Shanghai Tech WriterTechnical Writing, Technology, Web2.0, Google, Shanghai, China

After almost two weeks of construction, the new Guanglan subway station (Line 2) finally opened! The area around Guanglan station is still a big plot of dirt/construction junk. There’s only one entrance/exit (or maybe two?) that is all cleaned up and open to passengers. Even though the new station is just one block from my home, it takes me 5 minutes to walk out of my apartment complex, 5 minutes to walk down the block, and 5 minutes to walk around the construction fence to the only entrance/exit that is open to passengers. My husband drops me off in the morning, so I don’t have to walk as much in the morning, but I do walk home after work. In all, my commute time has shortened by about 5-10 minutes. I am very happy that I’ve been able to get on/off the train without being pushed and shoved like at Zhangjiang!

I heard that the entire area surrounding Guanglan station will turn into a park, but I’m not too sure. The narrow road that leads down to the [currently only] entrance/exit will expand and connect with 祖宗之路. That means all the run-down buildings and farm houses in the area (leftover from before all the new development) will be torn down as well.

Hopefully all the construction, road expansion, and development will be completed soon because the neighborhood is now a mess due to all the commuting traffic being rerouted from Zhangjiang to Guanglan. My quiet suburban neighborhood has turned into a circus of company shuttles, taxis, illegitimate taxis/vans/scooters, traffic patrol officers, food carts, and people selling miscellaneous junk. When I came out of the subway yesterday after work, I heard the ever familiar yelling of “chuang sha” and “nanhui” — the same group of “black car” (黑车) drivers from Zhangjiang station that block the exits and yell in your face because they want to take you home in their rugged and polluting van for a few kuai. Just another ‘TIC’ (This is China) moment. No matter where you go, you can never escape (or clean up) the folks who want to make a few quick bucks.

Thankfully, the crowd is still nowhere compared to the crowd at Zhangjiang station! Because of the Line 2 extension between the two airports, passenger traffic is going to increase significantly and Line 2 will be very crowded. The two days I’ve taken the subway from Guanglan station to work, the train is already pretty packed by Longyang station (3 stops later)! I cannot express how glad I am that Guanglan station is and will always be a “terminal” stop, whether going into Puxi or to Pudong International Airport!