Underground – Beijing

There’s a lot more to this picture than I can tell in this short space. The Beijing Underground is just that, an underground environment. It is supposed to have miles and miles of tunnels under the city and it’s a response to the nuclear threat of the 1950′s and 1960′s. Americans built bomb shelters. The Chinese built an underground city. I would love to have seen this place, but, unfortunately, it was closed, perhaps permanently, when I arrived. The best part of the story is where a Beijing bicycle-cabbie tried to charge me $50 for a five minute ride from the main street to the Underground City. When he held up three fingers, I thought he meant 3 yuan. When he presented his fare card, it read 300 yuan. We almost came to blows when he followed me for blocks and blocks and blocks insisting that I pay him more than 3 yuan for the ride.