To the editor:
Rush hour is an experience here in a Chinese city. Guangzhou has two major rush hour periods, call them Morning and Evening. The first resembles the impact of a 10-pound sledge hammer on a thumb tack. The latter is a little less crowded, though one wonders.
Guangzhou is not a farming city. At the hours when the denizens at the Mapleton Diner are enjoying their third cup of great coffee, most of my fellow citizens here are continuing to saw a few trees. There are some early risers, the food cart vendors, street sweepers, taxi drivers, and custodians of the day. They are clearing away the flotsam of the human tide that spent the night celebrating the excitement of being alive. There are the grandparents practicing kung fu in the parks or getting started on the days shopping. And you will find an occasional dog walker walking the mutt. If you want to get across the city, this is the time to do it. Most of the subway cars and buses are empty and being empty it seems like they move much faster. There are advantages to getting up early.
School begins at 8 in the morning all over the city. As you enter the metro station there are signs warning of the oncoming rush hour. These are temporary placards put up every morning and replaced in the late evening with advisories on when the last train is due to come in. The signs do not convey what the rush hour period is like. Only that it will last for about an hour.
Subways are efficient at moving quantities of people over a long distance quickly. A basic subway train is a box on wheels. Rush hour may be defined as all your relatives trying to come through the door at once while wearing hockey skates. It is a wee bit crowded.
To help control the flux, and perhaps to honor psychologists, flow control measures are put in place. The first thing to go up are the cattle gates. These are portable metal tubular walls: Three horizontal bars and three vertical bars to appear like a fence. Using the simple invention of a zip tie these are cobbled together into a wall and the wall is extended for a few sections so that people cannot jump in line. The walls are intersected by other walls so that a maze is created. The job of the Metro rider is to negotiate this puzzle and get to the prize, a ride on the next train. It is effective.
At the peak of rush hour, even the best laid plans are squished by reality. Remember Mr. Whipple of Charmin fame? He would be working overtime telling us not to squeeze! A five-minute ride and you are two sizes smaller. It is a good way to meet your neighbors.
Have a great day.
Orpheus Allison
Guangzhou, China
orpheusallison@mac.com
