STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
People who talk about the transformation of China often mention the streets. Decades ago, Chinese cities had very few cars. Millions of people rode bikes instead. That has changed now that China buys and makes millions of cars, to the point where some residents turn to an old way to beat the traffic. NPR's John Ruwitch joined them in Beijing.
ZHANG YUCHEN: (Speaking Mandarin).
JOHN RUWITCH, BYLINE: Thirty-two-year-old Zhang Yuchen shows me how to unfold a folding bike.
ZHANG: (Speaking Mandarin).
RUWITCH: The seat post and handlebars go up. Front wheel pivots out. Back wheel clicks into place.
(SOUNDBITE OF BIKE CLICKING)
RUWITCH: And we're ready to ride. Zhang is part of a bike club for enthusiasts of Brompton bicycles. It's a British brand of commuter bikes that fold down to the size of carry-on luggage. They're functional, if a little quirky. We meet up with about 20 other club members in a small square between the imperial Bell and Drum Towers, north of the Forbidden City.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (Speaking Mandarin).
RUWITCH: The ride leader ticks names off a list, and then we set off.
So today's ride is, like, a 20-kilometer bike ride, basically through the alleys of Beijing.
This ride is strictly for fun. It's a holiday. But Zhang says he turned to biking out of frustration with Beijing's horrible rush hour traffic. Biking has cut his commute time in half, he says, and it's given him something else.
ZHANG: (Through interpreter) I can say that while cycling, I feel integrated into the city. I become a part of the environment. In contrast, sitting in a car feels more like being a spectator, because I'm not actively engaging with the city around me.
(SOUNDBITE OF BIKE BELL CHIMING)
RUWITCH: A few minutes into the ride, I ask how it's going.
(Speaking Mandarin).
ZHANG: (Speaking Mandarin).
RUWITCH: "It's pretty satisfying," he says.
ZHANG: (Speaking Mandarin).
RUWITCH: "If you want to understand Beijing's alleys," he says, "riding a bike is a pretty good way to do it."
(SOUNDBITE OF BIKE BELL CHIMING)
RUWITCH: Cruising some of the capital's oldest neighborhoods is also a reminder of a time when China used to be called the kingdom of bicycles - in the 1980s and '90s, before anyone could afford a car. By one account in The New York Times, the government in the late '80s estimated that 76% of road space in Beijing was occupied by cyclists. That era is long gone.
Slowing down to a crawl, and now getting off of the bike to walk by a car.
There are still bikes in Chinese cities, of course. Hire bikes litter the sidewalks and can be rented for a few cents a ride. But the administrator of this bike club, Xiao Xiao, says interest in serious bikes is growing.
XIAO XIAO: (Through interpreter) Many people ask about my bike all the time. Some even mistake it for a wheelchair when it's folded up, because it is kind of similar.
RUWITCH: She says membership in her club has nearly doubled over the past year, to about 700 people.
XIAO XIAO: (Through interpreter) The main goal is to ensure that everyone has fun and enjoys spending time together.
RUWITCH: This club is for owners of specific Brompton models. There's a proliferation of clubs for the other models, too, and about every other bike you can think of.
Time to make a right turn. People are putting their right arms out, and we're going to make a right turn down a smaller alley. Here we go.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: (Speaking Mandarin).
RUWITCH: In these alleys, there are people playing mahjong, selling snacks, hanging laundry. I saw a man getting his hair dyed and a Buddhist monk texting someone. On a bike, the sights, sounds and surprises of Beijing are all around.
Just saw a man in a Scottish kilt here in one of these alleys. That was not on my bingo card.
The afternoon shadows grow longer, and the ride ends back where it started. In a few days, they'll ride again, taking a route that Xiao Xiao says is laid out in the shape of a giant birthday cake.
XIAO XIAO: (Speaking Mandarin).
RUWITCH: "It's the second anniversary of the club," she says, "and that's something worth celebrating."
John Ruwitch, NPR News, Beijing.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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