The Great Wall of Traffic

This past weekend, I took another trip to Taiyuan to visit friends. Originally, I was planning to go the weekend after Thanksgiving and join them in some holiday activities. However, due to my schedule here in Beijing, I had to move the trip a week earlier. So, this past Friday, I took the long distance bus from Beijing to Taiyuan, and it was the normal 6-7 hour trip. We had a nice weekend, and Sunday evening I headed back to Beijing. I boarded the bus about 10:00pm. I put my ear plugs in, and got ready for what I thought would be the routine 6-7 hour trip back to Beijing. We departed Taiyuan at 10:30pm.

Well, about an hour and a half outside of Taiyuan, we stopped and waited...and waited...and waited...and waited... Around 2:00am, I was wondering if we would make it back to Beijing in time for me to get a cab back to my university in time to make it to class at 8:00am... When 4:00am and then 5:00am came around, I realized I had no hope of ever making it to class that day. While we were waiting, I was able to get out and take some pictures of not only of the Great Wall of China which towered over us on the immediately surrounding mountains, but I was also able to get these pictures of the incredible amount of trucks and vehicles backed up for miles on end in the mountains of the Shanxi province. Apparently, there was a truck that broke down and was blocking one lane, but due to the traffic, and the lack of a shoulder, it was impossible for traffic to maintain any kind of steady flow. Also, given the fact that the truck drivers tend to pile up at even common intersections, it is no wonder they did not form a single file line during this situation. Eventually, we started moving again, but all day long, the traffic was never able to even out and recover from this jam. What was supposed to be the regular 6-7 hour trip turned into a 21 hour trip, as we arrived back in Beijing around 7:15pm Monday evening. I got off the bus, went to the nearest intersection, hailed a cab, and got back to my university about 7:45pm. Before I went back to my dorm, I added minutes to my cell phone and called my teacher and explained the situation. She was very gracious, as usual, and she gave me the homework for Tuesday. Monday night, I slept soundly, as I wasn’t able to get much rest on the bus.

While this trip was quite unexpected, I learned several lessons about the daily life and challenges of Chinese people, persevering in uncomfortable situations, and patience with people I don’t know in very close quarters. It was also a great chance to practice my Chinese with the people on the bus. So, overall, it was a really great trip, and I am continuing to learn, learn, learn…