On November 24, the 5th Hangzhou Cycling Tour was held simultaneously at the main venue in the South Square of Qianjiang New City Civic Center and two sub-venues at Canal Culture Square and Fuyang Xinsa Island.
Yesterday, the 2012 Hangzhou Cycling Day and the 5th Hangzhou Cycling Tour made a grand debut, with 2,500 participants cycling through Hangzhou. Costume cycling and a bicycle-themed concert had cyclists partying to their hearts' content.
In Hangzhou, bicycles are no longer just a simple means of transportation but have transformed into fashionable leisure tools. Yesterday, the "Most Beautiful Jiangnan · Along the Three Rivers — 2012 Hangzhou Cycling Day and 5th Hangzhou Cycling Tour" kicked off in style, as 2,500 locals and tourists cycled together to experience the most beautiful deep autumn in Hangzhou.
Rather than racing for speed, it’s all about who rocks the best look. Costume cycling was the highlight of this year’s tour, and the newly introduced bicycle square theme concert gave cyclists a full emotional release.
Qiantang River, the Canal, and a loop around Fuyang Xinsa Island — cyclists explored the most beautiful Hangzhou on three routes
Yesterday morning, the 2012 Hangzhou Cycling Day and the 5th Hangzhou Cycling Tour officially commenced. The event was jointly organized by the Office of the Leading Group for Developing Ten Characteristic Potential Industries in Hangzhou, the Hangzhou Tourism Commission, the Hangzhou Sports Bureau, and the Qianjiang New City Management Committee, and hosted by the Hangzhou Tourism Image Promotion Center and the Hangzhou Sports Development Group among others. The event’s slogan was "Hangzhou — China’s Most Bicycle-Friendly City for Cycling Tours."
This year marks the fifth edition of the Hangzhou Cycling Tour, which introduced three cycling routes for the first time. The main venue was set up in the South Square of Qianjiang New City Civic Center, where 2,000 locals and tourists from within and outside the province set off to cycle 25 kilometers along both banks of the Qiantang River. The two sub-venues were Canal Culture Square and Fuyang Xinsa Island, where 500 cyclists from China and abroad experienced canal cycling and a fun, timed loop around Xinsa Island.
Emperors, mummies, and the "18 Bronze Men" all came cycling together
The event started at 9 a.m., but by 8:30 a.m., the South Square of Qianjiang New City Civic Center was already packed with bicycles and people. Helmets, gloves, professional cycling gear… most came fully prepared. Professional-grade bikes were everywhere, with quite a few worth several thousand to tens of thousands of yuan. Their owners were almost all cycling enthusiasts, some even hardcore fans. But that didn’t stop the “vintage bikes” from stealing the show — grandparents from the Hangzhou Songbai Cycling Team, in their seventies and eighties, rode antique bikes over ten or even twenty years old, looking equally cool. Of course, an even larger group was the public bike squad — borrowing a bike right from home was all it took to join the 25-kilometer riverside ride.
Organizers encouraged costume cycling, and naturally, the cycling groups featured many “wildly creative” riders. Wearing a clown hat was just child’s play; some went all out in dragon robes, Manchu-style hairstyles, or even wrapped themselves up as “mummies,” regardless of whether it might slow them down.
Some got their costumes done on-site. The Hangzhou Beauty & Hairdressing Industry Association deployed 60 teachers and students from Jinsha Beauty School, New Vision Professional Makeup School, and Gongshu Vocational High School to man the face-painting area. According to organizers, nearly 300 people were given makeup in about two hours — panda faces, pirate looks, golden "18 Bronze Men" masks, Peking opera facial designs… almost no two alike.
Dad takes the whole family for a biking weekend
University students, white-collar workers, teachers, bosses, retirees — the age range of participants yesterday spanned from as young as three or four to as old as eighty-plus. Aside from locals from Hangzhou, there were also cyclists from Ningbo, Haining, Wenzhou, and even tourists from Shenyang, Beijing, and Guangzhou. For many, a non-speed-focused cycling tour has become a family outing or a get-together with friends.
Zhou Jinhua, who works in Haining, is a fellow Taiwanese. Yesterday, he came with his wife and their two sons, aged seven and five, to join the riverside cycling activity. Zhou is a biking enthusiast who has ridden across the Sichuan-Tibet region and circled Taiwan. Influenced by him, every family member owns a bike. “We often go cycling together as a family. It’s not only fun but healthy too.”
“Every year, we have tourists from other regions joining the cycling tour. Ahead of the event, we specifically promoted it in places like Shenyang and Beijing, and many independent travelers also joined in,” said Xu Min, General Manager of Hangzhou New World International Travel Agency. Hangzhou now has over 60,000 public bicycles. Biking for sightseeing is not only a leisure activity for locals but also a way for outsiders to deeply explore the city.
Fun Fact:
Hangzhou Cycling Tour
The first Hangzhou Cycling Tour was held in 2008 with just over 200 participants. It has since grown into an event with thousands of cyclists.
Hangzhou Cycling Day. In 2010, under the advocacy of the Hangzhou municipal government, the third weekend of September each year was designated as Hangzhou Cycling Day. This year, the event was postponed due to special circumstances.