Because of some serendipitous circumstances, I spent a period of time traveling in “the heart of China — my hometown Henan.”
Before that, I had a few classmates from Henan, some of whom were extremely driven and outstanding in university. I heard that their college‑entrance exam scores were only slightly lower than those of the University of Science and Technology of China, but their exam didn’t include an English listening component. Moreover, regarding Henan, I’ve heard many rumors online, such as:
- Henan people are all gods, bearing undefeated legends
- I am from Henan, don’t know public transportation
- Henan blood tragedy
- The greatest engineering disaster in human history: the Zhumadian Banqiao Reservoir breach
After this trip to Henan, I haven’t shattered all stereotypes, but I have gained a new understanding of Henan.
Below are images; click to view and read the captions.
Henan’s traffic‑light logic differs from other parts of China. In many Chinese intersections, straight‑through traffic is released first, followed by left turns. In Henan, left‑turn and straight‑through are released together, then the left‑turn light turns off while the straight‑through continues.
When the red and green lights are on simultaneously, you wonder whether you should go. Later, a friend from another part of Henan showed me an even more impressive picture:
The red, green, and yellow lights are all on at the same time. (Note: In three‑phase AC wiring, the color codes are: Phase A yellow, Phase B green, Phase C red.)
Henan actually has a straight‑through waiting zone. I’ve seen left/right turn waiting zones where you can enter when the straight green light is on, but I’ve never seen a straight‑through waiting zone; straight‑going vehicles can actually enter the stop line during a red light!
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Henan people love eating outdoors; restaurant tables placed outside take up the entire sidewalk.
Often an entire street is filled with food stalls, yet none are particularly good.
At a relatively large intersection, there’s only a single circular light; the pedestrian crossing has no signal, and left turns have no light.
There are many three‑wheeled electric vehicles with canopies, and they love driving on the sidewalk. Sometimes three or four people sit on one, and many use them to shuttle children after school.
