The Escalator Conundrum

Everyone knows that Shanghai is a city of frantic pace.

I see cars almost running down pedestrians every day to save a few seconds, pedestrians hurling themselves across busy roads against the traffic light like a scene from Frogger, just to get to the office on time.

These types of scenes are perpetuated thousands of times an hour across this great city. So why then, when these fast paced individuals, get to an escalator, do they just stand there?

Don't they know that they are just like moving steps, and if you walk on them as they are moving, you will actually get to the top or bottom even faster?

I have never seen a Chinese person walk on an escalator for more than a few steps since I have been here. Just the other night I saw a girl run (no, sprint) out of a restaurant in a shopping center, and race to the escalator. Once on the escalator she stood perfectly still and enjoyed the leisurely descent. But the minute her foot touched the firm non moving floor tiles, she was off like a rat up a drain pipe almost knocking me over in her haste!

Maybe, just maybe, the escalator is the only time someone can relax and enjoy 20 seconds to themselves in their busy day!  (Then again, I reckon they just figure why walk when you can stand).

Comments

[Micah]

Stand-on-the-right, walk-on-the-left escalators are one of the things I most fondly remember of all of my jaunts down to Hong Kong.

[L. Way]

what baffles me is places where there are 2 sets of escalators, both going in the DOWN direction in the middle of the day!

[John]

My personal theory is that they are not really in a hurry, they just are used to walking fast, cutting queues, driving as if they were in a race. Just out of habit.