How can one begin to describe it? lonelyplanet.com sums up my own experience of the day walking around town.
"Crossing only when it is safe to do so could perch you at the side of the road in perpetuity, but don't imitate the local tendency to cross without looking. The green man at traffic lights does not mean it is safe to cross. Instead, it means it is slightly safer to cross, but you can still be run down by traffic allowed to turn on red lights" - which is what nearly happened to me today!
As for the poor cyclists out there, the advice is
"Remember you will be on the lowliest transportation device in town, and buses, lorries, taxis, cars and scooters will ceaselessly honk at you, in that pecking order (just ignore them). [...] Note that cyclists never use lights at night and Chinese pedestrians favour dark clothing, so eat a lot of carrots and cycle carefully"
Somehow I'm not tempted! And they all seem to go without helmets
On the bright side, I nabbed lunch for a mere 15RMB today - and that's despite the fact I reckon I was overcharged. But then I couldn't read the menu and who can complain about a £1.50 lunch!
"Crossing only when it is safe to do so could perch you at the side of the road in perpetuity, but don't imitate the local tendency to cross without looking. The green man at traffic lights does not mean it is safe to cross. Instead, it means it is slightly safer to cross, but you can still be run down by traffic allowed to turn on red lights" - which is what nearly happened to me today!
As for the poor cyclists out there, the advice is
"Remember you will be on the lowliest transportation device in town, and buses, lorries, taxis, cars and scooters will ceaselessly honk at you, in that pecking order (just ignore them). [...] Note that cyclists never use lights at night and Chinese pedestrians favour dark clothing, so eat a lot of carrots and cycle carefully"
Somehow I'm not tempted! And they all seem to go without helmets
On the bright side, I nabbed lunch for a mere 15RMB today - and that's despite the fact I reckon I was overcharged. But then I couldn't read the menu and who can complain about a £1.50 lunch!
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