Crossing the Street

At least in my part of China, is quite different from the likes of what one expects in Canada (as my big sister warned me about in a highly panicked manner incessantly before my departure).  I was, in fact, thankful for warnings of this change in social norms around street corners and intersections because it really is quite a change to wrap your head around.  I feel qualified to say that I have (finally) mastered the skill of crossing the street in China.
The first thing that I noticed about Chinese roads was that they are extremely wide compared to what I am used to in Vancouver.  Bearing that in mind, many people who are new to Vancouver often complain about how narrow the lanes feel sometimes.  Although the lanes here look extremely wide, drivers only use them as guidelines.  There are also usually at least 4 or 5 lanes on each side of the road.  In the center of the road there is rarely just a yellow line like we see in the west, no there is actually a physical barrier of some kind, usually a metal fence of some kind.  Drivers routinely make u-turns around this fence in order to go back and forth throughout the city.  Crosswalks are everywhere and they are extremely well marked with red and white lines that look like they were freshly painted a week ago.  Where the center median of the road would usually be where the crosswalk goes is replaced by small little metal poles sticking up out of the ground that are tightly spaced apart.  On one end there is a bigger space for people on bikes or motorcycles to cross.  You have to cross the street one lane at a time.  The lane closest to the sidewalk is reserved for motorcycles and bikes and buses.  Once you cross that lane, you have about 3-4 lanes of cars or trucks to deal with.  They will never slow down for you (sometimes they speed up!) but you can just wait in the space between the lanes each time until you get to the median.  The cars will always make room for pedestrians waiting in the middle of the road though since there isn't much space to wait there.
You have to get used to their way of maneuvering through motorcyclists because they actually expect you to keep walking so they will simply turn around you as you walk forward so one should not stop like you would in Canada.  I actually prefer this way of dealing with traffic because there is never any uncertainty.  You just go when you can.  Period.
Another thing I noticed about commuter differences between China and the west is the use of the horn in cars and trucks.  Drivers use it more to indicate to others that they are trying to pass them and it is far more polite here than in the west.  If a driver honks at you it basically means "hello, I am in your blind spot and I'm just letting you know I'm coming up behind you to pass so don't suddenly change lanes".  Drivers will do whatever they need to negotiate with the traffic and get ahead.  I have noticed that most cars on the road are rather new and expensive.  Not much of a change in that regard to the likes of Vancouver.