杭州觀察 (三)

 

馮儁熙

 

二零零三年九月十四日

 

公車

 

「乘客們，浙江大學西溪校區到了。下車時，請不要忘記你的隨身物品。開門時，請注意安全。下車後，請走人行道。過馬路，請走人行橫道。浙江大學西溪校區到了。This is Zhejiang University Xixi Campus. Passengers who go to Zhejiang University Xixi Campus, please leave here.」

 

每天乘公車上學，都會聽到這樣的廣播，我也懂得背了。想不到在杭州，公車上也有英語的廣播。當然，不是每一個站都這樣。主要是那些旅遊點，大學和政府機關，才有英語翻譯。但無論如何，這已是一種進步。就算是香港，我們的巴士也不是每一架都有廣播，更不要說劍橋了。

 

這兒的公車是不用按鈴的，換句話說，即是每一站都停。窗子是有窗簾的，因為有時候陽光很猛烈。但有一樣東西，我來杭州前沒有想到他們也有使用（但我那些英國同學就從未有機會見過的），那就是他們的IC卡，即我們香港的八達通，新加坡的Easy Link。如果他們用IC卡乘車的話，還有折扣呢。不過要增值的話，就沒有香港這麼方便，他們要走到公車公司的特定辦事處才行。

 

杭州市內的公車，主要是單層的，但也有雙層的。這裡的雙層公車與我們香港的有一個不同，就是它們有兩條樓梯，換言之，座位也就少了些。這兒另外也有些雙車卡的長車（像地鐵的車廂與車廂之間一般的連接起來），以及用架空電纜的公車（即沒有路軌的電車）。但對大家來說，單層雙層沒有所謂，重要的是，炎炎夏日，公車有沒有空調。在這兒，空調公車會在路線號碼前加一個“K”，例如２１路公車就成了K21。K代表“空”（Kung）。一般公車票價一元，空調公車則收二元。在這炎熱的天氣下，花多一塊錢也是值得的。

 

空調公車除了有空調外，還有電視。對於我們香港人來說，那當然是司空見慣的了。但想不到，杭州也這麼緊追潮流步伐。也許，對於我們劍橋的英國同學來說，這也可能是來到中國的一個「發現」了。和香港的一樣，公車上的電視是由一間獨立的公司來負責。除了必有的廣告以外，也有新聞資訊節目，遊戲節目，MTV，和電影宣傳。但最有趣的是，竟然有Mr. Bean。但以我的觀察，所有的笑聲都是來自電視的，雖然不少對眼睛都沒有離開螢光幕。

 

廣東話對我來說，總是格外親切，特別是離鄉别井時。雖然我對流行曲興趣不大，但是每當在公車上聽到廣東流行曲時，我總會留心地聽。對於港產片的宣傳短片也一様。

 

還有，這些空調公車在乘客下車的中門那裡裝有閉路電視，這連接至司機那兒的一個小電視螢幕。司機就可以透過閉路電視看清楚乘客下車時的情況了。

 

另外，杭州人也是挺講究文化的。在公車的前門旁，通常都掛有一幅書法。上面寫的都是千古傳頌的名詩名詞名句，如蘇東波(1037-1101)的《念奴嬌．赤壁懐古》：「大江東去，浪濤盡、千古風流人物．．．」

 

乘公車，是可以有助了解當地社會的。

 

這裡的人，在我看來，排隊觀念很弱。等車上車，根本沒有人排隊。上車時總是爭先恐後，年紀愈大愈是這樣。當然，這與他們的成長背景有關，不可苛求。讓座給老人家這美德卻沒有失傳，時有見之，甚幸。車上年青男女親暱接吻者，少之又少，此亦與當今西方社會之一別也。

 

在車上，亦常聽到本地人以杭州話聊天，尤其是長者。年青人比較多用普通話，特別是來自全國各地的大學生。至於衣著方面，年青人中，衣著光鮮時髦者亦不少，與我們香港人分別不大。但勞動階層的阿公阿伯和那些年青的專業人士之間，差距就大得多。總體來說，這兒的長者要比香港的長者來得貧窮些，衣著自然更加簡樸。

 

透過觀察日常生活中的每一方面，我們可以對一個地方的人民生活有一定的掌握，勝過單單看書。

 

第一次修訂於二零零三年十月一日

第二次修訂於二零零三年十月三日

 

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Observations in Hangzhou (3)

 

Isaac Chun Hai Fung

 

14th September, 2003.

 

Bus

 

 “(In Chinese) Passengers, this is Zhejiang University Xixi Campus. When you get off, please don’t forget your personal belongings. When the doors open, please be careful. After you get off, please walk on the pavement. When you cross the road, please use the zebra-crossing. (In English) This is Zhejiang University Xixi Campus. Passengers who go to Zhejiang University Xixi Campus, please leave here.”

 

Everyday on my way to lectures, I will hear this broadcast on the bus, which I can now recite. I could not imagine that even in Hangzhou, there is English broadcast on the bus. Of course, it is not the case for every stop. Only at the tourist attractions, universities and government offices, that there is English translation for the broadcast. Anyway, this is already a progress. Even in Hong Kong, we do not have broadcast on every bus, not to mention Cambridge.  

 

Here, there is no bell for you to ring on the bus. In other words, buses stop at every stop. There are curtains for the windows, as sometimes the sunshine is so bright. However, there is one thing, which I have never imagined that it would be used in Hangzhou before I arrived here – IC card. We call it Octopus in Hong Kong while the Singaporeans name it Easy Link. (My British friends in Cambridge have never seen something like this before.) If they use IC cards to pay their bus fare, there is a discount too. However, if they want to add value to them, it is not as convenient as in Hong Kong. They have to go to the destined offices of the bus company to do so.

 

The majority of buses in Hangzhou city are single-decked, but there are also some double-decked buses. Those double-decked ones, different from that in Hong Kong, have two staircases. Thus, they have fewer seats than that in Hong Kong. There are also buses of two coaches joined by a connection like that in the MTR (i.e. Metro) in Hong Kong and buses using overhead cables (i.e. trams without rails). However to most of us, it does not matter at all whether the bus is single-decked or double-decked. What really matters is whether it is air-conditioned in such a hot summer day. Here air-conditioned bus is designated with a “K” before its route number. Say, bus number 21 will become K21. K stands for Kung, the pin-yin of the first word of “Air-conditioned”. The fare of normal bus is 1 yuan (around 8 pence) and that of air-conditioned bus is 2 yuans. In such a hot weather, it is worth to spend another yuan.

 

In addition to air-conditioning, you can also find TV on air-conditioned buses. To us Hong Kong people, it is such a common thing, but I guess to my British friends in Cambridge, it might be a “discovery” in China. Anyway, I could not imagine that Hangzhou can catch up with the pace of the trend so quickly. Just as that in Hong Kong, the TV channel on the bus is managed by a separate company. Besides the commercials, which are really a must for the company, there are also news and information, games shows, MTV and publicity for movies. But the most interesting thing is that, there is even “Mr. Bean”. However with my observation, all the laughter comes from the TV, although many pairs of eyes have not moved away from the screen.  

 

Cantonese always give me a warm feeling, especially when I am away from home. Although I am not particularly interested in pop music, whenever there are Canton-pop being broadcasted on the bus, I will pay special attention to it. It is the same for movie clips from Hong Kong.

 

Furthermore, there is a hidden video camera behind the middle door of the bus where the passengers get off. It connects to a TV screen next to the driver, through which the driver can see clearly how it is getting on there when the passengers get off.

 

The people of Hangzhou are in a sense quite cultural. Next to the front door of the bus, a piece of Chinese calligraphy is usually hung there. It is always a famous poem or verse, which has been widely acclaimed for ages, e.g. Su Dong-po’s (1037-1101) “Remembrances at the Red Cliff” (or “Recalling Antiquity at Red Cliff”): “The Great (Yang-tze) River flows towards the east/ Waves disappear/ Bright and famous people in the past…” (translation according to the Contemporary Chinese Dictionary, p.841)     

 

Travelling on the bus, may be useful for us to understand the local society.

 

From my point of view, the concept of queuing-up is very weak among the people here. No one will queue up whether when one waits or gets on the bus. Everyone rushes to be the first to get on, especially the elderly. Of course, we should not complain, as this is related to their upbringing. On the other hand, it is good to see the virtue of giving up seats for the elderly is still being practiced here today. Contrary to the contemporary Western society, there are very few young couples kissing (or doing other intimate actions) on the bus.

 

On the bus, one can often hear local people speaking in the Hangzhou dialect, especially among the elderly. Among the young people, Mandarin is more common, especially among the university students who come from places all over China. Regarding to people’s clothing, there are quite a lot of young people dressed in fashion, and so not that different from the Hong Kong people. However, the difference between the elderly of the working class and the young professionals is significant. Overall, the elderly here is poorer than their counterparts in Hong Kong, and so their clothing is much simpler.

 

Through observations in every aspect of daily life, we can have a better grasp of a people’s life than just reading a lot of books.

 

First revision on 1st October, 2003.

Second revision on 3rd October, 2003.

 

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