Feature:Forallsomeopposition,subwaylineinChongqingkeepsopentoall_GuangmingOnlineLocalvillagerstakeatrainofChongqingRailTransitLine4toselltheirhome-grownvegetablesandfruitstotheurbanitesinsouthwestChina'sChongqing,March27,2024.TOGOWITH"Feature:Forallsomeopposition,subwaylineinChongqingkeepsopentoall"(Xinhua/WangQuanchao)CHONGQING,April16(Xinhua)--SinceitwasopenedtotrafficinJune2022,theRailTransitLine4ofsouthwestChina'sChongqingMunicipalityhasundertakenadifferentmissionfromitscounterparts.Itsfirstpassengerseverydayareabevyofvillagersfromitsdeparturestation,whocomeallthewaytoselltheirhome-grownvegetablestotheurbanites.Atabout5:30a.m.everymorning,onehourbeforethefirsttrainoftheline,theelevatorsintheShichuanStationstartoperating,welcomingtheregularsfromShichuanTownship.Virtuallyeveryoneofthelocalvillagerscarriedabasketontheirback,filledwithvariousvegetables.Thebeadsofmoistureontheleavestellexactlyhowthevegetableshadbeenjustpickedfromthefarmland.Becauseofsuchasignaturescene,thesubwaylineisalsonicknamedthe"packbasketline"bymanyChongqingcitizens."Beforetherailtransitservicewaslaunched,wecouldhardlysellourvegetablestotheurbanareabecauseittookustotransferbusestwiceorthreetimestogetthere--atleasttwohoursinonesingletrip,"ZhenFanping,a69-year-oldvillagerfromShichuan,recalled.However,nowwecandirectlytakethesubwaytothedestinationsinthecityproper,helpingsavemorethanonehourofthetrip,"headded.Forhimandhisfellowvillagers,theconveniencebroughtbythesubwaylineissomethingofanadvantage.Theirhome-grownvegetablescanbesoldatahigherpriceinurbanareas.Forinstance,garlicisusuallysoldat10yuan(about1.4U.S.dollars)foreverykilograminthecityproper,comparedwithmerely8yuanperkilograminShichuan.Also,accordingtoZhen,theirvegetablesaresoldoutmuchmorequicklyinurbanareas.Nevertheless,thepackbasketlinehasbeenunderfirerecently.Somenetizensholdtheviewthatthesebasketsoccupytoomuchspaceonthealreadycrowdedsubwaytrain,whichmaydisturbotherpassengersandevendamagepublicfacilities.Therefore,manyhaveaskedthesubwayauthoritiestobanpassengersfromcarryingpackbasketsandotherlargeitemsduringmorningandeveningrushhours.Hearingthesecomplaints,ChongqingRailTransitGroup,theline'soperator,repliedthatthepurposeofrailtransitservicesistoputpeopleinthefirstplaceandservetheirlivelihood."Aslongastheitemsthatourpassengerscarryconformtothelawsandrailtransitregulations,wewon'tdoanyinterference,"saysthegroup'sstatement.Thecity'ssubwayauthoritieshavelongsupportedthediligentvillagers,evidencedbymultipletailoredservicestargetingvegetablevendors."The'special'passengersappearedquiteunexpectedly,sowefeltflusteredatfirst.Aswegraduallyfoundthatmostofthevegetablegrowerswereseniorcitizensintheir60sand70s,webegantoadmiretheirdiligenceandresilienceandmadeupourmindstohavemorepatienceandcareforthemduringouroperation,"explainedLingXiang,headoftheShichuanStation."Peopleover65cantakethesubwaytrainforfree,andevenourtrainbroadcastisnowannouncedinthelocaldialect,whichismuchmorefamiliartotheseelderly,insteadofordinaryMandarinonotherlines,"Lingsaid."Wehavealsoarrangedsomestaffmemberstobestationedbesidetheelevators,entrances,andsecuritycheckpoints,alwaysstayreadytoreachoutahelpinghandforthem,"Lingadded.Theirunderstandingandconsiderateserviceshavealsoreceivedahurrahfromthevillagers.ZhouZhifang,66,alwayscarefullycleansthedustanddirtthatfallsfromhervegetablebasketbeforeshegetsoffthetrain."Whilewetakethesubway,thestaffisseeneverywhere,poisedtohelpus.Weshouldnotbotherthemmoreanddoourownpartaswecan,"saidZhou,addingthatsheandherfriendshavealllearnedtherailtransitregulationswordbywordtobetterobeytherules.TherewereoncesomesimilardisputesinHangzhou,eastChina'sZhejiangProvince.SomedoubtedHangzhouPublicLibrary'sdecisiontobeopentovagrantvisitors.Thereplyofthelibrary'sheadthenwentviralonlineandwasalsofrequentlyquotedbynetizensduringtherecentChongqingrailtransitdebate:"Idon'thavetherighttoprohibitthemfromenteringthelibrarytoreadbooks,butyouhavetherighttoleave."WangMeng,associateprofessoroftheCollegeofStateGovernance,SouthwestUniversity,saidthatChongqing'spackbasketlineembodiesthecity'sinclusivenessandfinegovernancephilosophy.Itsreplyalsoshowsoururbangovernancenowadaysisshiftingfromservingthemajoritytocaringforspecificvulnerablegroups,whileourpublicserviceischangingfromcommonandbasicservicestodistinguishedandfineones."ThethoughtfulnessandcaringunderlinedinoururbangovernancealsoepitomizeChina'srateofmaturationintermsofitsurbansociety,"Wangadded."Suchheartwarmingpracticescanshoreupthesenseofbelongingandinvolvementofthespecificgroupstowardstheurbanarea,aswellasmakeothercitizenslearnaboutthepositivechangesofthecitythemselves."LocalvillagerslineuptotakeatrainofChongqingRailTransitLine4toselltheirhome-grownvegetablesandfruitstotheurbanitesinsouthwestChina'sChongqing,March27,2024.(Xinhua/WangQuanchao)Editor:DisclaimerTheviewsandopinionsexpressedinthisarticlearethoseoftheauthor's,GMW.cnmakesnorepresentationsastoaccuracy,suitability,orvalidityofanyinformationonthissiteandwillnotbeliableforanyerrors,omissions,ordelaysinthisinformation.