Riding the Metro in Beijing... on a Sunday! (Part 1)

When I learned from Ms. Tour Guide Angel that EVERYBODY can ride the metro in Beijing for only 2 RMB, I decided to try it. Nadia, the concierge at Novotel Peace told me I would have to change lines twice, and she was very helpful about writing down the names of each stop both in English and in Chinese! One thing Nadia didn't mention was how many people ride the Beijing metro on the weekends! Yesterday, Angel told EVERYBODY that Beijing has a population of 22 million, but I didn't appreciate the significance of that number until after my metro experience today.

Line 5 was busy but doable. I checked my directions to make certain I was heading toward Dongdan where I was to make my first transfer. So far so good. Didn't find a seat on Line 5, but I was getting off after one stop. From Line 5, I was to transfer to Line 1. In order to find Line 1, I had to go up an escalator, down a long hall, around a corner, another long hall and then down an escalator... Well, let me say this... the stream of people was fast becoming a mass of people. In every direction, body to body. I was able to determine that I needed to get on the train to my left along with hundreds of other people. Lines mean little in the Beijing Metro. As the doors of the train opened, the crowd surged forward carrying me with it! Seriously, I found myself inside, locked between bodies on every side. A man's arm was up over my shoulder holding onto a steal bar, and I kept feeling a knee pushing into my bum... at least I think it was a knee!! My camera was in my purse, but I couldn't get at it because I couldn't move my right arm. And I do believe, I was the only Caucasian in the lot!

There were at least 12 stops on Line 1 before I was able to push my way out and head to Line 4 which would take me to the Summer Palace. Riding the metro in Beijing is very cost effective, but it requires fortitude!
I was quite relieved to exit the Metro Station... I was ready to visit the quiet gardens and lakes of the Summer Palace... what I saw was that all my new friends from the Metro had a similar idea.


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Location:Dengshikou Station Line 5 to the Summer Palace