All things old China - books, anecdotes, stories, podcasts, factoids & ramblings from the author Paul French

The Qianmen Tram

Posted: June 9th, 2011 | No Comments »

Trolleybuses and trams used to roll through the streets of old Peking. They went the way of most of the old gates, the walls and hutongs of the city – i.e. scrapped. Now there’s a tram back in action on the Qianmen pedestrianised retail street. Though the street is failing as a commercial endeavour according to the retailers along it (either low end provincial Chinese tour groups with no money or scuzzy foreign backpackers who don’t spend either) there are lots of strollers. The tram is usually pretty empty as they charge for it and goes up and down occasionally. However, I’m not sure if its all that accurate as the sort of tram that was there before 1949. The model of tram they’re using now is different to the images I have of the old trams from the 1930s.



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