Wu Che Ri

I really enjoyed No Car Day yesterday. Private cars were prohibited from entering the central section of Kunming. My school is in that area, and I have to say it was so much more pleasant with only the taxis and buses blowing their horns. There was almost no traffic so the city was wonderfully calm.

I read in the news this morning that China as a whole adds 10% more cars every year; Kunming adds 18% more, so traffic is becomming an increasing problem here. As of 2007, that meant 560 more cars on Kunming roads every day. Since 2009 broke all records for auto sales in China, the number of new cars on the road each day is now much larger.

And it's not just new cars. The vast majority of new car purchases are made by new drivers, so the city adds 100s of new drivers every day. New and inexperienced drivers. They drive just like they rode bikes and later motorbikes, which is to say very pragmatically. Traffic lights, lane markers, signs, all are seen as suggestions to be followed if convenient. Or not, which leads to some seriously chaotic traffic snarls. Every intersection is a zoo as cars, buses, motorbikes, bicycles, pedestrians, donkeys, etc., run red lights, drive on the wrong side of the road, turn against oncoming traffic, pass on the right going the wrong way, basically inserting their vehicle wherever it will fit. Of course there are traffic cops at every corner, but they are basically ignored. I've only seen a few fender benders, but my neighborhood is home to number of small autobody shops and they are busy from dawn to dusk seven days a week.

Fortunately, because there are so many vehicles on the road, no one can drive very fast. This is an especially good thing if you are a pedestrian because pedestrians are the bottom of the barrel. It doesn't matter if you are walking on the street, in the crosswalk, or on the sidewalk, cars have the right-of-way and they will take it. The driver honking his horn is not saying, "Please get out of my way." He is saying, "This may be the last sound you hear." But they aren't at all angry or malicious about it. They will simply run you over if you don't move and they can't go around you.

Despite the chaos, it all seems orchestrated in some weird way. If you keep moving and don't do anything unexpected, the traffic just slowly flows along. There is no overt agression, no road rage. Even when it comes to a complete standstill, people honk, but no one comes unglued. Anyone that can move through the crush of vehicles does, and anyone that can't just bides their time. When I first came to China, I found even crossing the street quite frightening, but now it just seems normal. Still, yesterday was really nice. I wish every day was No Car Day.