It rains a lot in southern China. Most of that rain falls during the monsoon season from April to September. This can be a little annoying if you’re traveling around China during the summer and you enjoy doing anything other than sitting in your hotel room.
Like going for a relaxing bike ride around the city, for instance
It can also wreak havoc on transportation in rural areas. When the downpours get heavy enough, they can bring transportation to a halt in even the biggest cities.
But it takes a lot more than a few ‘roads turned to rivers’ to stop the buses from running.
They do slow down a bit, though. Too much for some people’s liking.
And this bus driver clearly believes: if you can’t see any lane marking on the road, they never existed.
Notice how traffic in both directions is trying to use the same lane in that photo? This kind of thing happens a lot in China. The river in the image is actually meant only for traffic flowing in one direction; traffic heading the opposite way has three lanes of its own on the other side of that little hedge. This bus—and about 20 cars and buses behind him—should be on that other side, but they thought this side had better driving conditions, so they simply switched over.
A cement truck on the correct side of the road.
It didn’t even cross their minds that there might be cars on this side of the road that were also trying to get somewhere. The result: the all-too-common standoff between cars heading in opposite directions. Naturally, neither side will ever back down and put their car in reverse.
In this instance, there were obviously two empty lanes and while the water was much deeper in those lanes, a few drivers soon lost patience and gave the deeper water a try. Others quickly followed and the standoff was over. They don’t always end so quickly. More on that in a future post.
Sometimes it’s simply easier to be a pedestrian. On another note, now that I think about it, I’ve never seen anyone in other countries (or in China, for that matter) wearing Chinese flag shorts.
This pedestrian seems a bit envious of the car. The BMW, not the toy, I’m guessing.
She’s probably wishing for a car, too.
He seems fine on his bike.
So does this guy with his oversized poncho.
He does not seem fine. On another note, all motorized two-wheeled vehicles are banned from Shenzhen. Obviously, that is not well-enforced. Some people call the local police lazy. Others say they take ‘donations’. Both are right.
Flooded streets inconvenience anyone driving (or walking, if they need to cross any of those flooded streets), but they can be beneficial to people with the right kind of job. When I lived in Shenzhen, I worked for the city government teaching English at a vocational school. We got the day off anytime there was a heavy downpour. The roads didn’t even have to flood—a storm warning was sufficient. During the rainy season, these occurred about once a month.
I would probably be pushing my bike, too.
This is probably your best bet during a flood.
It might sound like I got a lot of extra holidays, but I’ll let you guess which two days of the week saw most of the rain and which five days tended to be bright and sunny. If you need a hint, all the photos in this post were taken on a Saturday.
While I missed out on a day off because it was Saturday, this guy had to work despite the weekend AND the flood.
I’m not complaining, though. In total, I got two days off due to bad weather during my time in the city and two days is better than none. Plus, no matter what day of the week the streets flooded, I was able to step out on my balcony and enjoy my new-found waterfront views.
Here’s a video I shot (poorly) that shows just how swiftly the flood waters were moving:
Click here for practical information on Shenzhen, including the best times of the year to visit.
Great update! I guess the situation in Philippines and India would be pretty pathetic – due to lack of proper sewer system, rodents and all other animals that were busy indoors, will be forced to go on a white water rafting trip!
The water in Shenzhen wasn’t exactly clean either. I was prepared when I took these photos and was wearing flip-flops, but I got caught in a few other floods with shoes on. I was never able to get the smell out.
But you’re right, India would be much worse. I remember having to wade through flooded streets in Kathmandu, Nepal once. It was basically raw sewage.
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Nice photos Daniel. It’s absolutely fascinating to see, but I’m guessing that it’s probably more fun watching than actually wading through LOL!
I went to Vietnam a few years ago as I like to travel at either the beginning or the end of the monsoon season, and on one particular day, the amount of times I kept putting my jacket back on was numerous. I ended up with a cold though ‘cos of the rampant weather change, and was ill for a month!
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Given the heat, wading through it would actually be great, if it wasn’t for the smell. That water is filthy.
The temperature doesn’t really change that much here. I kind of wish it did. I bought a jacket back in December and only got to use it for about a month in “winter”. I’d like to get a little more use out of it.
Daniel McBane recently contributed to world literature by posting..I Love Chinese Repairmen!
So, Monsoon isn’t just the name of a Sushi lounge? Wow, I’m learning something new every day on this blog.
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I’ve been thinking of rebranding this as an educational blog…
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I guess travelling to China during their rainy season is not a nice idea. I am still amazed about the guy who brave to crossed the street even if there’s flood.
Only in the south. The north barely gets any rain. And even in the south, it’s not as bad as these photos make it look. That only happens a few times a year and the streets were back to normal a few hours later.
Daniel McBane recently contributed to world literature by posting..Transportation Problems in India: Why Can’t I Leave Goa?
That is a crazy amount of water and they are all still going through it like it’s nothing! It’s interesting to think that there are places like this where floods are so common that no one cares, but if it happened where I live there would be a stay in your homes warning and everything would be closed. It’s sort of like how different places get more snow than others and therefor one could have a couple inches and have a snow day while another can have a foot and still have to go to work and school.
Yeah, I spent a year in Vegas once and it snowed very lightly for a few hours one morning. Complete chaos. The whole city practically shut down. After Vegas, I lived in Chicago. People barely even noticed the snow.
This gotta be quite an experience for you.. thanks for sharing your journey.. I know now when not to visit China 😉
definitely want to go there ! But I have a few questions : Do people speak english in big cities ?
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Some do, but most don’t. You can usually find someone who knows some English, though.
No 1 rule is always wash your feet very well after a Manila Street Flood Walk.
Rodent feces and other disease is awash in the water.
A while ago we use to enjoy finding a White Taxi with a somewhat rusted floor(not that uncommon then) and be a part of the flood inside the cab. Got to love Manila and I always admire the resilience of the residents to continue on.
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