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I'm in China next week, Nanjing and Shanghai, and was thinking of getting on a bike for a ride around. Anyone make an effort to do this when they were there?
I'm wondering if it could be a pretty distinctive experience, or whether it's nowt special these days, just like cycling round any other big city. Any thoughts?
No idea what it's like now but I cycled round a few places back in 1998 before there were that many cars. Rush hour in Shanghai was mental. Thousands (really) of bikes waiting at intersections for the go from a copper, then a mass movement swept you along.
Chengdu was the nicest place to ride. Usually a really heavy hire bike (Flying Pigeon). Pulling up at a tea house where a little old lady took about 2 pence for secure parking.
HK was a bit different. Think Oxford St on steroids.
i rode a bike around beijing for about 2 weeks in 2004 (i think!). Bought it off a bloke at a bike repair place (every street corner had a man who would fix punctures etc) for about £3.50 and sold it when i left for about £4 to someone in the hostel i was staying in. Got a few funny looks from the locals, but was a really good way to get around. bike lanes were as big as car lanes, although i fear it will be a bit different now as car ownership seems to have rocketed in the past couple of years.
it's crazy but fun if you enjoy crazy riding... pretty much no rules other than to do what everyone else does. in Shanghai the Taxis will ride within 1" of you, but you have to trust they won't actuly touch you. stay with the rest of the riders and enjoy the crazy sights of overloaded and very wide bikes.
Spent a day riding in Shanghai(city) and Suzhou (lakes area) with these guys [url= http://www.chinacycletours.com/ ]- china cycle tours[/url]. They were great. Lots of options through them. Would definately recommend them.