Elbow!!
Elbow - you discover this otherwise-forgotten-limb of your body when you take a public transport of any nature in Shanghai - including the taxis !! Very like Indians, people here believe that an opening (in the form of door) is a precious commodity and needs to be made complete use of. As a result, at a bus stop or at a metro stop - both sides - insiders and outsiders - vie for that small opening. Result is a chaos - and that's where you discover this elbow. You learn to use it to define your personal space or use it as shield or in rare cases as weapon !! You learn the real meaning of elbowing your way in.

In case of taxis, you have to use it to prevent someone else from getting into the taxi that you have hailed after a long search. Politeness does not count and only makes you wait longer. Elbow comes (literally) handy. You need to learn the trick to open the door with one hand and position other elbow as blockade for someone trying to sneak in. Its kind of fun to watch this manuvere from a distance andthough it can be quite painful actually enacting it !
(C) Abhijit Tongaonkar - 2006