You've problably heard about the huge traffic jam outside of Beijing that is now in it's....I don't know...15th day or something like that. Well, this was nothing like that, but it seems to me that the traffic was a lot worse than the last time I'd been there in June 2009.
Where I am staying and working is far from the city center. I have to take a taxi into town if I want to visit anything of interest. I usually take a taxi to the nearest subway stop and then the subway from there in order to avoid the traffic in the center. Even that took longer than usual; one time it took almost an hour. One night I took a taxi all the way to the center to meet a friend for dinner. It took an hour and a half.
The good news is that they are extending the subway/train system out to the BDA where I work so I will be able to walk to the station and take the train all the way to the city center. I've heard various estimates, but it seems it should open by the end of 2010. In the summer of 2009 they had only the supports for the elevated track done. Now, they have the tracks completed and are running test trains on it. It might be open the next time I visit. Things like this happen fast in China.
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