Getting around Beijing
Despite the grandeur of the city of Beijing, and I am one of their more than 15 millions of inhabitants. The municipality of Beijing has an area of 16.800 km2, like all Belgium. It is not difficult therefore, feel overwhelmed when for some reason you have to move to the other side of town. Nonetheless, get around Beijing, it's not complicated.
The city draws an almost perfect grid, where the streets run from north to south and from east to west. These terms are also commonly used to locate the site of the street where you find or address you want to get around it. It is not surprising, as the streets can be very long, and simply say the name of this, it will be insufficient information. To end up leaving, the main street that runs through the city from east to west, It has a length of about 40 km. The avenues of the city center are around 4-5 km, which it is something.
Although there “barrios” in the city, another common way to locate a place, It is with bridges. The city grid is organized into rings, the artery of each ring perpendicularly through avenues and for them there is a built flyovers to ease traffic, these are called bridges, which they have the name of the street that crosses. Around these streets also are named in and wai, which means in and out (ring) and so the information is much more accurate.
Transport most used is the meter, It has a fairly well connected network like the rest of the city, their lines run north-south Beijing, from East to West or quadrangular; like rings. The ticket price is only 2 yuan, so it the most common transport. There are also buses, but sometimes, by traffic congestion, these are somewhat slow. Taxis work very well too, and although they are not expensive, compared with the subway or bus, yes they are.
Despite all these transports, the best way to get around is by bicycle Beijing. Distances no longer huge but the city is completely flat, so it's just a matter of taking the bike and get pedaling. This is one of the best experiences you can have in China, since you can feel the city being part of it. Bicycle lanes and motorbikes (in its most power) They are well conditioned and except for a few pedestrians and cars that sometimes circulate through these pathways, It is a quiet way to get around. yes, should look at the map and pre-calculate the kilometers that will travel to the destination, as sometimes it may be better to leave the bike for a day and take the metro. The legs will thank you.
María Mary (Mali)
