Crossing the street in China is a skill, one that you learn while your heart is thudding in your chest and you are just hoping that you don’t get run over by trucks, cars, motorcycles, scooters, and bicycles while you learn it. Yes, crossing the street in China can often be quite an experience, and until you learn the proper way, it can, at times, be frightening. I have learned, though, that there are two ways to do this. This blog will explain each way to you so that if you ever find yourself in a situation that you need to cross the street here, you will be able to do so without getting run over (I hope).
1) Cross at a cross-walk. This may sound simple and easy, but it is not as straightforward as it seems. Once the walk sign for you goes on – a green man with numbers counting down how much time you have left – many times there are still cars crossing. Although you have the right of way, the cars don’t understand this. Also, some cars have the turn signal, so you cross while the cars are turning. I have learned that if you cross and look at the cars while you are walking, they will avoid you. Besides the cars that you have to brave to get across, you also have to cross in spite of the numerous scooters that zoom in and out of the street. It is not just the scooters that can be dangerous. The bicycles (both electric and not) have almost run me over many times. So, in order to cross at a cross-walk, the easiest thing to do is to wait for other people to cross. The natives (Chinese people) know how to cross safely, so if you walk with them, I am fairly certain that no one will get hurt. If there are other people crossing, I always just kind of join their group and hope that no one notices (because no one would notice a 老外 in the group, right?) I am especially certain that no one will run over the group if there is a family with small children or a baby. Who would dare hit them?
2) Cross in the middle of the street, without a cross walk. Yes, this may sound very, very dangerous, but when the light at the crosswalk is out, or the crosswalk is very, very far away, this method works very well. For example, the light at the crosswalk outside of my school is always out, so I just walk a little bit more towards the bus stop and use this method. In this method, you just cross the street in steps. If there are no cars/trucks/scooters/bicycles coming from the sidewalk where you are to the next yellow or white line, then you can cross to that line. You then cross from that line to the next line when there are no cars, etc. At that one, you can cross to the sidewalk. Sometimes you may have to run to avoid the traffic, but that just makes it more fun, right? Although this method can be frightening, it may take less time than the previous one. Once you have practiced this method, is gets easier and less scary. Practice makes perfect!
So, these are a few of the ways to cross the street here. I hope that you find them helpful. I am still perfecting them, but I am getting better with each day that passes!
1) Cross at a cross-walk. This may sound simple and easy, but it is not as straightforward as it seems. Once the walk sign for you goes on – a green man with numbers counting down how much time you have left – many times there are still cars crossing. Although you have the right of way, the cars don’t understand this. Also, some cars have the turn signal, so you cross while the cars are turning. I have learned that if you cross and look at the cars while you are walking, they will avoid you. Besides the cars that you have to brave to get across, you also have to cross in spite of the numerous scooters that zoom in and out of the street. It is not just the scooters that can be dangerous. The bicycles (both electric and not) have almost run me over many times. So, in order to cross at a cross-walk, the easiest thing to do is to wait for other people to cross. The natives (Chinese people) know how to cross safely, so if you walk with them, I am fairly certain that no one will get hurt. If there are other people crossing, I always just kind of join their group and hope that no one notices (because no one would notice a 老外 in the group, right?) I am especially certain that no one will run over the group if there is a family with small children or a baby. Who would dare hit them?
2) Cross in the middle of the street, without a cross walk. Yes, this may sound very, very dangerous, but when the light at the crosswalk is out, or the crosswalk is very, very far away, this method works very well. For example, the light at the crosswalk outside of my school is always out, so I just walk a little bit more towards the bus stop and use this method. In this method, you just cross the street in steps. If there are no cars/trucks/scooters/bicycles coming from the sidewalk where you are to the next yellow or white line, then you can cross to that line. You then cross from that line to the next line when there are no cars, etc. At that one, you can cross to the sidewalk. Sometimes you may have to run to avoid the traffic, but that just makes it more fun, right? Although this method can be frightening, it may take less time than the previous one. Once you have practiced this method, is gets easier and less scary. Practice makes perfect!
So, these are a few of the ways to cross the street here. I hope that you find them helpful. I am still perfecting them, but I am getting better with each day that passes!
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