When this was discussed among the Shanghaiist staff, many of us were doubtful there were enough subway posts fill a Top 10, until we looked at the archives that is and found we’d written thousands of words on the utter craziness that is the Chinese subway system. As China develops and more and more cities equip themselves with state-of-the-art subway systems the strange and the wonderful characters who inhabit those cities flock to the subway to fight, spit, pole dance, and generally be as weird as possible.
10. Water seepage in Hangzhou Metro soaks passengers
The recently opened metro line in Hangzhou perhaps needed a bit more work doing on it, passengers were soaked when water began pouring from the ceilings (CN). Spokespersons for the Hangzhou Metro blamed the water seepage on a nearby river, but passengers are understandably worried that if an apparently obvious precaution like sealing the underground tunnels wasn’t taken, what other dangers have yet to rear their heads?
9. ‘Sexually suggestive’ Edison Chen ads pulled after Shanghai residents complain
An advert featuring Edison Chen, the Hong Kong actor and sex tape scandal extraordinaire, has been removed from the Shanghai Metro after numerous complaints from locals.
8. Shanghai Metro tells sexily-dressed female passengers to expect harassment
Weibo users were outraged after the official Weibo account of the Shanghai Metro posted a photo of a woman (pictured) wearing a sheer dress on the platform with the following comment (translation via South China Morning Post):
“Dressing like that, it would be unusual for a lady not be harassed. There can be perverts on the subway and it’s hard to get rid of them. Please have self respect, ladies.”
7. Netizens delighted as Beijing subway screens display profanity while staff struggle to cover them
Screens on Beijing subway’s Line 5 all began displaying “王鹏你妹” (“Wang Peng, your sister”, equivalent to “your mother” or “fuck you” in English) earlier this year due to a “system error” according to transport officials. Subway staff struggled to cover up the screens with newspaper as netizens gleefully shared photos of the incident on Weibo.
6. Young boy relieves himself on the Guangzhou Subway
This story was posted on our Facebook page (which you should ‘Like’ right now), but was one of the most shared photos of the year. People around China expressed consternation at this young boy in Guangzhou (well beyond toilet training age) pulled down his trousers and had a crap right in the middle of the subway car.
5. Passengers peeing, fighting, eating, and spitting on the new Hangzhou Subway
SINA English brought use these photos, accompanied by the slightly sanctimonious (and grammatically questionable) headline “Uncivilized behaviours on newly operated Hangzhou subway”.
4. Passengers smash windows to escape fire on Guangzhou metro
Passengers on Guangzhou’s Line 8 had to smash windows and escape into the tunnel after the train they were riding caught on fire in November.
3. Chongqing man brings inflatable sex doll onto subway
When ghosts told Kevin Costner that “If you build it, they will come”, they were referring to baseball, but they may as well have been talking about subways. It seems to be a constant of human nature that if you build an underground rail system, the strangest members of society will flock to it. Like this Chongqing man and his inflatable sex doll.
2. Watch: Girl in a ballerina costume hangs upside down on the Metro to use her iPad
This Shanghainese ballerina hung upside down to use her iPad with her knickers showing… for some reason.
1. Watch: Sitting down on the Guangzhou subway may cost you an ear (Graphic)
An altercation broke out on Guangzhou Subway Line 4 after a 67-year-old retiree asked a young man to give up his seat. When the youngster refused to move the older passenger (entirely reasonably) started biting him. Subway security eventually intervened, and the police were called. The 28-year-old lost a piece of his ear but learned a valuable lesson about not fucking with old men on the subway.
