The all-new Changping Line
Back in 2011, it was very exciting news for us that the Beijing Subway opened a its all-new Changping Line. The terminus of the first phase did not quite reach the actual town of Changping, but rather a village some seven kilometers east. That was fine, though we had to take a bus or a taxi to Nanshao station. Still, it was the metro, and it provided us another option for getting into Beijing that did not involve enduring hours of the city's notorious traffic or standing on lurching bus in that same traffic.
We waited and waited for the new extension to be completed. For several years, intersections in and around town were dug up, buried, and then re-dug up. This continued much longer than we expected, with no opening date announced.
Then, in December, there were some changes at the Nanshao station. The signs that indicated train direction and station sequence had been replaced to reflect some additional stops on the line. The train cars, too, had their line maps modified, too.
The stops on the new extension, though, were shrouded in mystery.
The mysteries are unveiled after the jump
Ta-daaa!
The new stations on the Changping Line opened in late December while our family was in the US. It wasn't until we returned in January that we were able to enjoy the convenience of a subway stop within walking distance from our apartment. Walking to the subway. My happy urban dream.
Of course, I was curious about all the other new stops as well. One cold windy afternoon in February right before Chinese New Year, I rode the length of the Changping extension. I actually started at the station closest to me, went out to the new terminus at 昌平西山口 and then back down to 南邵, the former terminus. Because the schools and most companies were already closed for the holiday, I did not get a full feel of the normal traffic level.
For this post, I am going to trace this route in order that the stops are from Nanshao to the very end, rather than how I actually rode them that day. I am also not going to use my usual convention of italicizing Chinese pinyin, which I am not going to use properly with tone markers anyway. It gets really clumsy, and the subway maps do not print it this way either.
Nanshao for the last five years had been the end of the Changping Line. I acknowledge that back in 2011 it seemed like a middle of nowhere kind of place for a subway stop, but it was the closest to Changping town, the nearest population center. There were dozens of taxis and buses waiting to whisk passengers away to town or any of the new apartment complexes dotting the former countryside in all directions.
Nanshao these days is still an area very much under construction.
Again, since I was there during a holiday, I did not get an accurate sense of the number of passengers who still begin their subway ride here at Nanshao rather than the new stops. The parking lot was mostly empty when I was there. When we used to use this station, I never paid attention because we were in a hurry to get on the train and we often returned to Nanshao well after dark.
The next station is 北邵洼, Beishaowa. This is north of Nanshao.
The map of the station exits seems to wait for details to happen.
Some of the new stops on the Changping Line bear large murals that represent in some way the area near the the stop. At Beishaowa, there is this giant mosaic of what I referred to as "Changping Peaceable Kingdom." I tried to take a panoramic photo of it.
There are several elements of the image that show Changping as a livable haven of recreation. A land of fruit and plenty.
With tanks.
There isn't much of note in this immediate area--yet.
However, based on the size of the bicycle parking area, it appears to me that this station is expected to be used. Again, I was seeing these stops during a holiday time, so it could be that a normal Friday afternoon would see two-wheelers parked so densely and practically stacked atop one another.
This is the village of Beishaowa.
The next station is 昌平东关, Changping Dongguan. This is due west of Beishaowa. Near the Changping Walmart, this station is under a very busy intersection and commercial area. I know I am repeating myself, but I want to clarify that I took all these pictures during a holiday break! This crossing is usually impossible for cars and pedestrians alike on a normal afternoon.
Unlike Beishaowa, which seems to be waiting to become a needed station, Changping Dongguan already has destinations.
After this station comes the central Changping Station. This station serves the center part of town (like where we live), as well as China University of Petroleum-Beijing and the Changping campus of China University of Political Science and Law.
Changping Station also bears a mural depicting some of the ancient tourist attractions of Changping District. These include the Great Wall at Juyongguan and Shuiguan, the Cloud Terrace at Juyongguan, and the Silver Mountain Pagodas.
Since this stop lets passengers off in an already established town, the map is full of streets, parks, businesses, schools, etc.
After Changping is 十三陵景区, which could be translated literally as Thirteen Tombs Scenic Area. However, in this case the Beijing Subway kept the Romanized name consistent with the more familiar (to Westerners) "Ming Tombs."
The exits for the Ming Tombs stop sit at an interesting angle. Without a definite north-south-east-west intersection to define it thus, the Beijing Subway planners elected for a northwest to southeast diagonal.
The mural in this stop surprised me. It has been made to look like a classical Chinese painting, with most of the Ming Tombs tucked against the mountain backdrops.
The mural has a lot more detail than I would expect for a subway station. However, since this station appears will mostly handle tourists, and not daily commuters, I am sure that is intentional.
Above ground, the station exits are also more than just cinder block tunnels.
Two of the exits join up to the southern side of Jiantou Village. In addition to that village, there is very little at this stop, save bus stops under construction and black cabs. The Spirit Way is less than ten minutes drive from this station, and Changling, the largest of the Ming Tombs open to tourists, is only a few minutes beyond that.
The last stop on the Changping Line is 昌平西山口. On foreign language maps and apps it is called Changping Xishankou, the same name of one of the villages nearby.
This is another stop that will likely serve mostly tourists. At Exit A there is a campus of Peking University that is or was involved in "scientific research." Other than that and a middle school, there appears to be a whole lot of nothing at this station as well. The road between the exits isn't even finished yet.
These bus stops are TBD.
As I walked around, first toward Xishankou Village, then toward Jiantou Village, I was approached by several black cab drivers. I apologized to them; I didn't need a ride since I was just someone that had come up from Changping to look around.
I then asked two of them where arriving guests usually want to go from there. They listed off a few popular tourist sites, like the Ming Tombs and Badaling Great Wall, and then they talked about people coming up there to shoot guns. I was curious where.
The Olympic Shooting Range and the International Beifang Shooting Range are both close by, they told me.
And that, my friends, is an overview of the second phase of the Changping Line.
This newest part of the Changping Line has really been a booster to our quality of life in Changping. The whole extension seems it may help daily commuters and tourists alike. Currently, the stops are a mix of stations that have been almost too long in coming (like Changping Station) and ones yet on the way to being necessary (like Beishaowa).
If there is any lingering doubt that the any of new stops are needed, I took this picture just this past Monday when the kids and I took the train into Beijing. We had never taken the subway at around 8:00 in the morning. Previously we either went much earlier or much later, avoiding rush hour all together. As our train was was leaving Shahe University Park Station, one of the older stations that had already been in existence, I took this picture thinking that the train couldn't possibly hold any more people. And then we took on more passengers at the next stop, Shahe.
The carriage wasn't this full at Changping, but enough passengers were boarded at Changping that the kids could not get seats and I could not take a step in any direction. After Shahe we were lucky we could breathe (almost a year before the Changping extension was opened, the line was already the most crowded in Beijing at 7 to 8 people per square meter). We also could not get off at our intended transfer station Zhuxingzhuang, so we had to wait until we reached Xi'Erqi, the end of the Changping Line and change to a different line than we had planned. At Xi'Erqi we were amazed at the multitudes exiting the Changping Line and switching to Line 13 toward Xizhimen. We ourselves were going in the significantly less crowded, opposite direction.
Here's a very short time lapse I took of this same mass movement. If we had to deal with this crush of humanity, we would not even bother with the subway at all.
We waited and waited for the new extension to be completed. For several years, intersections in and around town were dug up, buried, and then re-dug up. This continued much longer than we expected, with no opening date announced.
Then, in December, there were some changes at the Nanshao station. The signs that indicated train direction and station sequence had been replaced to reflect some additional stops on the line. The train cars, too, had their line maps modified, too.
The stops on the new extension, though, were shrouded in mystery.
The mysteries are unveiled after the jump
Ta-daaa!
The new stations on the Changping Line opened in late December while our family was in the US. It wasn't until we returned in January that we were able to enjoy the convenience of a subway stop within walking distance from our apartment. Walking to the subway. My happy urban dream.
Of course, I was curious about all the other new stops as well. One cold windy afternoon in February right before Chinese New Year, I rode the length of the Changping extension. I actually started at the station closest to me, went out to the new terminus at 昌平西山口 and then back down to 南邵, the former terminus. Because the schools and most companies were already closed for the holiday, I did not get a full feel of the normal traffic level.
For this post, I am going to trace this route in order that the stops are from Nanshao to the very end, rather than how I actually rode them that day. I am also not going to use my usual convention of italicizing Chinese pinyin, which I am not going to use properly with tone markers anyway. It gets really clumsy, and the subway maps do not print it this way either.
Nanshao for the last five years had been the end of the Changping Line. I acknowledge that back in 2011 it seemed like a middle of nowhere kind of place for a subway stop, but it was the closest to Changping town, the nearest population center. There were dozens of taxis and buses waiting to whisk passengers away to town or any of the new apartment complexes dotting the former countryside in all directions.
Nanshao these days is still an area very much under construction.
Again, since I was there during a holiday, I did not get an accurate sense of the number of passengers who still begin their subway ride here at Nanshao rather than the new stops. The parking lot was mostly empty when I was there. When we used to use this station, I never paid attention because we were in a hurry to get on the train and we often returned to Nanshao well after dark.
The next station is 北邵洼, Beishaowa. This is north of Nanshao.
The map of the station exits seems to wait for details to happen.
Some of the new stops on the Changping Line bear large murals that represent in some way the area near the the stop. At Beishaowa, there is this giant mosaic of what I referred to as "Changping Peaceable Kingdom." I tried to take a panoramic photo of it.
There are several elements of the image that show Changping as a livable haven of recreation. A land of fruit and plenty.
With tanks.
There isn't much of note in this immediate area--yet.
However, based on the size of the bicycle parking area, it appears to me that this station is expected to be used. Again, I was seeing these stops during a holiday time, so it could be that a normal Friday afternoon would see two-wheelers parked so densely and practically stacked atop one another.
This is the village of Beishaowa.
The next station is 昌平东关, Changping Dongguan. This is due west of Beishaowa. Near the Changping Walmart, this station is under a very busy intersection and commercial area. I know I am repeating myself, but I want to clarify that I took all these pictures during a holiday break! This crossing is usually impossible for cars and pedestrians alike on a normal afternoon.
Unlike Beishaowa, which seems to be waiting to become a needed station, Changping Dongguan already has destinations.
After this station comes the central Changping Station. This station serves the center part of town (like where we live), as well as China University of Petroleum-Beijing and the Changping campus of China University of Political Science and Law.
Changping Station also bears a mural depicting some of the ancient tourist attractions of Changping District. These include the Great Wall at Juyongguan and Shuiguan, the Cloud Terrace at Juyongguan, and the Silver Mountain Pagodas.
Since this stop lets passengers off in an already established town, the map is full of streets, parks, businesses, schools, etc.
After Changping is 十三陵景区, which could be translated literally as Thirteen Tombs Scenic Area. However, in this case the Beijing Subway kept the Romanized name consistent with the more familiar (to Westerners) "Ming Tombs."
The exits for the Ming Tombs stop sit at an interesting angle. Without a definite north-south-east-west intersection to define it thus, the Beijing Subway planners elected for a northwest to southeast diagonal.
The mural in this stop surprised me. It has been made to look like a classical Chinese painting, with most of the Ming Tombs tucked against the mountain backdrops.
The mural has a lot more detail than I would expect for a subway station. However, since this station appears will mostly handle tourists, and not daily commuters, I am sure that is intentional.
Above ground, the station exits are also more than just cinder block tunnels.
Two of the exits join up to the southern side of Jiantou Village. In addition to that village, there is very little at this stop, save bus stops under construction and black cabs. The Spirit Way is less than ten minutes drive from this station, and Changling, the largest of the Ming Tombs open to tourists, is only a few minutes beyond that.
The last stop on the Changping Line is 昌平西山口. On foreign language maps and apps it is called Changping Xishankou, the same name of one of the villages nearby.
This is another stop that will likely serve mostly tourists. At Exit A there is a campus of Peking University that is or was involved in "scientific research." Other than that and a middle school, there appears to be a whole lot of nothing at this station as well. The road between the exits isn't even finished yet.
These bus stops are TBD.
As I walked around, first toward Xishankou Village, then toward Jiantou Village, I was approached by several black cab drivers. I apologized to them; I didn't need a ride since I was just someone that had come up from Changping to look around.
I then asked two of them where arriving guests usually want to go from there. They listed off a few popular tourist sites, like the Ming Tombs and Badaling Great Wall, and then they talked about people coming up there to shoot guns. I was curious where.
The Olympic Shooting Range and the International Beifang Shooting Range are both close by, they told me.
And that, my friends, is an overview of the second phase of the Changping Line.
This newest part of the Changping Line has really been a booster to our quality of life in Changping. The whole extension seems it may help daily commuters and tourists alike. Currently, the stops are a mix of stations that have been almost too long in coming (like Changping Station) and ones yet on the way to being necessary (like Beishaowa).
If there is any lingering doubt that the any of new stops are needed, I took this picture just this past Monday when the kids and I took the train into Beijing. We had never taken the subway at around 8:00 in the morning. Previously we either went much earlier or much later, avoiding rush hour all together. As our train was was leaving Shahe University Park Station, one of the older stations that had already been in existence, I took this picture thinking that the train couldn't possibly hold any more people. And then we took on more passengers at the next stop, Shahe.
The carriage wasn't this full at Changping, but enough passengers were boarded at Changping that the kids could not get seats and I could not take a step in any direction. After Shahe we were lucky we could breathe (almost a year before the Changping extension was opened, the line was already the most crowded in Beijing at 7 to 8 people per square meter). We also could not get off at our intended transfer station Zhuxingzhuang, so we had to wait until we reached Xi'Erqi, the end of the Changping Line and change to a different line than we had planned. At Xi'Erqi we were amazed at the multitudes exiting the Changping Line and switching to Line 13 toward Xizhimen. We ourselves were going in the significantly less crowded, opposite direction.
Here's a very short time lapse I took of this same mass movement. If we had to deal with this crush of humanity, we would not even bother with the subway at all.
Comments