Picture of the Day: Parking Issues

A few months before the Beijing Olympics, it was announced the capital had 3 million cars on its roads.

And now less than a year and a half later, there will soon be 4 million, as some 1,500 new cars join the city's streets everyday. Pretty soon we're going to have gridlock.

One of the big problems drivers here claim is trying to find a parking spot. There aren't automated parking meters on the streets -- instead spots are manned by lowly men and women who have to stand around all day collecting money or at least making sure drivers pay, as some try to drive off without paying a yuan.

In this picture it seems cars can parallel park in any direction, and in the case of this Honda SUV, perpendicular parking is accepted too.

Ah, the Chinese are so pragmatic.