STOP PRESS: Major Disruptions Tomorrow

Tomorrow (Friday, September 18) will see widespread disruptions to public transport and traffic, especially in southern Beijing including the CBD, as rehearsals continue for the October 1 National Day parade. Disruptions are likely to be all day and widespread as people prepare for the afternoon shutdowns.

As always, the full list of closures is highly convoluted, but the key points as published this morning in the Chinese-language Beijing Times are as follows:

Subway Line 1: The last train going east will leave Pingguoyuan at 3.00pm, and the last train going west will leave Sihuidong at 3.30pm. After this all stations between Sihuidong and Fuxingmen will be closed in both directions. Trains will continue to run between Fuxingmen and Pingguoyuan on the western side of the city.

Subway Line 2: From 4pm stations between Jianguomen and Fuxingmen (ie stations on the southern section of the line) will be closed. Services will be reduced across the entire line.

Subway Line 5: From 4pm, Tiantongyuanbei will be closed at the northern end of the line, while at the southern end Songjiazhuang and Liujiayao will also be closed from 4pm. From 4.30pm Dongdan station will also be shut. Services will be reduced across the entire line.

Subway Line 10: Guomao station will be closed from 4.30pm.

All bus routes between Fuxingmen and Jiangguomen will not be operating all day Friday (September 18) and until 8am Saturday (September 19).

In other news, residents and businesses around Jianguomen Dajie, Dawang Lu and Guanghua Lu were issued notices from Jianwai Police Station yesterday, which stated:

1. All the stores on the streets of Dawang Lu and Jianguomen Lu must close at 13.00 (1pm) on September 18.

2. All the windows of the office and residential buildings on Dawang Lu and Jianguomen Dajie must be closed, and the viewing of those streets through windows or gathering near those roads will be prohibited.

3. All residents, staff and visitors living around Dawang Lu, Jianguomen Dajie and Guanghua Lu have to leave before 13.00 (1pm) on September 18 and will be able to return after 19.30 (7.30pm).

The restrictions seem to only effect buildings directly overlooking the relevant streets. It’s unclear whether buildings must be vacated at 1pm, or whether people simply won’t be able to leave their buildings between 1 and 7.30pm. It seems shops will certainly be closed.

In any case, things look set to be more than a little chaotic tomorrow afternoon in the southern part of the city.

You can read earlier posts on restaurant shutdowns around the capital for Oct 1 here.

In another restriction that’s going to leave numerous old men at a loose end, kite and pigeon flying have been banned in Beijing from September 15 to October 8, according to a missive from state news agency Xinhua yesterday.

In happier news, Xinhua also announced that the coming parade would feature "Fifty-two types of new weapon systems developed with China's own technologies, including airborne early warning and control (AEWC) aircraft."