Locomoting in China

Getting from one place to another in China is an interesting process. When I first got here it seemed very chaotic, people were always bumping into you. Bikes, scooters, cars, and buses seemly used any part of the street they felt like to get where they were going. Taxis seem to be terror on wheels; weaving in and out of traffic, coming within microns of anyone in an intersection and honking at anything in their way.

But as I moved around I realized there was an order to movement here. Some of the things I have noticed is; that with all the chaos I only seen one accident here and those demon taxi actually do stop or at least pause momentarily if they can't get around a pedestrian or vehicle. Then on this tour I just took to Yunnan; I notice that the tour bus drivers (which are the kings of the road in tourist areas) actually did seem to care about others' well being when they drove. Plus I did not see much show of anger on the roadway which happens a little too often in the US.

Although I don't claim to understand traffic here and I have no desire to try to drive in China (actually I really don't like driving, much, anyway), I have made some observations.
The main thing that puts order into this mess is; in general everyone wants to move forward, not just in the literal sense; but as a nation. A lot of things have to get done. So to feed, clothe and shelter a nation of 1.3 billion people things have to move at a steady pace. If someone wants to dawdle then they need to move to the sidelines and there ARE sidelines here; where people can rest, get their barrings and even reflect. Of course this and some of other observations I have made on traffic flow here, still does not make it any easier to get from one location to another, but at least I don't get too upset while trying to get there.

By the way, David Henry the person who has uploaded my journal enteries to my blog is going to traveling himself soon, to France with his, so my entries may stop for a while until I come back to the US. I am not sure when he won't have time to post things for me, though. Just don't be surprised when the entries stop until the 21st. So thanks David and bon voyage to you and your family.