Chinese city 'broke down' as 100,000 students cycled to eat late at night

Chinese city "broke down" after 100,000 students cycled to eat late at night. (Source: Guardian)

According to the Guardian , the trend of cycling to eat at night exploded in Kaifeng city, Henan province (China) from the idea of 4 students making a 50km journey just to enjoy breakfast in Kaifeng old town.

Their journey quickly became popular on social media, attracting more students to follow suit, with hashtags like “youth is priceless” and “ride at night to Kaifeng so you don’t miss it.” The group of students, who mainly used public bicycles, cycled for hours from universities in Zhengzhou to Kaifeng.

"Everyone sang and cheered for each other every time they cycled uphill. I could see the joy of the young people. It was not just a simple bike ride," said Liu Lulu, a student at Dai Nam University.

Students cycle from Zhengzhou to Kaifeng, more than 50km away from where they study, just to have a late night snack. (Photo: VCG)

The movement was initially encouraged by officials to boost tourism . The People's Daily even ran an article praising the "wave of young tourists" coming to Kaifeng, predicting that the number of visitors could peak at 2,000.

The event quickly attracted nearly 100,000 participants, causing major traffic jams on major roads connecting Zhengzhou city to Kaifeng last weekend.

The huge number of students coming to Kaifeng has caused many troubles, especially for local residents. Many people said that the city's roads were congested, overloaded, and there were too many bicycles and trash after the group passed through.

Several videos posted on social media showed tens of thousands of cyclists packing a six-lane avenue in Kaifeng, while local police tried to use loudspeakers to tell the students to leave.

To prevent a similar incident from happening again, the city government announced temporary restrictions on roads and bike lanes over the weekend. Bike-sharing apps also warned that they would remotely lock bikes if they went outside designated areas in Zhengzhou.

Several universities in Zhengzhou have also enacted measures such as banning bicycles on campus and requiring students to apply for a permit if they leave their dormitories at night.

The night cycling trend is also attracting attention in many other major cities in China, but nowhere has it recorded such a large number of participants as in Henan province.

Tra Khanh (Source: The Guardian)

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/thanh-pho-trung-quoc-vo-tran-vi-100-000-sinh-vien-dap-xe-di-an-dem-ar906849.html