Bicycling in Beijing

Beijing is known as the "Bicycle Kingdom." After three weeks here, I understand why.

Thousands, perhaps millions, of bikes roam the streets of Beijing daily and make traveling interesting. Every taxi ride features dozens of honks, which is more of a warning and less of a threat here in China. Every time you cross the street you have to beware because a red light means the cars stop but bikes can keep on going at their own risk. And just about every subway station has a slew of them organized in a way I cannot determine.

With the bikes present in everyday life, I thought about taking to the streets with some of my fellow students for a life lesson in bike riding. Think about riding a bike in Chicago and then add thousands of more bikes and more traffic. Thankfully, there are bike lanes on most streets in Beijing but that doesn't mean it's just that easy. The bike lanes are also where busses drop off and pick up passengers. So, instead of cruising in the bike lane you must enter the street and weave your way through taxis while constantly looking over your shoulder for cars creeping up on you. It was a blast. I haven't been sky diving or bungee jumping but I think this may rank up there with adrenaline rushes because there is no safety net. It's you, the bike and the city of 17 million people.

The image above was taken by me while riding near the Forbidden City.