This dialogue reminds us of our brief vacation in Changsha several years ago, when a few us of shared a bus with every single other inhabitant in the city. We're not sure what the occasion was, but it got so crowded the conductor basically gave up on collecting fares, while the rest of us gave up on our hopes of ever getting off the bus. The incident ended when the vehicle broke down in a traffic jam, giving us a much greater appreciation for the Beijing metro.

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