LIFE / CULTURE
Shanghai Metro PSA on sitting etiquette goes viral on Chinese social media
Published: Jul 15, 2021 06:39 PM
Passengers on subway Photo: Sina Weibo

Passengers on subway Photo: Sina Weibo

A public service announcement from the Shanghai Metro on Wednesday about proper seating edict quickly went viral as netizens took to social media to vent their frustrations at passengers who get a little too comfortable on public transport. 

Space is hard to come by while taking the Shanghai Metro due to high traffic numbers. This was especially true on Friday, when the daily number of passengers in this Chinese mega city surged past 12 million to set a new record for 2021.  

The increased flow of traffic has made certain passengers' sitting preference a major issue since, as the metro pointed out in its PSA (Public Service Announcement), sitting with one's leg crossed over the knee makes it more difficult for people to pass by and therefore is not appropriate for public transport.    

The metro's PSA has become a hot topic on China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo, earning more than 100 million views. While some netizens said that they didn't think it was an issue, others flocked online to vent anger that they apparently had been holding onto for a long time. 

"It is actually something that drives me nuts, especially when I'm on the tube with a stroller… I would be less pissed that someone did this if they would at least move his or her legs back when I'm single-handedly struggling to push the thing forward, but most of the time, people just ignore me and end up leaving their dirty footprints on the stroller," Sandy Liu, a mom in Chengdu, told the Global Times on Thursday. 

"I'd have to say, my husband is one of those people… he is super tall, and crossing his leg over his knew actually makes the people sitting beside him look really squeezed in. I've heard people talk to him about this, but most of them become more tolerant when they see him also struggling to fit himself in the small seat," Yao, a woman in Beijing, told the Global Times. 

"I didn't realize I actually do it too, I mean cross my leg over the other. It's a habit of mine whenever I sit down. I never thought it could be a problem whatsoever," posted one netizen on Sina Weibo. 

The news inspired many netizens to post about other behaviors on trains that lack social courtesy - putting briefcases in the aisle, sneakily taking photos of others and the tapping on one's seat are all considered "rude" behaviors.

Some netizens emphasized that paying attention to how much space one gives to others not only reveals shows consideration, but also represents a city's civility and spirit. 

"Highly civilized societies are not just about rapidly developing the economy, culture and so forth, citizens' sense of respect for each other and their sense of responsibility to society truly reflects whether a society is really developed or not," Song Mingqin, a sociology expert, told the Global Times on Thursday. 

"I totally support the Shanghai Metro on this. Shanghai is one of China's most international cities; it shows what China is to the world. I hope not only us old Shanghainese will try to behave well, but everyone in the city can have the same mind set, as what they do represents Chinese to people worldwide," Li, a Shanghai local, told the Global Times on Thursday.