China Observes Saturday’s ‘No Car Day’
Saturday was the international “Car Free Day,” and the Chinese took part in the day of environmental awareness by, well, driving their cars freely. Over a hundred Chinese cities were supposed to participate in the day, however, according to all reports (other than those from the state-run media), the streets looked exactly the same — dirty, smoggy and jam-packed with cars. What did people expect? Tumbleweeds rolling down a silent Yanan Road? A Beijing cab driver told AFP, “It’s the same as always, I don’t see any difference.” Here in Shanghai, the city boasted a reduction in vehicle usage. The Shanghai Daily found that traffic in Lujiazui, the city’s financial district was cut by 60%. Ok, that sounds impressive. Was it because the Chinese left their cars at home in an effort to make a statement for the environment? If only. It was Saturday! Nobody drove to Lujiazui because nobody had to work! To give Shanghai some credit, the city did ban cars from certain parts of Nanjing and Huaihai Roads. And that’s about it. Guangzhou, China’s fourth largest city, didn’t even take part in the car free day, claiming that its public transportation system wasn’t ready for the extra strain. The sad fact of the matter is that Saturdays in China are not about taking public transportation, uniting in an effort to show respect the environment or riding a bike. Saturdays in China are about one thing only: shopping. They’re about getting into that new cute VW Polo or Jetta, sitting in gridlock for 45 minutes and going to the mall. I guess there’s always next year.
•AFP: China Observes Car Free Day with the Usual Gridlock
•Photo: meckleychina’s Flickr Page