"Line Up Day"

If you've been to Chinatown or out to San Francisco's Richmond District, you'll recognize some classic Chinese behavior...pushing and what Westerners consider "cutting." While we may consider these to be rude, it is very different here. No one waits for you to get off the subway or the elevator before boarding themselves. Drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians play chicken in intersections throughout the city with no apparent regard for who's bigger or more vulnerable. Walking down the sidewalk can even be dicey with bicycles and small motorized vehicles trying to get past or get ahead of the mysterious "other" they seem to be racing.

In the Chinese government's great wisdom, they recognize that this type of behavior will not show well when the world's attention is on Beijing in 2008 (Yes, the Olympics are on everyone's mind from the workers building 5 new subway lines to aggressive hawkers already selling the official merchandise for Beijing 2008). So, Chinese officials have launched a social conditioning campaign to get people to line up! Apparently every 11th day of the month is "Line Up Day" where extra personnel is dispatched beneath the ground to the subways where they encourage the orderly Western concept of a line. They have even painted arrows on the ground to direct passengers on how to comply.

It doesn't seem to working all that well, but I admittedly have very little to compare it to. However, I would encourage the government to perhaps increase the number of "Line Up Days" because at this point, I think the Chinese people need a few more than 11 conditioning days.