Eric's Beijing Diary

Standing at Fifth Crossing (Wudaokou) this morning waiting for the train from Inner Mongolia. They built a new gate for the Olympics; it replaces the old wooden bar. It's probably a good idea, because I have seen more fast trains coming through these days; we never used to see those in the past. Life is becoming complicated. In the old days, there was no fence along the tracks. People got off their bikes before they even got to the regular crossing, and just lifted them over the tracks. That way they didn't have to deal with the intersection in Wudaokou. Then the government put up a fence along the railroad. The laobaixing promptly responded by cutting a couple holes in the fence at popular crossing points. Now, those holes have been patched up, with warning signs attached. I have been wondering who was going to win, but seeing the fast trains convinces me that it probably really is a safety issue. There is just no way trains like these could ever stop if they had to. They come barreling through at pretty high speeds.