Getting around Beijing

How, when competing with a population of 12-15 million people does one navigate Beijing? [population: 1, 2, 3, interestingly, 2 and 3 are from the China Daily, a daily English language newspaper, months apart, and reporting different counts.] Beijing's highway system reminds me of Houston: there are a bunch of expressway rings around the city.

I can think of these:

• On foot
• Bicycle
• Bus
• Subway
• Taxi
• Personal vehicle

Foreigners are not allowed to drive in Beijing, with the exception of ex-pats in residence, who may endure the red-tape for a Chinese driving license. Still, with that license, you cannot drive outside of Beijing proper, period.

Driving in Beijing is not for the weak however: traffic is chaotic, but somehow, it seems to work. There's no such thing as a left turn signal, even at major intersections. Vehicles just push their way through an interesection when making a left turn, and oncoming traffic actually stops. The basic rule is that the larger vehicle has right-of-way, although my taxi drivers slightly cut off busses once in awhile.

With the expansive scale of the city, only nearby destinations are reasonably reached by taking bus number 11 - Chinese slang for walking. Most visitors will travel from place to place in a taxi.