Beijing's underground growth

The Metro
Why does Beijing have a subway system with "Line 1", "Line 2", and "Line 13"?! Hmmmm...not a question worthy of another Pop Quiz, so I'll give you the simple answer... BECAUSE the other lines are not complete yet.

Well, Line 5 just opened last Sunday at 2:00pm - on the day many people returned from the National Week holiday. It runs a straight line of 27+ km from North to South through the city.

On top of that, on that same day all subway fares were lowered to a universal rate of 2 rmb/ride (about 27 cents). What most new stories fail to mention is that this is the cost for a ride to/from any point on the subway - including transfers. Previously, fares were 3 rmb - and I used to get slapped with a 5 rmb transfer (for a total of 8 rmb).

How's this for logic? Opening a brand new $1.7 billion (USD) line after 5 years, with LCD screen on trains and on platforms, air conditioning (yes, this is STILL exciting for some things in China!), and alleged top speeds of 80 km/hr (although I doubt those trains will ever go that fast)...all the while, you lower fares for the entire system! Hmmm...excluding ongoing staffing and overhead costs, that would mean a payback after approx. 6.3 billion riders on that subway. When we're talking about 27 cents/ride you can't make it up by shear volume!

Obviously, this infrastructure improvement has short-term benefits in advance of the Olympics - but the expansion of the subway, and locals adapting to using it more frequently, is critical to the future of the city. With 1,000 new cars registered every day (and 500 used cars/day) the traffic will eventually choke the city to a stand-still. To help put things in perspective, riding the bus costs only 1 rmb (1/2 of the new subway fare) and students can ride for just 20 mao - the equivalent of 2.7 cents! So even with the newly reduced fare for the Metro, it may not be a big enough incentive for the masses.

So yeah, before 08.08.08 (start of the Olympic Games), Line 4, 10, and the airport line will be completed and in full operation. Hopefully by then the combined efforts of - new rails, lowered fares, and alternative driving laws (based on whether the last digit of your license plate is odd/even) - will give worldwide visitors that China's capital city has it's you-know-what together.

"Underground" market
Speaking of stuff underground, how can one be in China and not comment on the wonder of the viability and legitimacy of some businesses here!

With the Silk Market aside (b/c I have ZERO idea why that place has been allowed to stay in business, particularly post-WTO ascension for China), here are a couple of examples that might leave you scratching your head....

1. Photocopying - Tsinghua is the marquee MBA program in China, and aspiring to be world-class. For full-time students all books are included in the cost of tuition (wish we had that at Babson!!) Still, photocopying textbooks and other course materials are not uncommon, just as it is among students at any (education) level in any country. Now here's the kicker...located just footsteps from a school building is a row unmarked shops that can copy anything FAST and CHEAP. (In this photo, the bldg you can only see part of on the left is an academic bldg - the low story bldg houses the shops) Okay...so these types of shops are all over the place here, but still - this is within the school's own gates!
   
1. Guess businesses like FedEx Kinko's don't stand a chance in the near term...with only 15 locations in China, looks like they'll continue to focus on businesses in the central biz district.
   
2. I know what you're thinking next...what kind of books do I have? Well, I'll just mention that most copied & bound books cost 15-30 rmb, and let you figure out this puzzle...
   
2. Video Rental - Pirated DVD's is nothing new. Not here in Asia, not on the streets of mid-town Manhattan (which always cracks me up b/c the sellers ALWAYS have a scout eying for cops...and all hawkers have black sheets ready to pull over their movies/watches/purses/etc), so perhaps this one isn't as interesting. But if (knock-off) DVDs cost 7 RMB/each - how many would you have to sell to actually have an entire shop dedicated to DVDs and CDs?...How many to cover rent & overhead? Well in the college-area outside campus, there are at least a few places like this that are wedged in between legitimate businesses (like restaurants, dry cleaners, retail stores, etc) Who needs video rentals when it's cheaper to buy them?
   
3. Pet stores - Only 10-15 years ago, pets probably consisted mainly of crickets and fish. Now, with rising middle-class, Chinese are making the move to four-legged friends. So most night's there is a guy who is selling puppies out of cardboard boxes on the side of the street - near Tsinghua. (I should mention that lots of things are sprawled out for sale at night - like shoes, clothes, gadgets, etc...)
   

There are strict laws about owning a dog in Beijing. (I'm not sure if they also apply to other provinces/cities in China.) You've heard of the one-child policy...well how about the one-dog policy!! In addition, dogs taller than 14 inches are not allowed within the Fifth Ring Road of the city - so if you get a puppy, make sure its a smaller breed (or mutt).

Let's assume there are hundreds (or thousands) of people like this guy selling pets on the street in Beijing. .. Since this is CHINA, maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to regulate the pet industry if health issues are a major concern? Come on, how hard would it be to throw the gauntlet down on the street sales of pets? Sell pets that are "fixed" (due to the one dog policy), have their vaccinations, require registration at point of purchase, and consolidate operations in fixed (state-approved or sponsored) locations?

Anyway..let these stew in your mind for a while. (It's sure a lot more interesting than pondering why A-Rod gets paid $25+ million/yr to sizzle in April, and fizzle in the post-season...)


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