Old Summer Palace is the official residence of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911 CE) emperors prior to its destruction by British soldiers during the Second Opium War in 1860. It is not only the namesake of the bus terminus, but it apparently drove through many areas which the old palace once stood.
The crews on board were a driver and a female conductor. The bus stopped for the first time at the South Gate of the Old Summer Palace. Four passengers got on. An old lady, a young couple and a young man. They sat at the front of the crew. Afterwards, the bus continued to move toward her destination.
After the bus passed by the north palace gate, the driver saw two shadows waving on the roadside. Since it was not an official stop, the driver at first wanted to ignore them. However, knowing his bus is the last bus, he thought he should be more considerate and pick them up.
When the bus stopped, three people got on. There were two men who supported the third man between them, holding him up by his shoulders. The man in the middle looked dishevelled and his head was bowed, no one could see his face. All three were dressed in traditional robes from the Qing Dynasty and their faces were deathly pale. They moved quietly to the back of the bus.
The other passengers on the bus got scared. However, the female conductor reassured them "Don't be afraid. They could be actors shooting a drama in the vicnity. They probably got drunk after work and forgot to change clothes."Afterwards, everyone calms down other than the old lady.
The old woman kept turning around and staring at the three strangers who seated at the back fo the bus. After 3 to 4 stops, the young couple got off the bus. Around this time, the old lady suddenly yelled at the young man sitting in front of her. She accused her of stealing her purse. The young man who had not taken her purse was both frustrated and perplexed. He tried to reason with the woman, who insisted they should get off at the next stop, go to a police station and settle the dispute. The young man was speechless but nonetheless complied.
When the bus stopped, the old lady dragged the young man out. The old lady breath a sigh of relief. "I just saved your life" She spoke to the young man. The young man was puzzled. However, the old lady told him the three people in traditional robes were ghosts. She told him that she was checking on them since they got on and noticed they don't have any legs. The young man was shocked at what he heard.
Indeed, the next day, Bus 375 failed to report back to the station. It went missing along with the driver and the female conductor. The old lady and the young man reported to the police station and told them what they saw.At first, the police was dismissive of their story. However, two days later, the police found the bus submerged in a reservoir, about 100 km away from its original route. Inside the bus, they discovered three badly decomposed bodies: the bus driver, the female conductor and an unidentified man.
To this day, no one knows what happened to the bus that night after the old lady and young man left. However, we know Bus 375 becomes one of Beijing most iconic urban legend.
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