For Those of You Who Think our Metro Transit Buses are Packed...

Try to get on the subway in Shanghai during rush hour. We decided that due to the fact that we did not have a bus scheduled to provide transportation for us on our last day, that we would test our luck with the subway to check out the French Concession and the musuem. Prior to our trip Alli provided us with a nice YouTube video that showed just how packed the subways could be and just how many people you could pack into one so of course we were all a little skeptical. When we arrived at the station we stopped at the little touch-screen operated ticket stand and purchased a one-way ride for 3 Yuan. We then proceeded down to the platform to the train. At each station there is a very nice display above the track that shows your location and each of the following stops.

So we patiently waited for the subway and much to our surprise when it arrived it was not very full. We were all able to make it on and we headed off to our destination.

We considered ourselves pretty lucky that we made it through without much trouble...but the return would not be so easy. When we decided to head back to the hotel we returned to the station and purchased our tickets and proceeded down to the platform, where it did not appear to be too busy as there were not too many people standing around, but we were wrong. When the train pulled up all the compartments were quite full and we were hoping that a lot of people would be getting offf...but they didnt. SO we did the only thing we could think to do...we pushed our way on, but unfortunately we left one brave soldier behind...but do not worry he caught up with us at our stop about 3 minutes later. So for those of you who are probably thinking it wasn't that full...here is a picture...and just remember this wasn't even the worst part of rush hour!