China’s first aerial bike path spans nearly five miles, raised over streets and highways and connecting six public transit hubs in the heart of Xiamen. If the new route is even close to as successful as its designers and planners expect, it could help usher in a new cycle-centric transport paradigm across the country.

Sixteen feet wide, the bike-and-pedestrian pathway network can accommodate 2,000 or more bicycles per hour. At night, 30,000 lights allow travelers to continue using the paths safely. Its planners anticipate an influx of ridership and have a system in place to actually close down the on ramps if too many bikers are already on the path.

Some sections of the cycleway are positioned under overhead mass-transit express lanes, offering some shelter from the elements (and less noise than riding alongside). Along the route, riders access the system via a variety of ramps tied into the city bus and subway system, aiming to bridge the gap between various forms of transportation.

Would-be bikers can also pick up bicycles via a ride share system positioned at entry and exit points. If the system does reach full utilization, city officials may extend the network further in the near future. Other cities in China (and around the world) can also look to this integrated system for inspiration for similar bike-oriented urban design strategies.

Initial plans to develop a lane-spanning bus in China were met with great enthusiasm but some skepticism, the latter of which is now being addressed via a real-life, full-sized prototype.

The idea is simple: a bus that arches over traffic is neither hinders nor is hindered by other vehicles on the road. Its mass and reduced need to start and stop also make the bus more sustainable than most transit options in terms of energy efficiency as well.

The mega-vehicle is spacious and vast, 72 feet long, 25 feet wide and 16 feet tall. With seven feet of clearance, leaves plenty of room below for ordinary road vehicles.

The bus runs on specialized tracks on either side of two-lane traffic roadways and can carry up to 300 passengers at top speeds of up to 60 miles per hour.

Since the concept has been demonstrated, countries including Brazil, France, India and Indonesia have expressed interest in the TEB-1 system, hoping to deploy it on their own congested urban roadways.

A Chinese transportation company behind a lane-straddling bus design (which passes over lanes rather than occupying them) is moving from scale to full-sized test models this summer. The plan is to introduced fully-functional models of these “land airbuses” to (or: above) the streets of Beijing over the next few years.

The inspiration for this seemingly-novel design dates back to a 1960s “Landliner” proposed for New York City that would likewise ride on side rails adjacent to roadways. Cars would simply pass beneath the buses uninterrupted, moving faster than the bus in high traffic and allowing the bus to move over traffic jams. Such a system would be a fraction of the cost and effort compared to subway systems or even raised railways.

In China, these new buses would hold up to 1,400 passengers each and cruise at up to 40 miles per hour, which sounds slow until you consider they do not have to stop for traffic. Running on electricity, these designs would reduce the need for conventional buses and cut polluting emissions. As a cyberpunk bonus: cars passing beneath these vehicles will see digital simulations of the sky above.

For now, Transit Explore Bus is constructing a life-size model in Changzhou. This will allow real-time testing with actual cars, intersections and infrastructure, facilitating further refinements and eventual street deployments. For a country with serious pollution and traffic problems, this kind of solution could be just what is needed – for each new super-bus, 40 ordinary buses can be taken off the roads.

An experimental pedestrian fast lane system deployed in England allows speedy walkers to circumvent gawking tourists and window shoppers.

Implemented by retailer Argos adjacent to a shopping complex in Liverpool, the Fast Track is a trial run (or: really fast walk) for separating dawdlers from power walkers.

If it seems like a marketing stunt, consider this: close to 30,000,000 Brits favor fast lanes for busy pedestrian thoroughfares. Close to a third surveyed in a recent study responded that they would approve of some consistent solution to slow-moving foot traffic.

As in similar attempts elsewhere, like NYC’s half-joking painted pavement markings dividing New Yorkers from Tourists, the aim is to provide clear paths for different paces, segregated by speed, cellphone use or other factors, indoors or outside.

This latest variant may only be temporary, but a store spokesperson says it is there by popular demand and if successful the same idea could continue to spread to other private and public spaces.

Holloways (or: hollow ways) are desire paths gone wild, reflecting centuries or even millennia of informal use, slowly transforming them from flat paths to sunken lanes and, in some cases, semi-subterranean tunnels worn right into the Earth.

Eroded by foot traffic, farm animals, laden carts and the passage of water, many of these remarkable half-tunnels are thought to date back to Roman times. Their development is often aided by the presence of softer ground materials like sandstone and chalk.

Over time, trees can be found on either side, reinforcing the impression of a completely-enclosed tunnel. Some plants also thrive in the peculiar light and temperature conditions formed by these passageways.

In times of war, holloways have served as passages as well as defensive positions, effectively serving as already-existing trenches for troops in the Civil War and World Wars. In Germany, a network of holloway hiking trails winds for dozens of miles at up to 15 feet deep. In the Middle East, many holloways are thought to be thousands of years old.

While most examples formed naturally over time, some younger ones were simply created to facilitate irrigation, cut through hills or for other purposes, their presence then reinforced by foot or vehicle traffic over the years. Photographs by Jean-François Gornet, Olybrius, Romain Bréget, Jean-François Gornet, David Coombes, Nigel Mykura, Jibi44, Tim Green, Andrew, h/t AtlasObscura.