'Bicycle Kingdom' Makes a Comeback

Workers arrange public rental bikes in order outside a metro station at the Tongzhou district, Beijing, May 23, 2019. [Photo by Zou Hong/chinadaily.com.cn]

China was once considered the "Kingdom of the Bicycle," with bikes dominating city streets across the country. But over the past four decades, China's dramatic increase in economic prosperity and urbanization has seen many people shift to motor vehicles as their primary means of transportation.

In the recent five years, with the new digital technology, thriving sharing economy and rising environmental awareness, shared bikes and public bikes have gathered strong momentum, marking the return of the "Bicycle Kingdom".

A man with a mask rides on a public rental bike in Beijing, May 23, 2019. [Photo by Zou Hong/chinadaily.com.cn]

People walk past a bike rental site near Tiantan (Temple of Heaven) Park, on June 17, 2019. [Photo by Zou Hong/chinadaily.com.cn]

Cyclists bike on Beijing's first bike-only lane, which opened on May 31 near Longze subway station, on June 20, 2019. [Photo by Zou Hong/chinadaily.com.cn]

A worker places tires on bicycle wheels at the Golden Wheel Group factory in Tianjin, July 10, 2019. [Photo by Zou Hong/chinadaily.com.cn]

A large number of abandoned shared bikes are placed on the empty land of Zhangjialiu village, which is dubbed as "the graveyard for shared bicycles", in North China's Hebei province, July 9, 2019. [Photo by Zou Hong/chinadaily.com.cn]

People ride public rental bicycles in the snow in Beijing, Dec 16, 2019. [Photo by Zou Hong/chinadaily.com.cn]

Shared-bike riders cycle past the Tiananmen Tower in Beijing, Dec 30, 2019. [Photo by Zou Hong/chinadaily.com.cn]