Getting Around Town

Got a chance to try out some transportation techniques I'm less experienced with. The main mode of getting around is the taxi... they're the Chinese version of the VW Jetta, except they're called the Santana there. In Dalian, they're gnarly, dirty and smelly. In Shanghai, they're new, clean, and even color coded for easy selection. Green, yellow, and grey are all state-sponsored and legit. The free-lance taxis are maroon...and more like a disneyland ride. I shot some video during one ride, but it didn't do justice to the adrenaline rush we all enjoyed. Its definitely a full contact sport, with pedestrians, bikes, scooter, taxis, and buses all seeking to occupy the same point in space at the same time. Traffic backed up? No worries, hop the curb up onto the sidewalk..the pedestrians will clear. And if the ride isn't suitably exciting, enjoy the flatscreen monitor in the back of the seats...if you understand mandarin.

The subway is really impressive, and goes everywhere, and is really clean. Its also 3 layers deep, as is shown in the cross section picture here.

It felt a little surreal to be underground in Shanghai watching the highlights of the AFC Championship game on the subway

The coolest way to travel, though, is the maglev train. Its got one stop, and goes from the station to the airport...in 7 minutes....the time it takes to get up to full speed and then come back down again. Here's a shot of the starting time and speed Here's the end of the line at the airport

And inbetween, if you look out the window at 431 km/h (267 mph), it looks like this