Cycling is a common form of transportation and recreation in China, although use of bicycles has significantly declined since the 1970s and 1980s, when the country was nicknamed the "Kingdom of Bicycles" (). Although some early velocipedes were introduced to China from Europe beginning in the 1860s, cycling remained limited to a relatively small group of westerners residing in the country until the first decade of the 20th century, where bicycles began seeing limited use in Shanghai and other metropolitan centers. Steadily rising in popularity among the emerging middle class during the 1920s and 1930s, they became commonplace during the Maoist era as factories began producing large numbers of bicycles, and alternatives such as rickshaws and pedicabs fell out of use.
Previously limited by a rationing system and high prices, bicycles became generally available to the working class following economic reforms in the late 1970s and 1980s. Urban redevelopment, the abolition of the work unit system and the increasing availability of private automobiles and mass transit have significantly contributed to a decline in bicycle commuting between 2000 and 2010, with the number of Shanghai workers commuting by bicycle dropping by more than half. Cycling is generally seen as less prestigious than other forms of transportation, with associations with older generations and the Mao era.
China remains the largest producer and consumer of electric bikes. Bicycle-sharing systems have proliferated across the country over the course of the 2010s, represented both by public government-sponsored ventures and private companies such as Ofo and Mobike. The sector later underwent consolidation with many early operators exiting the market and surviving systems becoming integrated into larger platform ecosystems. Cycle sport was traditionally underrepresented in China on an international level, although Chinese teams saw increasing success at the Olympic Games during the early 21st century, seeing the first gold medal in the sport at the 2016 Summer Olympics. Sport cycling is managed by the Chinese Cycling Association, an organization managed de facto by the Cycling Department of the General Administration of Sport's National Cycling and Fencing Management Center.
History
Early bicycles and similar velocipede predecessors (such as the draisienne) were introduced to China from Europe by the late 1860s, with their use reported in an 1868 issue of the Shanghai Xinbao newspaper. Cycling in China was mainly limited to westerners during the 19th century; bicycles' cost and difficulty of use on bumpy roads discouraged Chinese consumers, and the domestic elite shunned them in favor of rickshaws and the traditional sedan chair. They found some use among western missionaries, who found them useful for navigating the rural countryside.
Emergence
Shanghai, highly connected to the west and home to the Shanghai International Settlement, emerged as an early center of cycling. The Tongchang Vehicle Company, the first bike shop in China, opened in the city in 1897. Five or six more shops were opened in the Shanghai foreign concessions over the following three years, and some rickshaw and carriage shops began to additionally offer bicycle parts and repairs. Students and postal workers in Shanghai were prominent early adopters of cycling, and the practice became a prominent social symbol of modernity. Although spreading to major cities such as Chengdu and Guangzhou before 1910, they remained an imported luxury rare in comparison to other forms of other transportation. A 1918 traffic survey of an intersection in the Shanghai International Settlement recorded 14,663 rickshaws, 1,836 automobiles, 942 horse-drawn carriages, and 772 bicycles.
Cycling rose in popularity during the 1920s and 1930s. Although rickshaws remained the dominant form of transportation in cities, cycling was seen as a practical choice for the emerging middle class, although prohibitively expensive for peasants and the urban working class. They saw increasing use outside of cities during the 1920s, mainly by merchants, clerks, and government workers. Bicycles continued to be largely imported from the United Kingdom and Germany, although they were joined by domestically produced models such as the Tongchang Company's . Intense gasoline shortages during the Second Sino-Japanese War saw the rise of the pedicab, a pedal-powered version of the rickshaw which displaced both automobiles and traditional foot-driven rickshaws. Bicycle use also increased during the war; between 1929 and 1948, bicycle ownership in Shanghai increased from around 40,000 to 230,000. In the Japanese-occupied territories, the industrialist Kojima Kazusaburo founded three bicycle factories; these formed the core of China's domestic bicycle production after the war.
Proliferation
During the Maoist era, rickshaws fell out of use, and pedicab use became mainly restricted to freight. Cycling emerged as the main form of private transportation, and bicycle production would continue to rise for several decades after the war. China produced around 80,000 bicycles a year in 1952; this increased tenfold by 1957, and tenfold again to 8,540,000 in 1978. Cycling fit the urban development goals of the communist government, which emphasized short commutes and widely available public transportation, but lacked the funding to build mass transit systems. Beijing began including bike lanes alongside its major roads in 1965, separated from the motor lanes by median strips.
In 1958, the Ministry of Light Industry standardized bicycle design, with uniform component designs and dimensions. This standardization helped spread bicycle production outside of the major cities. They were produced in three standard sizes — 24, 26, and 28 inch. Minor issues in their construction or durability were common, but they were relatively simple to repair; although many cyclists made repairs themselves, bicycle repair shops were common and inexpensive.
Although large numbers of bicycle brands existed, Feige, Yongjiu, Wuyang, and Fenghuang emerged as the most prominent and prestigious. Bicycles were accessible to consumers, but relatively difficult to obtain; a Feige-brand bicycle cost 2 months' wages on an average worker's salary, and the wait-lists for ration tickets could stretch for multiple years. Despite this, they proliferated massively in cities, encouraged by subsidies for cyclist commuters and the designation of bike lanes on major roads. In 1978, there were 102.3 bicycles for every 100 households in urban areas. Rates were much lower in rural countryside and varied greatly depending on region, averaging around 30.7 bicycles per 100 households. Bicycle manufactures began producing heavy-duty bikes suitable in rural areas, which were nicknamed "little donkeys" by farmers.
In reference to the proliferation of cycling, China was nicknamed the "Kingdom of Bicycles" (), while bicycles were considered one of the "three turns" () desired by Chinese households, alongside wristwatches and sewing machines. The work unit system was heavily incorporated into urban planning during the period, with many work units situated near housing, clinics, day cares, schools, and recreational spaces. This led to workers traveling relatively short distances on a day-to-day basis, incentivizing bicycle use.
Bicycle ownership continued to increase following the transition to a free-market economy in the late 1970s and 1980s, and production reached 41,401,000 per year in 1988. Rationing of bikes was lifted and prices fell dramatically. By 1990, ownership rates increased to 118.3 per 100 households in rural areas and 188.6 per 100 household in cities. They were used by many more commuters than buses, which were generally overcrowded; alternatives such as taxis and motorcycles were prohibitively expensive to most workers. In 1986, 63% of Beijing residents commuted to work by bike.
Decline
China entered a second round of economic reforms in the 1990s, with the promotion of automobiles among the chief industrial priorities. Cycling declined in favor of public transportation, motorcycles, and private cars. Losing its previous prestige, it became increasingly associated with older generations and the Mao era. Private vehicle ownership became a prestigious but accessible option to the middle class by the 2000s, leading to municipal governments prioritizing car infrastructure. Many cities restricted or eliminated their previous bike lanes in order to reduce traffic congestion, with bike use banned entirely on roadways in some city centers. Bicycle lots were converted into parking lots or recreational spaces. Small-scale bicycle repair shops diminished in favor of larger and more expensive specialty shops. Bicycle repair street vendors, formerly common in cities, essentially disappeared.
While 40% of Shanghai workers commuted via bicycle in 2000, only 18.1% did so by 2010. Motorcycles and minibusses emerged as the dominant form of transportation in rural areas in response to expansive highway construction. Despite the general decline of cycling, electric bikes gained popularity over the course of the 1990s and 2000s. Urban redevelopment projects separated many commuters from their workplaces: central business districts and industrial parks emerged, often a great deal away from new housing developments such as urban villages and gated communities. This longer commute time often makes travel by bike impractical. Residential areas in city centers have become increasingly expensive, resulting in many working-class people living in government-subsidized housing on the outskirts of the cities.
Production
China Bicycle Association releases reported national electric-bicycle production of 36.093 million in 2019, 41.261 million in 2020, 45.511 million in 2021 and 50.352 million in 2023. The 2019 and 2020 estimates combined surveys by associations in the main producing regions with National Bureau of Statistics data for enterprises above the designated size; the later releases did not restate that method. The association's 2022 release gave only the growth rate for above-designated-size enterprises, not an exact all-industry count.
Calendar-year production in China, in units of 10,000 electric bicycles. The selected observations cover 2019–2021 and 2023; no exact comparable all-industry value was identified for 2022, and 2023 is the latest finalized exact figure in the releases reviewed through 10 August 2026. The documented 2019–2020 method combines producing-region association surveys with National Bureau of Statistics data for above-designated-size enterprises; the 2021 and 2023 releases do not restate that method.
Raw data
China produces more bicycles than any other country. In 2020, Chinese manufactures produced 29,661,000 electric bicycles (e-bikes) and 44,368,000 traditional (non-electric) bicycles. Production of non-electric bicycles declined over the course of 2010s, corresponding to a less favorable domestic market, while e-bike production has remained relatively steady. Bicycle production has greatly centralized over the reform period; while twenty-four provinces produced traditional bicycles in 1985, only nine did in 2020. Eighteen provinces produce e-bikes, although over 40% of e-bikes are produced in the city of Tianjin, with most of the remainder spread between Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Henan, and Guangdong.