transactions 6

A young man from the small town of Shouling heard that the residents of the rich city of Shenzhen had a special way of walking, so he went to investigate.  Entering the Special Economic Zone, he noticed trees, flowers, hedges and other shrubs planted neatly along many streets, as well as new office buildings, shopping malls, and large apartment complexes.  From the bus that he had ridden into the city, when he first saw them walking, the people seemed just like the ones from his village, only there were more of them.  Riding along a major thoroughfare, the man was startled by another bus coming from the other direction on the same side of the street.  The passengers did not even give it a glance as it passed.  Soon after, a small car made a right turn from its position near the median divider.  Drivers drifted left, then right, then left again, as they constantly jockeyed for an opportunity to skirt past one another.  Taxis passed traffic backups by driving on the sidewalk.  The painted lines, signs and lights on the street seemed to be nothing other than quaint decorations - an attractive pattern with which to offset a field of otherwise undifferentiated grey.  The bus on which the man sat waited while cars from three lanes simultaneously tried to turn left, again when another car parked in front of the bus while it was driving, and again at an intersection filled with vehicles coming from all directions.  When the young man finally tried to disembark, a crowd pressing to get on prevented him.  He had to shout to the driver that this was his stop after the doors closed.  Everyone seemed annoyed with him.  The sidewalk was under construction, leaving only enough room for two people walking in opposite directions to manage to pass one another.  Individuals always walked in the middle.  Pairs always walked side by side, never one in front of the other.  Upon encountering others walking the opposite way, someone always had to wait.  A number of times someone pushed past him, only to slow down, pause to talk on a mobile phone, or simply stop and look lost.  Where there was more room to walk, groups invariably spread out to fill any available space.  People stopped to talk on bridges and in underpasses, in front of entrances and exits, stairs and chairs, teller and ticket windows, in the middle of aisles and turnstiles, walkways and hallways.  Reaching the top of escalators, anyone carrying large boxes or other luggage would set them down and stand next to them on the textured metal plate while deciding what to do next.  When available, elevators were the preferred method to ascend or descend just one storey.  When entering a train, bus or other form of public transportation, anyone unable to see a free seat simply stopped in the doorway, eventually pressed ahead by the mass after them.  If they were able to see one, they dashed at it.  After leaving a bus, many crossed the street by running in front of it.  In a particularly busy area, where vendors selling fruit occupied most of the walkway, the young man stepped to the side to avoid a bunch of running schoolchildren, and was struck from behind by a bicycle, which bumped him into an oncoming car, fracturing bones in his ankles, feet and knees.  Unable to pay for medical expenses and unemployable, he was forced to crawl all the way home.