Talking Travel: Your semi-regular roundup of Beijing's latest transportation-related news. Subway stations will finally have convenience stores World travelers will have noted a major difference between the subway systems of China and other metro systems in Asia – aside from a few lackluster vending machines, Chinese subway stations tend to suffer from a complete absence of shopping. At long last, the capital is aiming to change that as it promises to add convenience stores in at least a few stations around Beijing. The details – Which stations will be lucky enough to land the stores? When will they open? – are still hazy, except that you can expect to see them popping up sometime this year as part of a new effort to revitalize the city’s subway system with the aim of transforming it from a place of pure hustle-bustle into a pedestrian paradise of consumerism. To that end, the city also plans to build 71 “micro-centers” around certain stations that will connect the stations to areas of commerce and business. (Again, the details are – you guessed it – hazy.)