02 June 2011

How safe is it in China?

I thought I'd write this post because some of you are undoubtedly concerned for my safety.  Now, I have some pictures about the safety situation in China, and related concerns.

Category 1:  Street/Vehicle Safety
The traffic situation here is a little crazy.  Chinese drivers seem to take crazy risks, leaving no space, e-bike drivers darting in and out of traffic and pedestrians, with kids on the bikes, no helmets on anyone.  (Well, there are a few helmets.  But I haven't seen any in the stores yet.)

I was actually surprised that I didn't see any collisions.  That is, until yesterday evening.  I was just crossing the street to go to church, when I heard a crunching sound.  I turned to look, and this is what I saw:
BMW vs. Bus
Yes, that's a BMW and a public bus.  Guess who won?

Actually, neither was going fast enough to do any serious damage.  The BMW driver was probably just trying to get into traffic, and either didn't see the BIG RED BUS, or thought he could get by fast enough.  Since both lights still seem to work, I'm guessing the only damage was cosmetic.

Category 2:  Apartment/Personal Safety
I have it on good authority that if a foreigner is hurt, robbed, or cheated by the locals, then the police will come down pretty hard, because it hurts China in the long run.  So, I'm probably pretty safe on the streets, even though some Chinese tend to steal because they don't have enough money.  But what about my apartment?  Behold, my steel door, with deadbolts:

Top of Door
Center of Door
Bottom of Door

The bottom of the door also has a vertical bolt to match the top.  All of these bolts are extended halfway by one turn of the key, and full extension by a second turn.  There is also another bolt that I can throw separately from the inside.  That's a total of 9 bolts to keep my stuff safe, 10 to keep me safe.  Paranoids, eat your hearts out.

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