A City to Cycle in

By LIN ZILONG

Many foreign tourists bike around Beijing – why don’t you?

Traveling to Beijing for the first time? Don’t get caught in, out, or up by culture shocks. Know how things should – and shouldn’t – be done to ensure your trip is a memorable one for all the right reasons.

Any traveler will tell you that biking around a city is the best way to explore it, and Beijing, with its flat roads, infrequent rainfall and endless diversions, is one of the most cyclist-friendly cities in the world. Or it would be, if there weren’t 12 million other commuters using those same roads. There are irate drivers that have apparently glued heavy weights to their horns. There are three-wheeled motors packed with polystyrene blocks to an astounding overcapacity. And there are onion-wielding old ladies that are likely to – no, will – wander straight into your path. It sounds chaotic, but in truth, it only makes cycling in Beijing all the more fun.

First, you’ll need to hire a bike (zu zixingche). If your hotel or hostel doesn’t provide a bike rental service (and many do), you could check out www.bicyclekingdom.com. They will deliver your cycle direct to your lodgings and charge a reasonable rent of RMB 60 per day (including delivery fee). Alternatively, you could just visit one of the city’s hundreds of bike shops. Some do rent (though they ask for large deposits and maybe a passport). But by employing the tactic of “blitzkrieg bargaining” (see next month’s Culture Shocks), you can buy an old boneshaker for a fraction of that price.

Then take that bike and hit the road, but do it with caution. Residents of Beijing develop sharp peripheral vision in early childhood that enables them to spot swerving juggernauts at the most acute of angles, and swiftly veer out of their paths. You will not have skills of this caliber. The golden rule, therefore, is to obey the rules. It might be tempting to follow a local cyclist through a red light, but for a novice on these streets, that is madness.

Always heed the traffic lights (hongludeng), and stay in the fulu cycle lane. Every busy road in Beijing has a fulu – it’s a kerbed-off side street that cars, buses and cyclists can use, with the lane for the latter clearly marked in white paint. That is at least the way it is supposed to work. But pedestrians often tire of the sidewalk and decide to stroll down the fulu, sometimes two or three abreast. If your bike has a bell, do not be shy about using it. Pedestrians, however, are slow-moving objects that are not made of metal, thus they won’t be your number one concern.

Your main enemies in the fulu are buses (gongong qiche) and cars (jiaoche). The latter has strengthened in number in recent years, as wealthier Beijingers have faithfully held up the global auto industry. Drivers regularly cruise down the fulu to beat the traffic or pull in somewhere, but sometimes they stop in the cycle lanes to make a call or chat with an old friend they just spotted.

Drivers generally slow down only at traffic lights. They will not slow down for you, even if you have the “right of way.” If one is pulling out from a side street and it’s going to be a close call, slow down, admire something, and let him go. It can be quite annoying, but you will have the last laugh when you pass him in the traffic jam that will surely lie ahead.

Buses too are every non-native cyclist’s nightmare. They invade – and pull out of – the fulu at will. The best thing to do when approaching a line of buses in the fulu is to get in the slipstream of a group of local experts. They’ll move collectively one way or the other like a shoal of fish until all have safely passed.

Fortunately cars and buses travel pretty slowly in Beijing, even when the roads are not clogged up. There’s usually plenty of time to get out of their way. And don’t worry about getting hit from behind. Remember those heavily weighed car horns?

At every major junction and at most of the smaller ones, you’ll see a number of xieguanyuan (a traffic warden for cyclists and pedestrians). You will notice that many cyclists ignore the risk of a whistle blasting and whiz straight past them, but you are advised to slow, if you see their multicolored flag waving you to stop. For starters, it is rude – day in, day out, xieguanyuan direct thousands of their charges around the same street corner in sometimes stifling heat. But at the same time, they just might save your life.

When the traffic lights have switched in your favor and the xieguanyuan starts waving you to go, beware the cars turning right. Smaller junctions are undoubtedly the most chaotic in the city. They usually lack filter lights, so during rush hour, an endless stream of cars, cyclists and pedestrians flows left, right and center. To avoid any mishap here, simply dismount your bike and stroll it over to the other side. And if in doubt about your safety at any junction, simply ride on until you find an overhead bridge and wheel the bike up and down its side ramps.

Due to rampant bicycle theft, you must be careful where you park. Fortunately most tourist attractions, shopping malls and parks possess a cunchechu (bike parking lot.) For the tiny fee of RMB 0.5, an attendant will make sure that your bike is still safe when you return from your activity. If you have a fancy-looking bike, they might charge you all of RMB 1. But be aware that this is not always a 24-hour service, so if you’re going to be out late, or staying somewhere overnight, it’s best to keep your bike close by. When dining in a restaurant, try to get a window seat and park in front of that.

Beijing bikes are for some reason prone to slow punctures, and even Lance Armstrong has fallen victim to the unpredictable variety. Neither is a problem in Beijing – wherever you are in the city, you can be sure there’s xiuchede (bike repair stand) within spitting distance. These are run by particularly amiable citizens who’ll pump you up (daqi) for RMB 1 or mend a puncture (budai) for about RMB 5. They’re easy to spot too – they operate out of mobile workshops that are usually green and have a bunch of tires slung over the top. Some offer only basic services like those described above, but others can perform almost any operation your bike might need to get back on the road again.

Beijing offers the cyclists literally thousands of interesting sights, from its magnificent ancient buildings to the curiosities of local life. The roads may have their perils, but one can either easily avoid or adapt to them. Some learn to cycle down the wrong side of a fulu, and dodge those onion-wielding women – within hours of biking in Beijing. It’s actually a challenging sport. Navigating – nay, conquering – the risky roads of Beijing is now the highlight of my day. If it were entered as an Olympic event in 2008, I’d surely represent my country.