Beijing road rage - the Northern temper

This post will be on a lighter note... sort of.

As the weather heats up, the Northern temper seems to melt down a little bit.

Don't get me wrong, I quite like Beijing people. They have a reputation for being straightforward, honest, and tolerant of outsiders. I've found this to be true for the most part.

However, Beijing folks seem to have a certain propensity towards physical public altercations. You'll see this in the form of good old fashioned Road Rage from time to time. Let me tell you of the four altercations I've witnessed in public so far this year.

Incident #1: Walking down a narrow side street, I noticed one of the city's ubiquitous taxis suddenly come zipping around the corner. It drifts too close to one side and sideswipes a parked motorcycle (with the motorcyclist still on it). The stocky cyclist - apparently not too damaged from the collision - goes into beserk mode and starts pummeling the driver like a Muay Thai banana bag.. even the arrival of the police doesn't prevent this fellow from occasionally Hulking up and getting a few more licks in at the cab driver..

Incident #2: On our way to the grocery store, we notice a crowd surrounding two cars which have apparently gotten into a fenderbender. There are two couples screaming and pointing at each other. The women are particularly loud. Without warning, they start grabbing each other's hair and getting into a catfight..

Incident #3: On the subway this time. A young couple is having a lover' s quarrel. Really quarrelling.. she's accusing him of cheating on her. Standard stuff. Then she starts basically beating him up..

Incident #4: A "mianbao" (loaf-of-bread-like minivan) cuts off the bus I'm riding in. The bus driver utters a stream of choice words at the van through his open driver's side window. That does it. A couple of indignant chaps burst out of the van and start throwing haymakers at the bus driver.. through the open window. Fortunately, a peacemaking granny on the bus seems to break things up. After all, as she says, "I have some place to be!"

Don't let all this give you the wrong impression. It's a great city with great people. Just be civil to your fellow driver/passenger/pedestrian/grocery store shopper and you'll be fine.