The students would emerge on their bikes, in the tens of thousands, seemingly out of nowhere. Like a flash mob on wheels, they rode for hours in the night, by the light of streetlamps, sometimes bursting into verses of the Chinese national anthem. Some carried Chinese flags.
They were making the 64km journey from the Chinese city of Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan province, to the neighbouring city of Kaifeng, a cycling trip that can take up to five hours one-way. Why? For the sake of it. It isn’t clear when the craze really took off, but by early this month, it was drawing hundreds of riders seemingly every night.
At first it had been celebrated online and even by the People’s Daily, the Communist Party mouthpiece, which described the night rides as “a symbol of youthful energy and the joy of shared experiences.” But over the weekend, after the number of riders swelled to the tens of thousands in a country where officials are increasingly wary of impromptu crowds, local authorities shut it down, citing traffic and safety concerns.
The nighttime escapades started in June when four college friends in Zhengzhou decided to bike to Kaifeng to eat a type of soup dumpling that is the city’s specialty, Chinese media has re ported. Soon, hordes of college students were making the trip, too, helped by easy access to shared bicycles that are cheap and ubiquitous in many Chinese cities. The students posted photos and clips of their own journeys online with the caption: “Youth has no price tag”.
The night unfolded like a rolling street festival, with cars in adjacent lanes blasting music. And some bursting firecrackers. At one point, a rider appeared with a national flag, spontaneously prompting the crowd to break into the national anthem. “There was this really powerful energy,” one witness said. At first, officials had encouraged the craze, which was seen as good for business. But the welcome quickly turned into criticism. On Friday night, photos and videos showed bikes filling up a multilane road between the two cities. By then, the trend had spread beyond college students. The next day, both cities announ ced Saturday night, they would close the lanes for non-motorised vehicles — that is, bikes.
Some bike rental firms announced that their bikes would lock if residents attempted to take them out a designated zone within the city. Police officers were stationed at several intersections, blocking access to the highway. “More and more people were beginning to worry about the hidden dangers of the large gathering,” Kaifeng public security bureau said.
China has cracked down on other spontaneous gatherings. Last month, Shanghai police turned out in force to deter a repeat of 2023 Halloween rally in which some revellers wore costumes poking fun at govt.
