After a social media search for dumplings, thousands of cyclists ended the conflict between two main Chinese cities.
When the idea of boosting Kaifeng’s business was promoted, thousands of people on rented bikes traveled from local Zhenghou for breakfast all night long.
Between the two places, a six-lane road was immediately flooded with bikers. The police warned that they would electronically lock bikes seized from Zhengzhou, and they used loudspeakers to warn them to leave.
Fresh Chinese people are increasingly taking cheap flights when the economy is struggling and employment hopes are dwindling.
The trend was started by four university students who cycled the 50km ( 30 miles ) from Zhengzhou to Kaifeng in June to try guantangbao, a type of soup dumpling.
” You only have one children, you have to attempt a spontaneous getaway with your pals”, one of four told local advertising.
In a time when some Chinese young people complain of being burned out from an overly competitive job market, that message resonated with other young people in the city of 12.6 million.
A social media pattern called” Night Ride to Kaifeng” was born. The trend was immediately praised by the state media as a sign of youthful people’s “passion.”
Local government saw it as a opportunity to recreate the instant fame that the town of Zibo enjoyed last year because of its barbecues.
Prior to Friday night’s chaos, Kaifeng officers made special offers and events available for college students. Additionally, they implemented further traffic control measures to safeguard riders.
On Friday nights, Ms. Li, 27, and the individuals traveled to Kaifeng on a bicycle. She claimed to have seen a trend post about it and decided to “live like a young person for again”
” People was beaming with enthusiasm and interacted with the people around them.” She told the BBC,” It was like when I was in school.”
She claimed that there was a lot of police existence throughout.
” Very frequently, you may notice traffic police cars and vehicles flying in the air and drones flying over the sky,” she said.
But the joyful mood quickly changed. The number of bikes that were riding through Zhengzhou quickly surpassed the highways.
The principal routes from Zhengzhou to Kaifeng were severely congested in images that were circulated online. Witnesses claimed that three hours were allotted for their travel, which is typically one-hour long.
Some users said they had to “get their bicycle out” and “push their way through the crowd” on social media.
No formal figure for the number of bike on Friday night’s streets was available. But studies on social media suggest the range ranged from 100, 000 to 200, 000.
Many of those who traveled to Kaifeng also had a bad day.
One scholar who rode for more than seven hours claimed they were unable to get a car or a hotel room because the demand was so high.
” I genuinely regret going. I overheard the owner of a restaurant criticizing university students for having nothing to do as I sat down to eat my dinner… I’m truly sorry for affecting the people in Kaifeng”, the scholar said on social media platform Xiaohongshu.
Three main get bike programs in China issued a joint declaration urging students to avoid using bikes at night for health reasons and use trains or buses for long distance travel as the chaos got worse.
The firms had begun levying a fee for passengers traveling to a different town by Saturday evening.
According to numerous comments, some Zhengzhou universities have now imposed restrictions on students leaving the school and asked them to return to their dorms.
Some social media users criticised the bikers for “irresponsible” behavior such as littering.
On Saturday and Sunday, traffic police in Zhengzhou and Kaifeng closed some of the major biking paths between the two towns.
Taiwanese authorities have often stepped up their crackdown on large gatherings to ensure stability, so it’s not surprising that they are now reversing.
Last month, police in Shanghai silenced celebrations for Halloween over fears the revelries might turn into platforms for dissent.
However, Ms. Li believes that young Chinese people will continue to be drawn to these happenings and styles, such as the Night Ride to Kaifeng.
” These activities are a good thing because people are so stressed these time.” Because pleasure is infectious”.