交通

Hi everyone! Welcome to today's Simply Natural Chinese! I'm Xiaoyue!

Hi everyone, I'm Leo! Today we're going to talk about transportation in China, and I have so much to say about this topic.

Leo, you've been in Hangzhou from London for a while now. How do you feel?

Honestly, when I first arrived, I thought it was amazing—completely different.

Haha, what aspect struck you as the most amazing?

The high-speed rail. The first time I took the high-speed train to Shanghai, I sat down and before I even got comfortable, we had arrived.

Hahaha, from Hangzhou to Shanghai takes only 45 minutes at the fastest!

In London, it takes you about that much time just to get from the city to the airport.

Are British trains like this too?

British trains are often late and frequently have problems. Sometimes being over an hour late is normal.

Hahaha, that's incredible!

Really not incredible. What about China's high-speed rail?

China's high-speed rail is very punctual, basically within a few minutes.

Over 40,000 kilometers, accounting for more than two-thirds of the world's high-speed rail length—this number amazes me every time I hear it.

And they're constantly building new ones. Even small cities like my hometown now have high-speed rail.

How long did it used to take?

It used to take seven or eight hours on a slow train to get home, but now it only takes two and a half hours.

That's the power of building things. Many foreigners who haven't been to China find it hard to believe China's high-speed rail is like this.

Hahaha, exactly! After talking about high-speed rail, let's talk about the subway.

Sure, the Chinese subway has taught me a lot too. I ride it every day, from downtown to the west side of the city.

How does it feel?

Clean, punctual, cheap—three words.

It really is cheap, starting at two yuan.

A single ride on the London subway costs at least two or three pounds, and it's even more expensive during rush hour.

So that's about over twenty RMB?

Yeah, about that. So the Chinese subway is really cheap.

The most impressive thing about the Chinese subway is the speed of construction. Hangzhou's first subway line opened in 2012.

How long has it been now?

It's only been a little over ten years, and there are already more than ten lines.

From zero to more than ten lines in just over ten years? The London subway took over 150 years to reach its current size.

The Beijing subway is even more impressive—its lines expanded greatly after the 2008 Olympics.

During Beijing's morning rush hour, there are so many people that I don't even have to walk myself—the people behind me just push me in.

Hahaha! Beijing's morning rush hour is really something.

But even though it's crowded, everyone follows the rules.

Yeah, Chinese people have really improved when it comes to queuing.

Another thing I find interesting is the security checks. Chinese subways have security checks, but the UK doesn't.

So when you went through security for the first time—

I almost walked straight through and got stopped. I was thinking, "Why do they need to check my bag?"

Haha, you'll get used to it. Actually, most of the time the security check is pretty quick.

Though sometimes when you're in a hurry, it can feel a bit troublesome.

Another characteristic of the Chinese subway is all the announcements inside the carriages.

Like what?

"Please mind the gap between the platform and the train," "Please don't lean on the doors," "Please give up your seat to passengers in need."

The most interesting thing is that they say it in both Chinese and English. Every time I hear that English accent, I find it quite cute.

Hahaha, you're not very used to it, are you?

But it's cute. I think that's one of the good things about the Chinese subway.

Then let's talk about shared bikes.

Sure! I have so much to say about this. I ride one almost every day. When the weather is nice, I ride from the subway station to school.

Are Chinese shared bikes different from what you've seen in London?

In London, you have to pick them up and return them at fixed locations.

In China, you can park them anywhere. Just scan the code to ride, and scan to return.

Right, this is so convenient. You go outside, see a bike, scan it, ride away, park it anywhere when you arrive, and lock it. That's it.

And the price is cheap—one yuan for half an hour.

In London, it's about two pounds for half an hour. In Hangzhou, it's one yuan. So much cheaper.

There used to be so many colors on the streets of Hangzhou—Meituan yellow, Hellobike blue, Qingju green, and so on.

I remember when I first arrived and saw so many colors, I thought each color had a different purpose.

Hahaha, no, they're just from different companies. Now there are basically only a few big ones left.

Wasn't it chaotic a few years ago? I've seen photos of bikes piled up like mountains, like a colorful garbage dump.

Yeah, there were too many back then. Every company wanted to get in on it. Now the government regulates it—you can't just park anywhere. Much better.

I think this park-anywhere approach—China does it the best in the world. The absolute best, no contest.

Haha, such high praise!

Really, I'm not exaggerating.

After talking about shared bikes, let's talk about ride-hailing.

Didi, right? I absolutely must have it on my phone. I use it when it's raining or when I'm in a hurry.

How does it compare to London?

It's so much cheaper than Uber in London. A random trip there costs ten to twenty pounds. In Hangzhou, Didi's starting fare is only about ten yuan.

And Chinese ride-hailing has something that London doesn't.

What?

Carpooling! The system finds people going the same way for you, and the price can be even cheaper.

Right, express pooling and carpooling—many people rely on this for commuting.

But the most impressive thing about Chinese ride-hailing is that hailing a ride, ordering food delivery, buying movie tickets, and booking hotels are all in one app.

One app solves all problems! In London, these are all separate—you have to download many different apps.

This Chinese way of having everything in one app is really special.

Speaking of food delivery, the delivery speed in China is incredibly fast.

How fast?

Delivered in half an hour. In London, waiting an hour for takeout is normal.

Half an hour is actually considered slow. Some nearby places deliver in fifteen minutes.

And the delivery fee is so cheap—sometimes even free. In London, delivery fees are often three or four pounds.

Behind this is the fact that China has so many electric vehicles and delivery riders. This whole system makes it work.

Speaking of electric vehicles, I want to talk about this too!

Were you scared?

The first time I crossed the road, I almost got hit by an electric scooter. It came up quietly from the side—no sound at all!

Hahaha, electric scooters are indeed very quiet. Many foreigners aren't used to it.

There are basically no two-wheeled electric vehicles on the streets of London, but China is full of them.

We call them electric bikes or "little electric donkeys." They run really fast.

But some riders don't follow the rules—running red lights, going the wrong way, coming straight at you. It's terrifying.

This is indeed a problem, and the authorities are constantly trying to manage it.

But from another perspective, two-wheeled electric vehicles have also solved a big problem.

Chinese cities have so many people—it's impossible for everyone to drive cars. Electric vehicles are the most convenient option.

The price is also cheap. You can buy one for two or three thousand yuan, and one charge can take you several dozen kilometers.

And charging is very cheap—cheaper than taking the bus.

Plus, some small roads can only be accessed by electric vehicles. Very convenient.

Exactly. Speaking of four-wheeled electric vehicles, China's electric cars are pretty impressive too, right?

Yes! BYD, NIO, XPeng, Li Auto—they've improved so much in the past couple of years.

You've seen those green-plated cars in Hangzhou, right?

Yeah, those are electric cars, right?

Right, green plates mean electric cars. Now, among newly registered cars in Hangzhou, there are already more electric cars than gas cars.

More than gas cars! Electric cars on the streets of London are increasing too, but the numbers are still much lower.

China probably has the most electric cars in the world now, and the prices are much cheaper than in Europe.

You can buy some BYD models for 100,000 yuan?

Right, some are even 70,000 or 80,000. Buying an electric car is cheaper than buying a gas car.

That's basically impossible in Europe. An electric car in Europe costs at least 30,000 euros or more.

What do you think is the biggest advantage of Chinese transportation?

Plan the roads first, then build the city. Many new districts in China plan out subway lines and major roads first, and only then build houses and shops.

Some new districts in Hangzhou are like this.

The subway comes first, then people and things follow.

What about London?

It's different. The city came first, then they tried to figure out how to build subways. So the London subway is built very deep, the routes are winding, and transfers require walking long distances.

Transfers at newly built subway stations in China are much more convenient.

Many are just across the platform—you walk a few steps and you're there.

Plus, Chinese subway stations have moving walkways inside, like at airports.

London doesn't have those. If you walk slowly, you just walk slowly.

But Chinese transportation isn't completely without problems.

What problems?