Ni-Hao... the hell does this work so well?

Over 8 million people and counting... waves of cars... hordes of bikes... swaths of humanity... yet, somehow it isn't chaos

I'm the 6'6" one, take that Jeremy Clarkson.

I'm the 6'6" one, take that Jeremy Clarkson.

Last summer I had the adventure of a lifetime- traveling through China for a few weeks with the Collegiate National Volleyball Team. We faced down enemy teams, sampled some unusual cuisine and saw jaw dropping sights. But the Great Wall isn't the only feat of engineering in the People's Republic.

Hail to the chief indeed

Hail to the chief indeed

I suppose that's the convenient part of living in a one-party state. When it is decided that the national infrastructure needs building, it gets built. Being an American, I'm no stranger to the protracted pain that is legislating local public works improvements. In China, or at the very least, the thriving international districts that we foreigners were kept in, the infrastructure was impeccable and well maintained- a far cry from the cracked, rusting monoliths that keep the United States chugging along.

While the United States may be chugging, China is positively humming with activity. Cranes dotted the skyline as our bus drove through the countryside on expressways as smooth as the silk in the shops. But the city centers were another animal entirely.

Nanjing

Nanjing

Everyone thinks traffic is bad, but China is worse. The government has to physically limit the number of cars on the road. Prohibiting cars with even numbered licence plates from driving on a Wednesday is just a fact of life. Never mind that to even GET the licence plate, an average Chinese citizen literally must win a lottery before being allowed to purchase their car. Looks like that one party system comes in handy once again when it comes time to reduce traffic congestion. These measures are draconian, and fly in the face of my "god given 'Murican rights" but you can't argue that they sound a hell of a lot more effective than HOV lanes.

"Get off the road or I'll put you in prison."

Chairman Mao's ghost, probably

But the result of all of this is something beautiful. Clean and orderly, traffic moves through Nanjing. Cars edge along, slowly but surely, while bike owners do the same in a separate lane, like some bizarre march of progress display. Harley Davidsons whiz past Honda Supercubs which overtake that bicycle with a two stroke engine attached to it belching black smoke. All this and you almost forget you are driving through the a city of the most populous nation on earth. Until you look out the window and see a motorbike rally and realize: that's just the daily commute.

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A ruined timelapse of a journey through a suburb of Nanjing

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