My Dad's rental car in Dalian - some kind of Chrysler with fully tinted windows.
THE CULTURE OF DRIVING
I think the culture of the road differs everywhere you go - including in China where some say driving is definitely different here compared to... Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, etc. This is the same in saying that driving cultures are different in San Francisco compared to New York or Los Angeles or even San Diego.
While there are many people here in China, a fewer percentage of people drive, as I had shared earlier in my post. Even so, there are quite a number of cars on the road all the time, and it is shared often with pedestrians since many take public means of transportation.
Public transportation can be extremely cheap here in American standards. I'll use American dollar conversions when I speak about money in order for things to be understood. Taking the streetcar outside of my dad's building complexes is only $0.15. A taxi from downtown to my dad's apartment is only about $1.50 after tip (about 5 minutes). I'm sure gas costs at least similarly as it does in the US, so
you must not earn that much of a profit!
With so many cars and pedestrians on the road, one thing you'll rarely notice actually is police! There aren't really "traffic tickets" or "speeding" or anything of the sort. There are now some red-light cameras - which even if you get caught results in about a $25 fine. Again, here that's not necessarily a small amount, but it's certainly not as scary as running a red light in the US.
In fact, I've seen many examples where the rules of driving simply just don't apply here. If a car is going slow, drivers will take to the other side of the road to get around. In a big traffic circle, there aren't even lanes - so you don't wait for a space to go. Instead, people simply put the nose of their car out and squeeze their ways through.
My dad said it early when he noted there was no way he could drive here - he'd stop for everything and everyone out of habit. In Dalian, pedestrians have no right of way, but that doesn't stop them from crossing when they want, where they want, and at the pace they want. It's like a game of chicken to see if they'll jump out of the way, the car will swerve around them, or they'll just get hit.
One of the examples Andy (our driver) gave, is that while they have stop signs in China, no one ever stops. If you were to stop, you'd be guaranteed to get hit from behind.
The two above signs I found in the parking garage of my dad's office building in the middle of town. I don't about any of you, but I find it a bit ironic that they have signs in a parking garage warning you of vehicles and pedestrians.
Here is a video that documents... well not as much of the driving as the fog that we ran into the other day. It's why we never made it out of the city to go to Beijing! Since the day was extremely foggy, you'll actually find that people's driving was a bit tamer. I hope it at least still gives an idea of the pedestrians just walking around, the cars driving inbetween lanes, the nonexistent lanes on most roads, etc!
Oh, sorry about the song - limited choice on this computer. =D
PARKING
Ah, parking in the city. The simple rule is - if it's a space, you can park in it, regardless of where it is. Oh, and even if it says you can't. In my time here, I've seen people remove "no parking" tents on a parking space, park on the side of the road in a traffic circle, or who knows where else. Of course, there are still specific situations like at the airport where with police present you wouldn't want to leave your car unattended. Nonetheless, parking is truly just up to you! Suffice to say, the official parking lots for many places are small, or are unused simply because they charge.
Here is a series of photos to document parking that I've observed:
On one of my first days, I discovered this car as we walked down the street.
I guess you could say he made is own space.
If I were him/her, I would have at least left the backwheel NOT smashed into the curb.
(a closer look would reveal that it's bent in a little)
The roads ARE paved in Dalian. Therefore, the sidewalks are all fair game!
To be fair, the sidewalks are specifically USED for parking spaces in front of stores and restaurants where as in the United States they're mostly used for... walking.
As you can see in this alleyway, cars are all parked up along the sidewalk. They really need to design the cars here with higher bumpers and undercarriages because the curbs still exist and getting on them doesn't look easy!
It may not look like it, but this is a major traffic circle - where there are underpasses to get from one street to the next or to the middle. It still doesn't stop people from parking on the side if they're going to the bank.
I'm not even sure how this car exactly got up here. Or why.
Anyhow, I hope you all enjoyed this post! It's been a topic I've really enjoyed at least observing all week. It's interesting (and I'm not trying to add to stereotypes) because most of the women we've met (especially those with husbands that drive) note that they've never driven here, nor would they have the courage to try. I know this isn't the worst driving in the world by far, but it certainly is interesting for anyone who's grown up in Los Angeles and is used to "bad" driving. Trust me, we're really not that bad at all!
Perhaps most interestingly is the way my dad puts it - the best way to drive here is to simply close your eyes and hit the gas. Let everyone else get out of your way. =P
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