Straddling the yellow line

Hangzhou has been preparing for the G20 Summit for some time, and citizens of all ages have come out to celebrate in the lead-up to the big event, some in unconventional and spontaneous ways.

From Aug 20-31, boulevards along the famed West Lake were cordoned off to regular traffic, with access limited to pedestrians. Without traffic to worry about, people took the opportunity to come out in droves to enjoy the view and take snapshots. Streets, empty of cars, became venues for spontaneous partying.

People took snapshots of themselves straddling the road’s yellow line. They not only crossed it, but reclined on it or danced on it, even creating multi-person geometric formations around it.

Social media carrying such photos quickly whipped a random act into a typical "Hangzhou wind", a fad that somehow engulfed the city with jubilation.

"I wouldn't be able to say I had visited the lake if I did not have a few such photos in my cellphone," said Sun Yirong, an English language professor at a local university.

Sun went to Beishan Road twice on recent mornings and after spending two years learning how to dance, she put her fancy footwork to good use in an unusual setting. To share the fun, she brought some of her classmates from the dance studio.

"I think it was a moment to remember and savor because Hangzhou people are known for their traffic civility," she explained. "It's a bit surreal to have the streets suddenly so quiet and empty and then people coming out and showing their wild side by posing on the yellow line. They help to create a special vista of beauty in the heat of summer."

Sun went on to add that G20 has given her city a chance to beautify the streetscapes with lighting and greenery, bringing out the innate flavor of the city's culture. "It has turned Hangzhou into a bona fide paradise on earth," she said.

Hangzhou police have cautioned that those frolicking on the street should still abide by traffic rules because a few special vehicles and some bus routes are still allowed within that perimeter. But just like the ubiquitous security personnel who go out of their way to be polite, the police warning was phrased as a gentle reminder rather than a stern reprimand.

Hangzhou has always been compared to a beautiful and gentle-mannered lady, but given the opportunity she can flash a free-spirited streak.