It wasn't just the sub-standard English announcements that greeted all riders when the thing first opened two years (and a bit) ago. Nope, fact is now that Line 5 suffers from this very Jing thing — called overcrowding. Wake up early and head to Tiantongyuan and Tiantongyuan North stations to see the thing in action. It's next to impossible — especially once you've hit midway stops such as Beiyuanlu North (that "hedgehog stop", by the way).

So what's wrong with Line 5?

1. First and foremost, Line 14 isn't here. Like a romantic gentleman waiting for his beloved lady, Line 14, which — as the vox populi would like it — is not an inch closer to Tiantongyuan. The Net is already abuzz about ideas and plans to extend this into Tiantongyuan — one calls for Tiantongyuan South to be a Lines 5 / 14 interchange, and to call for another stop at Tiantongyuan East, with Line 14 heading into Wangjing. (Present-day plans see Line 14 ending at Laiguangying, just shy of Tiantongyuan.)

2. Not everyone's getting off at Lishuiqiao and taking Line 13 instead. You see, there's space further east...

3. The local infrastructure is a disaster. There's only one real trunk road heading over the river and actually in to Tiantongyuan. Local highways are under construction — and it's a real pain getting through there.

4. Gaps — even at 2 minutes 50 seconds a train — are still not enough. We want figures closer to 2 minutes or even 2 minutes 30 seconds.

Question to the Beijing Subway Gods: you getting this?...