The phrase “rush hour” doesn’t really apply to China, because at almost every hour of the day you’ll find yourself rushed, crowded pushed, and ultimately locked in a struggle to get from point A to point B. However, if you are unfortunate enough to have to commute during morning and evening peak commuter hours in cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing and Nanjing, you know that roads are an absolute deadlock. Regardless how you get try to get there, be it driving a car, riding a bike, taking a bus or paying for a cab, one thing remains: you aren’t going anywhere, anytime soon.

While we’ve discussed the various forms of transportation above-ground, little has been said about my favorite form of public transportation in China: the subway or 地铁 (dì tiě). The subway is a relatively new concept making progress in Chinese mega-cities. More out of necessity than preference, the subway is quickly growing into a main form of transportation in Shanghai and Beijing for commuters frustrated with the alternative above-ground methods. It requires extensive planning, costly construction and millions of man-hours, but when completed, the subway lines offer alleviation to the terrible congestion of Chinese metropolises.

How popular is the subway becoming in the short decade that it has been around? Well, on April 30, 2010, the Beijing Subway tallied a record 6.4 million rides–in just a day! That’s incredible. In fact, Beijing is considering expanding lines to keep up with such growing demand.

Aside from over-congestion of major streets and roadways, why is the subway becoming so popular in China?

First, there is the price. The Chinese government has been very sympathetic to the affordability of public transit, aiming to make every municipal bus and subway ticket cheap enough that everyone can swing it. Public transit is seen as more of a public service to all 老百姓 and guests of the country. Nowhere is this more obvious than when taking the Beijing Subway, which charges a flat fee of 2 kuai to get you anywhere in the city (please note that the express shuttle to the airport is an additional cost of 20 kuai). That’s roughly 25-30 cents to traverse a city of 12 million!

Second, climate control in little metal tubes is fantastic, especially if they have air conditioning or 空调 (kōng tiáo). I know it’s not hugely important on most nice days–but there aren’t many “nice days” during Beijing’s summer or winter months. On days where the elements are too much, nothing beats sitting in a breezy cart watching replays of the 2008 Olympics…

Third, the subway is the most consistent form of public transit in schedule and in commute time. With some very few exceptions, the trains always run every 2-5 minutes and a closed track or “down time” for maintanence hardly ever occur. After all, 6.2 million people need to get where they are going–no time to stop. During rush hour, it’s your quickest bet if you are planning on traveling more than a few kilometers. Just be aware that unlike NYC, it doesn’t run after midnight or before 6 am.

Lastly, riding “the tube” can be a uniquely Chinese experience and one that you shouldn’t pass up. I will admit that during rush hour may not be a good idea if you are clostraphobic. In some instances, you almost feel like all 6.2 million people are bording a cabin with you, requiring a great deal of pushing, shoving, kicking and throwing of elbows just to get on the train (or to stay on).  Often times, when the cabin was stufffed to capacity, another wave of Chinese people would come running over to the doors, desperately pushing and shoving themselves and others deeper into the train. On days when there just wasn’t any room left, I felt like a protagonist in a zombie movie, pushing and shoving a wall of groping limbs back out through the closing sliding doors so our train could finally start moving. See an example of the madness below from another 老外:

Then there are the loud cell phone (手机  shǒujī) conversations that sound as if the caller is informing the entire cabin of their day to day. I guess that’s what ipods and headphones are for. Plus you can always entertain yourself with the rerun of TV advertisements, news reports and clips of movies on the in-train monitors. Just hop aboard and enjoy the ride!