Road Rules: Shanghai Edition- Your guide to navigating the mayhem of the streets of China’s most populated city

With over 20 million residents, 1 million cars and, and 18 million bicycles, the streets of Shanghai are chaotic at best. In a place like this, survival is the golden the rule when it comes to transportation. 

The best way to describe traveling through the streets of Shanghai is to say that it the ultimate combination of aggressive and defensive driving, walking, riding, etc. This is to say that the primary objective when traveling in Shanghai is to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible, using whatever means possible, while slowing down or stopping as little as possible. Let me give you a mental picture. Think of your favorite action movie (Mission Impossible, The Bourne Trilogy, a James Bond movie, etc.), now fast forward to the infamous car chase that is in all action flicks. You know, the part where the hero is running for his life, speeding through traffic, breaking all traffic laws, dodging pedestrians, leaving all other vehicles in grid locked streets or heaps of twisted metal, all in a valiant attempt to evade his foes. Got it? Ok now multiply our hero’s driving techniques by everyone else on the road and take away the bad guys. Welcome to the Shanghai school of driving! If you would like hands on experience without endangering your own life or the lives of others, find a teenage boy and ask him to let you play his Need For Speed video game. Ok, I think you get the point and here’s the sad part, I’m not exaggerating! 

The streets of Shanghai are insane to say the least. Which is why I have prepared a brief guide, essential to journeying through the madness. Below I have summarized the few traffic “laws” that I observed and feel are important for all foreigners to know:

Rule #1: There are no rules! Well, technically there are and while I am not well versed on the ins and outs of Chinese traffic laws (I’m not completely sure the Chinese are either), when thinking about them a quote from Pirates of the Caribbean comes to mind, “They’re more like guidelines anyway.” Though there is so much traffic that you could never reach a speed that Americans would consider really fast and dangerous, when riding in the back of a cab, whatever speed they are going seems really fast and dangerous. It probably has something to do with quick zigging and zagging through traffic, narrowly missing anything and everything around you. While they do have stop lights, stop signs, and one way streets that must be observed, things such as lanes and turn signals are mere suggestions. Anytime you’re in a vehicle in Shanghai, hang on for the ride of your life!

Rule #2: Look out for bikes! and mopeds, rickshaws, scooters, motorcycles and pretty  much anything else you can think of. One very important thing to remember when crossing a street or even walking on the sidewalk here is that bicycles and these other smaller means of transportation are not required to follow the few traffic laws that are enforced here. A common mistake made by foreigners is to simply cross the street when they see that the cars have stopped and the cross walk light signals them to go. 不好! (NOT GOOD!) Not only do you have to ensure that all cars and buses are stopped but also that no bikes, motorcycles, etc. are coming. Because if they are coming, they are not stopping! If you step in their way, you are simply an obstacle. This takes some getting use to and a few near death experiences to drive the point home in your brain but eventually you get the hang of it. Now technically speaking, these two wheelers are suppose to follow the rules also but they aren’t enforced so you rarely see it. For example, when at an intersection you frequently see a motorcycle or moped zip through a red light with even slowing down much less stopping. They can also go the wrong way on a one way street. This looks odd at first but really isn’t THAT dangerous. (Sadly, I will admit that I have done this. It’s scary at first, especially at night, but you get over it. Don’t judge, it’s socially acceptable here. When in China do as the Chinese.)

Rule #3: Honking is similar to waving. I want to be a car horn manufacturer in China. Sitting in my apartment writing this right now, I cannot even count to ten without hearing a horn honk, and I don’t even live on a busy street. It is a constant sound that you quickly grow accustomed to. I’m not sure why they feel the need to let out this burst of noise when frequently it is unnecessary but they do. I think the buses here honk every time they see an American. It’s the Chinese “Watch out for the stupid American on the bike!” signal. Now, no one has ever said this, it is merely a personal observation but really, it’s more than coincidence at this point. 

I made a video of my biking adventures in Shanghai but I haven't been able to get it to upload on Blogger. So, I'm posting a link that takes you to the video on my facebook until I can figure out how to make it work. 

Riding my bike to school in Shanghai

Well those are the basics. You can never know them all or truly experience them without being here. On the bright side, the crazy traffic gets your adrenaline pumping and wakes you up in the morning and I'm also sure this information increased my parents prayer life! (even more than it already was!)

 One last thing, if anyone who knows the cop who pulled me over and yelled at me last winter, please forward him a link to this blog. Until next time, drive safe!!