Subways in China

Instead of taking optional tours on our China trip with Grand Circle Travel, Nov. 12-Dec. 2, 2009, my wife, Anne, and I used our free time to explore the cities via their subways.

Purchasing tickets is much easier there than on any system we’ve ridden in the States. A screen on the ticket console shows all routes in both Chinese and English. You press the spot showing your end destination and the required fare shows up on the screen.

If you are over 65, like we are, you then press “concessions” and the fare is typically reduced about 50%. Typical fares for us were two to four yuan (30¢ to 60¢).

The subway cars have route maps with blinking lights showing where you’ve been and the future stops. At each stop, announcements are made in Chinese and clearly understandable English.

In Beijing we rode to Wangfujing Street, the location of some of the city’s more famous shopping stores, and toured this area of plaza shops and the Grand Hyatt Hotel. Most impressive to us was the Legendale Hotel, which opened for the 2008 Olympics. It’s one of the most luxurious hotels we’ve seen, with its Southern European architecture — well worth a visit or an overnight stay.

The Shanghai metro is one of the newest in the world and among the most rapidly expanding. It has added 11 subway lines in the last 15 years and expects to launch four more by May 2010.

We used the subway system to visit the Bund, Shanghai’s famous waterfront, which runs along the western shore of the Huangpu River. The shops in the area are so exclusive (Zegna, Cartier, etc.) that in some of them there were guards with machine guns in the lobby, the only place we saw machine guns on the entire trip.

We strolled along Nanjing Lu, an old shopping avenue recently closed to vehicles. We rode a tram for 25¢ that took us along the whole walkway and covered the distance from one subway stop to the next for an easy return back to our hotel. There was even a Hershey’s store similar to the one in New York.

Hong Kong’s subway system led us to Yuen Po Street Bird Market, a gathering place of Hong Kong’s bird owners. In 70 songbird stalls, all manner of beautiful birds are on display for sale along with a selection of traditional bird-keeping items. Need some live grasshoppers or worms for your birds? They are available.

Adjacent is the Flower Market, with more than 50 shops displaying exotic blossoms and houseplants. Some of the displays there were of museum-piece quality.

JACK DINI

Livermore, CA