If you thought your commute was bad, check out the sheer hell of rush hour on the Beijing subway
Commuters wait to enter a subway station during the morning rush hour in Beijing on June 19, 2013. Despite some five million private vehicles in Beijing, public transport faces heavy congestion on a daily basis as most of the city’s 20 million people head to work.
A lot of people don't seem to like living in Beijing. It's a city with a fascinating history and culture, yes, but with thousands of annoyances every day.
For an example of just one of these annoyances, check out this video of a 7.30am train apparently shot at Beijing's Xierqi subway station on July 18th:
The station's overcrowding problem is becoming notorious. One Redditor who lives nearby says that as there are a lot of technology businesses in the area and the station offers a connection to the suburban Changping neighborhood, crowds like this are not uncommon.
Here's a photo apparently from the station that was widely shared in the past few days:
While the station isn't necessarily representative of all of the Beijing subway, for some in China it shows wider problems in the society. The video was posted to the sardonic English-language blog Beijing Cream, where editor Anthony Tao explained what it means:
China is explained for you in this one video. Want to know why this country is the way it is? People. Many of them. Why is the pollution so bad? Too many people. Why are people pushy? Too many people. Why is there no soft power? The government censors too much shit and suppresses expression because they’re afraid of the people — the people of which there are too goddamn many.
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