This is the absolute worst subway experience you’ve ever seen
Commuters line up outside a a subway station in Beijing on May 29, 2014.
Before you grumble about your trip to work this morning, spare a thought for Beijing commuters.
Authorities in the Chinese capital this week tightened security at many subway stations following a series of deadly attacks across the country and ahead of the politically sensitive 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown.
In addition to bag checks, commuters now have to endure a full-body scan.
The additional security measures are causing even longer than normal lines and adding up to an hour to journeys.
It's understandable why Chinese authorities are nervous. A series of deadly attacks authorities say were carried out by militant members of the mostly Muslim Uyghur community in the northwestern region of Xinjiang has made everyone in China a little nervous.
But there are concerns that the huge numbers of commuters waiting outside subway stations across the city could become a target themselves. Trapped behind tall steel barriers, how would they get away?
“I am afraid that not many could safely escape if terrorists suddenly drew knives within the crowd,” one Chinese blogger told the South China Morning Post.
Another said: “With such a dense crowd, it could easily become a target of a terrorist attack. Also due to the fences, panic could lead to a stampede.”
Armed police have also been deployed to subway stations across the capital, which was hit by terrorism in October when an SUV allegedly carrying three Uyghurs ploughed into tourists in Tiananmen Square and burst into flames, killing five.
It's reportedly the first time Chinese regular police have been armed with guns.
Even before the additional security measures were introduced, taking the subway at peak hours in Beijing was a hellish experience.
Check out this video posted on YouTube in July.
Train stations have been the target of two attacks in recent months. In April, a bomb went off at a train station in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang, killing at least one person and injuring 79.
A month earlier, knife-wielding assailants killed 29 people and injured dozens at a train station in the southwestern city of Kunming.
And last Thursday, five suicide bombers killed more than 30 people and injured more than 90 at an outdoor vegetable market in Urumqi.
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On top of the attacks, Chinese leaders are jittery ahead of the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown on June 4, which is always a potential flash point.
As a show of force, Beijing police officers, including members of the elite Snow Leopard Commando Unit, on Thursday displayed their skills at handling a hijacking, terrorist attack and large-scale protest.
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