Biking around Beijing

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Bike is one of the primary transportation types in China. This is probably one of the primary reasons why you are not going to see many overweight folks there (of course the food is another reason, it is mostly freshly prepared with a lot of vegies and no processed crap most of the western world like to eat).

This post is devoted to show many pictures with 2 and 3 wheeled bikes and a little video with our own riding around the city. We rented our bikes for a full day at the Bike Beijing bike rental place. They were very friendly, did not require deposit – I guess I look very trustworthy or maybe my teenage daughter was the key to it. We paid only 300 yuan to rent three of them for a full day.

You can watch the video via this embedded window or you can go via the following link and see it full screen. (http://chert.smugmug.com/gallery/13419553_9QVps#976592126_CwmjM-A-LB)

http://chert.smugmug.com/gallery/13419553_9QVps#976592126_CwmjM-A-LB

In China bikes are used for any imaginable purpose, such as beer delivery-

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or shit and similar stuff delivery

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or just some crap

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and more crap with as you can notice “Hello Kitty” all around it

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street cleaning “trucks”

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McDonalds anyone? you can do some home delivery if you get hungry for western food

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or you can get a little motorbike and put your hot girlfriend in the back

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maybe not

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what ever stuff he got there

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deliver some flat goods

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or this one is an enterprising old fella with cage full of pigeons.. I wonder… food or other type of exotic pleasure

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are there any rules for safety?

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you have to park those things somewhere

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and, of course majority of the bike use is by individual bikers. It was kind of boring to photograph them, but if you want to get a bike, here is a little street shop to get one, along with some snacks

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Chinese man like to stay cool in the summer and here how they do it. Most of them. Not women, yeah, that is unfortunate.

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Bikes get parked everywhere, sidewalks…

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fences (smart choice as you can lock to it)

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specially designed bike stalls

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but don’t leave it unattended for too long… they might start loosing some parts

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so it is really smart to park your bike at the paid parking lot with an attendant, it only cost a few cents per day but ensures safety of your equipment

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and finally for this post, the motorbikes are getting really popular, you can see a lot of them these days as well

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5 thoughts on “Biking around Beijing

  1. I really enjoyed this post. I ride a lot and think it has to be the way of the sustainable future. The Chinese are there already!

    1. the reality is that most Chinese are switching to motor bikes. I was there 20 years ago and everyone used bicycles, these days, it is half and half.

  2. Well, I guess you can’t blame them, really! Motor bikes have a number of benefits! But I like cycling and thought your series of photos was fascinating 🙂

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