The elevators in China are always crowded during the rush hours: punchin’ in, break time (lunch), and quittin’ time. It’s common for as many to pile in as possible only to hear the warning siren go off indicating there are too many people (the “overweight!” light starts flashing too). In those cases, what usually happens is a few in the front get out and then get back on hoping to trick the alarm into not going off again. It’s common for people to be packed in like those little vienna sausages…you’re always touching a few people on all sides. Some more Americans visited the office the other day and were remarking at how uncomfortable this feels. It doesn’t bother me, I reckon; I just recognize this, think it’s normal, and forget about it. What’s more uncomfortable is trying to say something in Chinese and seeing someone tilt there head slightly at you and say the equivalent of “What?” D’oh!

Here’s an elevator shot. This one didn’t set off the alarm. I’ve seen it quite a bit more crowded: