and
shared bicycles are popular. For a time, riding a bright-colored bicycle on the streets of big cities seemed to be a trendy thing. However, for decades, bicycles are the most important and most favored transportation tool for Chinese people. As the former "bicycle kingdom", the most vivid business card is the bicycle torrent on both sides of Chang'an Street in the morning and dusk.
1950-70s
The first big item "28 bike"
In the 1950s and 1960s, bicycles were an absolute luxury and rare item for ordinary families. Whoever has a bicycle is even more "rich" than having a car now. The symbol of people's wealth in life and enjoying buying New Year's goods is "riding Beer's new bicycles and a thermos with colorful flowers." At that time, a bicycle was sold for more than 100 yuan, while the wages of ordinary workers were only 30 to 40 yuan per month. It was not easy to buy a car. Some large units came forward to handle "credit purchases" for employees to the state-owned commercial department. On April 29, 1953, the fourth edition of this newspaper, "The material life of Chinese workers has been greatly improved" reported: "Bicycles, watches, pens, radios and other relatively expensive commodities have opened up markets in many factories and mines. Not long ago, employees of state-owned Tianjin Steel Factory purchased more than 530 bicycles by installment payment."
At that time, in addition to riding on get off work and riding, bicycles were also used to carry weight transportation. The whole family wanted to buy some sinking things and pick up people from afar, and they all counted on this car. So although there are lightweight models, the most popular among Volkswagen is an extremely solid and load-loading 28-inch men's car that can carry a family of three. Children aged around ten years old all use this big "28 car". To this day, many people still have childhood memories of holding the handlebar, stabilizing the frame, slanting their bodies, and passing their calf through the gap below the beam.
People take good care of their bicycles. As soon as many people buy cars, they quickly wrap the beams, handlebars and other parts with different colors to prevent the paint from getting worn. Even if you are not wet from the rain, you should carefully wipe the bicycle with broken cotton yarn or old cloth heads every now and then, for fear of rust.
1978, as life gradually improved, the demand for durable consumer goods increased comprehensively, and "three turns and one sound" (bicycles, sewing machines, watches, radios) became a must-have item for everyone to get married and buy a property. As the first of the "big items", bicycles are out of stock everywhere, regardless of urban or rural areas, famous bicycles such as " Phoenix ", "permanent", and "feige" are even more in short supply, and even counterfeiting and reselling bicycles to purchase tickets, and merchants are reluctant to sell and use scarce products to build relationships.
Regarding the experience of buying a car in the 1970s, in the essay contest for "I and Beijing", an old reader Zhang Shuyuan recalled in "My Bicycle Resident": After working for a few years, the whole family was busy and wanted to buy a car, but at that time there were too few manufacturers who produced bicycles, and they were like sewing machines to supply them with tickets. It takes several years for a workshop of 180 people to get a ticket, and the distribution method is usually to draw lots. Those who are lucky enough to catch them, even if they can’t ride a bike, they must buy it for future children’s needs. Those who urgently need a bike are staring at each other and anxiously. My family has six people and three people have jobs, so they have more opportunities to get tickets by drawing lots. Once, the eldest sister is lucky to get one. On the day when we bought the car, we lined up and didn't pick up the car, so the salesperson pushed it out from inside. We excitedly took over the shiny black 28 permanent brand men's car, which was the first new car in my family ever! The ownership belongs to the whole family, the right to use belongs to me, and I expressly ordered that my younger brother would pass it to him after graduation and work in the future, just like when I was wearing blue cloth clothes, I passed it to him.
1980s
"one person, one car" bicycle kingdom
11981 In May 1981, the State Council held a national daily electromechanical products work conference and decided to vigorously develop the production of ten daily electromechanical products such as "bicycles, sewing machines, clocks, and televisions". All regions are striving to build bicycle factories and spare parts factories. In 1983, the actual production of bicycles nationwide reached 27.58 million.In July 1984, the State Council approved the report of the State Economic Commission, requiring the promotion of joint ventures, expand the production of high-quality bicycles, and ensure the open supply of famous brands and the cancellation of tickets within three years. By 1986, the national bicycle production reached 32.29 million in the first eleven months alone, which was equivalent to an average of one second when a new bicycle left the factory. The supply of
is constantly increasing, and the income is constantly increasing. Soon, many people ended their history of riding broken old cars and large men's cars. The streets are no longer the world of "black cavalry". There are many bicycles of various models, colors and styles, which is a grand view.
11 In the 1980s, bicycles in Beijing grew at an average rate of more than 500,000 vehicles per year. The number of bicycles has become an important feature of Beijing's transportation. By the end of the 1980s, Beijing, with a population of tens of millions, had already owned 8 million bicycles. Except for the elderly and children, the ones who could ride bicycles were almost as saturated as "one person, one car". During peak hours, there are almost 20,000 bicycles per hour for intersections such as Dongdan, Nanheyan, , Xidan, , etc.
Although the road conditions in Beijing have improved significantly at this time, and second ring road and third ring road were repaired one after another, the pressure was still huge in the face of bicycle torrents. In April 1986, the Beijing Municipal Government issued the "Regulations on Strengthening Bicycle Traffic Management": It is prohibited to travel in the opposite direction, ride on motor vehicle lanes, compete for roads, ride bicycles to lead people, chase and compete. This newspaper’s commentator’s article “For You, Me, Him” pointed out that bicycles are not “free bikes”. As cities become increasingly modern, urban traffic management will inevitably be stricter and more detailed, and people are increasingly required to drive and walk in an orderly and with a standardized manner. Gone are the days of riding whatever you want.
"Only by riding a bicycle really becomes a Beijinger"
In the heyday of bicycles, the impression of China and Beijing from an international perspective are indispensable for bicycles all over the streets.
According to Xinhua News Agency , from 1974 to 1975, George Bush, then director of the US Liaison Office in China, and his wife Barbara, often rode "flying pigeons" through the streets and alleys of Beijing. The photos of the two riding bicycles in front of Tiananmen Gate appeared repeatedly in newspapers and magazines. 15 years later, when Bush Sr. visited China as president, he received two "Flying Pigeon" bicycles.
1987, this newspaper held an essay contest for "Weili Cup Foreigners See Beijing". Experts, scholars, diplomats, and media reporters from all over the world submitted articles, and many people painted the shock of the "bicycle kingdom". Polish expert Leshek Adamchik wrote: "Bicycles are the most common means of transportation in China. Everyone in the world knows this. But it is not enough to know this. You need to ride a bicycle, boldly go to the streets of Beijing, and ride in the same direction with the bustling crowds. I think only then can you truly feel that you have become the residents of Beijing, the capital of China." Wei Ploden, president of the Royal Society of Public Administration of the United Kingdom, wrote: "Ride a bicycle in Beijing is a pleasure in itself, but it is more than what you can experience by cycling. The city is expanding rapidly, and tourists can walk very much. It is difficult to understand the whole picture. If you want, you can wander around the streets around Tiananmen Square , or you can start from there and ride east or west. You can turn into small alleys that are crisscrossing, all of which are located between the streets, and the road surfaces are mostly paved and clean. In many places, there are laughter and noise from households, hawking the vendors, and noise from small businesses, but in this noise, the only sound of vehicles that can be heard is the ringtone of bicycles. "These submissions also admit that traffic jams are becoming increasingly serious and traffic accidents are increasing, which makes Beijingers less fun to ride bicycles.
Even if foreign companies advertise, they often think of using bicycles to tell things.On January 3, 1989, this newspaper published an advertisement for the implementation of IBM's large-scale computer system in China in 4th edition, titled "Are we still the kingdom of bicycles in 2001?" 》In the advertising screen, a child stood behind the bicycle with his eyes wide open. The picture says: "In 2001, we may still be the country with the most bicycles in the world. However, in the entire transportation system, bicycles will give way and replace faster tools. The viaduct will occupy the sky of many big cities, and airplanes and trains will quickly expand the service network to cater to future transportation needs..." At this time, most Chinese people would not think about how far we are from the information expressway, nor would they think that the era of automobiles is coming with an astonishing acceleration.
1990s
Automobile era squeezed cycling space
Data shows that in the early days of the founding of New China, there were only 2,300 motor vehicles in Beijing, and it only grew to 77,000 in 1978, and it passed almost 20 years. In February 1997, Beijing's motor vehicles exceeded 1 million for the first time. Just 6 and a half years later, in August 2003, the number of motor vehicles in Beijing had exceeded 2 million - no one doubted that Beijing had completely entered the automobile era.
The dream of ordinary people to own a private car is gradually emerging, but what follows is the change in the bicycle riding environment, and many cyclists feel that the road is becoming more and more difficult to walk. In the 1990s, our newspaper reported on the issue of pedestrians and bicycles not complying with traffic regulations. The reporter found that although pedestrians and bicycles were seriously violating, they needed to reduce violations, and the rules and improvement of facilities were required. As for the configuration of urban mixed traffic lights, they are all for motor vehicles, and the right of way for non-motor vehicles such as bicycles belongs to motor vehicles. As soon as the green light lit up, motor vehicles and bicycles rushed in. On some sections of roads with many bus stops, cyclists are squeezed into the fast lane after riding for more than 100 meters. In addition, motor vehicles have been parked randomly for a long time to occupy slow roads and isolation belts, so many cyclists have to search for sewing and drilling in the long queue of cars.
bicycle transforms into a "trendy" equipment
Although the proportion of bicycle riding has decreased year by year as driving travel increases sharply, at the same time, bicycles are no longer a simple practical transportation tool, but have gradually gained new positionings such as fashion, sports, and leisure.
The reporter of this newspaper described in "Fashionization - New Features of Bicycle Demand" (April 11, 1993, Beijing Daily 2 Edition): Mountain bikes with novel styles and convenient riding, and variable speed bikes have become the mainstream of consumption. Among the bicycles sold, about 70% of the mid-to-high-end cars with a price of more than 600 yuan. In the late 1990s, a reporter visited the Beijing Bicycle Store and found that most of the stores were filled with popular styles such as mountain bikes, racing cars, stunt cars, and ordinary Volkswagens were squeezed into the corner. A group of bicycle enthusiasts spend a lot of money to equip themselves. A car with helmets, glasses and other protective equipment has become a big item in the family again.
The car players have become a unique urban landscape. On the street, many young people are riding bicycles on the left and right, jumping up and down... In 1998, the International Bicycle Expo was held in Beijing. Our newspaper "The Direction of Bicycles" (June 13, 1998, Beijing Daily Edition 5) reported the situation of the car players in Beijing at that time: several bicycle clubs have appeared in our city. The club members are in their fifties and sixties, and the young are in their twenty years. Most of their bicycles were saved by buying parts by themselves, and each car was worth five or six thousand yuan. These people are very skilled and brave, and dare to dive down the steep stairs on their bicycles. Whenever they have free time, they ride their car to hike, including Baihua Mountain and Dongling Mountain, wherever they are high and steep.
New century
Cycling is to choose environmental protection
2000, as the whole society's environmental protection concepts are increasing day by day, choosing bicycles instead of private cars has become a symbol of green travel. More and more people realize that bicycles are a good way to solve the "last mile" problem of urban transportation, and public bicycle systems have appeared in various cities. "Set up special lanes and return bicycles", and the calls for ensuring bicycle rights and safety are high. Regarding whether economic and environmentally friendly travel methods should be guided by economic leverage, this newspaper held a special discussion in 2009. The survey showed that 71% of Beijing News netizens expressed their support for "subsidies should be provided for cycling."
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