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China Elevator Stories
“Are you headed to the airport?”
Our car is flagged down by a police officer in Shenzhen.
13/11/2014
Ruth Silbermayr
Author
It’s October 2014. My husband and I have just completed the strenuous journey from Austria to Southeast China with our baby son. In Shenzhen, we pack up all our belongings and send them to Northeast China. We’ve booked a flight to Changchun two days after our arrival in Shenzhen.
On the morning of our flight, a friend drives us to the airport in Shenzhen. It’s early, and the city is just waking up. At an intersection not far from the airport, a police officer flags our car down and asks:
“Are you headed to the airport?”
My husband replies: “We are.”
The officer says: “The airport has moved. You’ll have to turn right here.” He then gives us directions to the new location of the airport.
We quickly look up the street on Baidu Maps but can’t find the new airport. It’s shortly before 6 a.m. The officer asks: “When’s your plane?”
My husband tells him: “It’s at 7:30.”
The officer then says: “The airport is still a while from here. Why didn’t you start out earlier? You’re running out of time. The new airport is hard to find. How about you change drivers? We can arrange a driver for you. For a little money, he’ll take you to the airport.”
We politely decline his offer. Following his earlier directions, we turn right and arrive at the airport less than 10 minutes later, perfectly in time for our flight.
Have you ever had a similar experience?
This is part of the series ‘Conversations with Locals in China,’ where I share conversations with Chinese people on my blog.