
an alternate route.
The folks that are calling the shots for taking care of the problems of to many cars, to
many people, and to little time have come up with a brilliant idea. Their solution the
traffic extravaganza is for those who will venture out on the streets to check their
license plates before they leave and check the local paper. During the Olympics
those who travel will be regulated according to their the numbers on their car tags.
Even numbers will travel one day and odd numbers will travel on next.
Thus, half the traffic will be on the streets at a time, the other half will stay
home. However, I don’t know but I bet on any given day you will swear that in the
whole country if it is an even day that there must be only one tag with an odd
number. Traffic is going to an adventure.
All in all go to the Olympics expecting a Coney Island Ride in taxi, Canadian border
crossing delays (take some snacks), a few China language barriers, and some
choking smog and you will have a trip of Gladiator proportions:
entertained.”
In a final note: GO AND HAVE FUN! Beijing is a great city with so many wonderful
sights and great events that to miss it would be to miss an adventure of a life time.
The people are nice, excited about “foreigners”
bags, your patience, and step out to China this year and experience the 2008
Olympics. You will be glad you did!
