The Subway System

The subway system is the most efficient I have seen.

First, you purchase a travel card that works for the subway, train, bus and taxis. You can pay for everything without ever having to get cash, except of course, if you are trying to buy one of those awesome Portuguese Custard danishes. Shoot, there goes the diet.

All the signs are listed in both Chinese and English, and each train is color coded. I have been taking them for the past three days by myself and have not been lost.

I thought the neatest thing was the guard on each side of the train tracks who raises a flag and blows a whistle whenever the train is arriving or ready to depart. What a nice touch.

That is until I found out why they are there.

A few years ago, a man was caught in between the doors of the train and the doors that protect the riders from the train. It was a horrific accident. The people with the flags were put in place almost immediately.

Even getting on and off the train has a system. You can see in the picture above that there is protocol for everything. Those waiting to board the train are instructed to make two lines and stand to the sides of the door. The people coming off the train come through the middle. Try that one in New York!