Right Way, Wrong Way, Get Out of the Way

It is hard to really appreciate the way different cultures approach roads and the rules pertaining thereto.
As an example, let's take the bike lanes along many of the main streets of Beijing. The bike lanes make up the outer most lanes of 2 way, divided highways and are supposedly set aside for bicycle riders. (They are also used as taxi waiting areas, bus stops, and pedestrian walkways, but the symbol painted on the road is clearly a bicycle.) Given that these lanes are essentially part of the road with only a white painting line for separation, it seems intuitive that any riders using the bike lane should be heading in the same direction as the automobile traffic. Seems intuitive - but it's not. Heading the wrong way down the bike lane is a very popular pastime.
This is probably due, at least in part, to the very large size of Beijing blocks and that you could conceivably need to go over a quarter of a mile out of your way to avoid going the wrong way down a street.
But whatever the cause, what is more interesting is that most people don't even seem to notice folks heading the wrong way.
When I am pedaling along and suddenly realize that there is someone heading directly for me, I tend to get a little annoyed. Occasionally, and this is under the extreme cases only, I may even grimace so as to give vent to my frustration. But I never notice other Beijingers reacting. Beijingers will even slow down and back off so as to allow the person riding against traffic right-of-way. And here is an interesting item, when riding against traffic, the correct location is closest to the curb – which is the left side. This means that even though Chinese people drive their cars on the right hand side of the road, and will ride their bicycles on the right hand side of a dedicated bike path (as opposed to a bike lane shared with motorized vehicles), when riding against traffic in a bike lane riders should keep close to the curb on the far left. It also means that, in case there is not enough room for the bicyclists riding with traffic to get around the against traffic riders, the with-traffic people get pushed into the car lanes and the against-traffic riders are safe at the curb.
Seems odd.
Maybe the (very) real danger of pedestrians leaping of the sidewalk and into the bicycle lane is considered a more fitting punishment for those who disrupt the flow.