It’s no secret that there’s nary a street in Beijing that isn’t littered with yellow, green, blue, or some other rainbow-colored bikes available to the masses, meaning getting round the capital is always a breeze. Unfortunately, many people – particularly foreigners – struggle with using them properly. But have no fear, for here are five tips on how to get the most out of the city’s bike-share apps.

Real-name authentication

Before you can even scan a bike, you need to submit a real-name authentication. The process for Chinese citizens is relatively easy and requires nothing more than an ID number. For expats, however, it’s not so straightforward and I’ve had to pay for my foreign friends’ bike rides on more than one occasion, after they couldn’t figure out the sign-up process. Nevertheless, it’s not so hard once you understand how it works.

Typical display of real-name authentication (哈喽出行)

For foreigners, begin by entering your full name, followed by your passport ID. For Hong Kong/Macao citizens, a Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong and Macao Residents ID is more ideal. Next, you have to upload a photo of yourself holding the ID card/passport. Take care to ensure that both your face and your passport/ID details are clearly visible.

Whereas Chinese citizens are granted immediate access to the platform, foreigners have to wait for several workdays for the real-name authentication to be approved. Therefore, make sure to begin the process before you actually need to use the bikes, lest it fails you during an emergency.

Lock the bikes!

Time is money. And in this case, half an hour is worth RMB 1.5. So, what happens when you forget to lock the bike? Chances are someone else will take your bike and use it for another few hours, with all the costs falling to you!

Every public bike ride starts with a “click,” when the lock around the back tire unlocks itself, thus allowing the bike to move.

Locked mode (Meituan bike)

When you’re done with your ride, push the knob  – which was released when unlocked – back to its previous position. This will lock the bike and indicate that your journey has ended. The time between unlocking and locking the bike will decide your fee, so always remember to push the knob!

Unlocked mode (Meituan bike). Note the different position of the yellow knob from above.

Where’s the bike?

Despite the absurd proliferation of bikes around town, there will be times when you can’t find one to save your life (usually when you urgently need one). Of course, you can simply wander around and pray that there’s one on the next corner. But a much more efficient way is to let the apps do that for you.

Locations of Meituan bikes

When you open your bike-sharing app, you’ll be presented with a map. A pin indicates where you are, while all the bikes indicate… well, bikes that are near you. Note that you’ll only see bikes for the app that you’re using, so don’t go looking for a Hello Bike on Meituan’s platform. What’s more, if you drag the pin around, the map will refresh and show available bikes around the new location.

The “standardized” areas

There’s nothing more confusing – or aggravating – than having a bike that won’t lock. Especially when it’s the first time you encounter this problem. More often than not, however, it’s because you’re trying to park in a designated “no bike parking” zone, which the city is actually implementing more and more.

Area of standardized parking (shaded)

On certain parts of the map, some areas are shaded, denoting a “standardized parking area.” If you try locking your bike in this area, chances are it won’t let you. Instead, you need to find a specific lane that can be seen on the map. Only then can you properly lock your bike.

Public-bike lanes shown

An actual public-bike lane

Quantity over quality

Always have more than one bike-sharing app. There will always be a time when you can’t find a single yellow bike around you, but the green kind, whose app you never bothered to download, is everywhere. It’s best to have at least two different bike-sharing apps, that way you can always find a bike that you can use.

Now, go out and have fun with those rainbow bikes!

KEEP READING: Bike for Your Buck: Unlimited Pass on Hellobike

Images: Caroline He

I just discovered something life-changing! That’s an exaggeration, I just discovered something super convenient that will save me money, and I thought I would share. If you are anything like me the warmer days of Spring make biking to work a much more enjoyable alternative to jam-packed subway cars. I recently found out that rather than paying per ride there is an option to purchase unlimited passes from Alipay’s Hello Bike. Or as I always refer to them, “the blue ones”.

Currently, a 30-day unlimited pass will run you RMB 13.50, 90 days RMB 37.97, and if you are willing to make a rolling commitment a mere RMB 10.50 for the first month (but the price is introductory and goes up after that).

On average I spend RMB 6 per day on my bike commute so the 90 day pass day rate of RMB 0.42 was a no-brainer. Here’s how I downloaded my pass and how you can too!

Step 1: Go into your Alipay app and click on the Hellobike icon

Step 2: Click on the wallet icon

Step 3: Choose your pass by clicking on its corresponding button

Step 4: At this point it may prompt you to download the separate Hellobike app. If you don’t already have it download it. Click the blue button to continue.

Step 5: Select how you would like to pay

Step 6: Go into the Hellobike app and click the wallet icon at the bottom. It should show your purchased pass.

Step 7: Go ride a bike!

KEEP READING: WATCH | How to Call Every Ride Hailing App All At Once

Photo: Unsplash and Julie Wolf (screen shot of Alipay app)

More than 10 million users of bike-rental firm ofo have requested deposit refunds, with the company possibly owing in excess of RMB 1 billion (USD 145 million) to its riders.

On Tuesday, Dec 18, an ofo user posted a screenshot on microblogging platform Weibo informing them that they were number 10,000,001 on the refund waiting list. The screenshot was picked up by Chinese media outlet AllWeather TMT. As of 4 p.m. today, more than 11 million people have requested their money back.

An ofo spokesperson refused to confirm to TechNode the number of requests the company had received.

Riders’ deposits amount to either RMB 99 or RMB 199, with earlier adopters paying the lesser of the two amounts. However, earlier this year the company attempted to get all users to upgrade to the RMB 199 tier. If all users request just RMB 99, the company would owe around RMB 1 billion.

As of Dec 18 at 4pm, more than 11 million users had applied for refunds

The en masse requests follow users flocking to the company’s headquarters in Beijing to get their money back. Yesterday, more than 100 people lined up outside ofo’s office. They were instructed to leave their personal information, including banking details, and were promised refunds within three days.

The company then issued an emergency statement, saying all applications, either online or offline, would be collected and processed in order.

“There is no difference between on-site waiting or online application,” ofo said in the announcement.

Users subsequently began refreshing their position in the online refund queue and posting the screenshots to Weibo.

Last month, the company said its system for refunding users’ deposits was operating as normal, though the waiting period had been increased from 10 to 15 days. The company also encouraged users to transfer their RMB 99 deposits to online lender PPmoney to continue getting deposit-free rides. It later withdrew from the partnership.

Shortly after, users reported issues withdrawing their deposits in the ofo app, though the company denied the claims.

READ: China to Tackle Delivery Waste Crisis With New Green Standards

Photos: bikeforeverbluegear.com, Courtesy of TechNode

Beijing is an amazing place if you love biking. There are countless nooks and crannies in this wonderful, ancient city to explore, and the best way to discover them is by bike. Along with being a great form of exercise, biking liberates you from the choice of public transport or horrendous traffic and gets you where you need to be. With this in mind, we enlisted a group of British School of Beijing (BSB), Shunyi students to tell us exactly how their relationship with biking, for sport and leisure, has developed, along with how to make the most of this city by solely using your own generated power and thirst for adventure.

Disclaimer: While biking in Beijing is generally safe, it is important to ride with a helmet and with caution to avoid injury. Bike safe, and smart! 

Beijing, once affectionately named “The Kingdom of Bikes,“ is a city known for its huge number of two-wheeled people movers. But with the rise of bike sharing and thousands of new bikes now flooding the streets due to companies like Mobike and Ofo, biking has entered a new era. We are also blessed with wide roads and bike lanes that simply don’t exist in many other countries, which can make cycling a great way to get around compared to other modes of transport.

Beijing has some fantastic routes to offer, which is great for mobile teens like myself. The best way is to plan your route around your interests.

Shopping and Eating
You can discover the new restaurants and cafés constantly popping up downtown, and get lost in Beijing. There is truly no better way to get to know a city. Besides, you won’t be lost for long as your convenient GPS will immediately guide you safely home. Start in Sanlitun, perhaps the most well-known of Beijing’s shopping areas, and continue towards CBD which is only a short trip south. CBD and Sanlitun are the best places to shop and indulge in delicious food in Beijing. You can explore the boutiques at Taikoo Li, U Town Mall, China World Mall, and many more. Or you can take the day to become a full-blown foodie with your mates. You can find restaurants offering all kinds of cuisines here – from all around China, to Thai, Japanese, Italian, and German.

Beijing’s Art Scene
New art gallery you want to visit? Brilliant! Many galleries are clustered around each other in 798, which is the perfect place to begin. This is the most famous spot to experience contemporary art in the city. From there, it’s 4 km by bike to Caochangdi, another famous (though quickly gentrifying) area for galleries. If you live in Shunyi, you can journey on to the Red Brick Art Museum in the northeast of Beijing, another 5.5 km ride. Here, there is a very picturesque garden for taking pictures with your friends. Spend as much time as you want perusing the different exhibitions. There is no need to adhere to any schedule (although I’d recommend checking opening and closing times beforehand to avoid mishaps). You can spend many days exploring Beijing’s vibrant art scene on your bike.

Old Beijing
Want to see famous landmarks, but don’t want to spend all day waiting in lengthy queues? Ride west along Chang’an Avenue, and you’re guaranteed the best views of Tiananmen Square. Continue through the historic parts of Beijing with its traditional hutongs to get that truly perfect Instagram post. From here, it’s not a long ride to hit up major tourist hotspots, like Jingshan Park or the Lama Temple. Park your bike and venture down Nanluoguxiang, or explore the more secluded hipster spots in Beijing’s hutongs. Enjoy the scenic route? Continue along Hepingli West Street until you reach the Temple of Earth (Ditan Park). Cycling through old Beijing will give you a different view of the city, and allow you to enjoy how the new weaves itself into the older parts of the city. Turn on a tracking app to record how far you managed to cycle that day if you want to impress your friends with your newfound athleticism.

Furthermore, the exercise provided by riding your bike is also a great stress reliever – particularly for teenagers. Let’s face it, we have all pulled stressful all-nighters, trying to put the finishing touches to our physics projects, English papers, and history presentations. Biking is a great way to deal with such stress. So if you have a minute, grab some friends and experience the city on two wheels, powered only by your own willpower and, of course, your insatiable thirst for adventure.

Photo: Deborah Zand
A complete version of this article appears on p49-52 of the beijingkids September 2018 Teen Takeover issue.

Transportation in Beijing is convenient and relatively cheap if you can get around the traffic. However, newcomers might shy from hailing taxis on their own due to the language barrier (the prospect of having to speak Mandarin), or a fear of being rejected by a cabbie (due to his fear of having to speak English). Fortunately, ride-hailing and rental transport mobile apps have become more commonplace. In this guide, we outline the basics of the most foreigner-friendly private ride-hailing and bike rental apps, as well as tips for a more pleasant subway journey in Beijing.

Ride Hailing

神州专车 (Shénzhōu zhuān chē)

Different from Didi, 神州专车 is better known for its car-renting services and long-distance commuting, although it also provides a ride-hailing service like Didi’s. It accepts booking in advance; for example, if your flight is landing in three hours, you can book a pick-up via the app according to your schedule. Its renting service means you can rent a car with a professional driver for a specific time period. It can be a lifesaver when you’re moving cities with lots of belongings, especially with pets.

Didi (滴滴出行 dī dī chū xíng)

Didi provides a ride-hailing service within and outside China. To book a ride, you need to choose your pick-up and drop-off locations. You can add and save frequent destinations for future rides. Once matched with a driver, you will be able to see information about the driver and the vehicle. You can also check the route your driver takes to pick you up, as well as the driver’s estimated time of arrival, and real-time traffic conditions. An in-app messaging feature allows easy communication with your driver. Instant IM translation between English and Chinese is also available when you use the feature. Pay directly through the in-app payment (Alipay, WeChat pay, and credit cards work) feature or in cash (taxi only).

Bike-Sharing

Bike-sharing apps have taken Beijing roads by storm, having become one of the most convenient ways to commute in the city. For only a minimal rent, you can just scan a QR code on a bike then go. After two years of fierce competition, currently two bike-sharing companies are leading the market—Mobike and Ofo.

Mobike and Ofo

Ride Like a Local

Besides ride-hailing and bike-sharing, the Beijing Subway might be your best bet for commuting. Even though it gets super crowded during peak hours, it’s still a better choice than taking a taxi, with a high risk of traffic jams. That’s why Metro China Subway is a godsend. It’s a very helpful app which provides an accurate Metro map and information, and route planning including route, time and fare information. No network connection is needed.
Also, when riding buses or taking the subway, you need an 一卡通 (yīkǎtōng), a public transportation smart card. Scan the QR code for more on the Yīkǎtōng card, and on how to ride a bus or take the subway like a local.

This article appeared on p50-51 of the beijingkids July 2018 Home & Relocation Guide issue.

This post comes courtesy of our content partners at TechNode.

Founder of Bluegogo Li Gang authored an open letter last Thursday stating that the Bluegogo has reached a strategic cooperation with Guangzhou-based Green Bike-Transit (拜客出行). Green Bike-Transit will be fully authorized to operate Bluegogo.

About the unpaid salary to Bluegogo employees, Li Gang also said, “Owing to everyone’s salary, I will try my best to solve it as soon as possible.”

Li Gang is not only the co-founder of Bluegogo but also the founder of SpeedX (野兽骑行). After Li Gang’s first smart performance bike SpeedX received RMB 150 million series B funding in November 2016, Gang established bike rental startup Bluegogo.

TechNode interviewed Li Gang in May last year when he was fully focused on SpeedX’s development. After setting the record for the most highly-funded bike on Kickstarter’s crowdfunding website, Gang was the first one to mention ‘bike innovation’ from China and was optimistic about Chinese bike’s global expansion. There was zero coverage about Ofo and Mobike at that time, and after a few months, China indeed made noise with its bike rental companies going global. However, the bike innovation story for Li Gang himself now stops here, as he admits his mistakes in managing the troubled bike company.

“I never denied my mistake. My heart is full of suffering and I am in trouble for months,” Li Gang said in the letter.

From June, Bluegogo went through a handful of problems, of which Li Gang says in his letter that “it seemed as if Bluegogo was cursed.” Both Bluegogo and SpeedX had deteriorating financial positions, and orders have been delayed. At present, Bluegogo has reportedly defaulted property costs of up to RMB 200 million and owes nearly RMB 200 million from more than 70 suppliers. Most Bluegogo and SpeedX employees have left the company.

Bluegogo ranked sixth among the top 10 bike rental startup list by Cheetah big data and belonged to iResearch’s second-tier bike rental company along with Hellobike and Youon, as they come in with average monthly active users of more than 100 million.

In January this year, Bluegogo completed a RMB 400 million Series A, valued at RMB 1 billion. But since then, financing information has not been announced. The company is about to complete Series B in March, but did not get any sum of money in the end.

As Green Bike-Transit takes over Bluegogo’s operations, China’s bike rental market is witnessing consolidations. Previously, Hellobike and Youon bike merged to survive in China’s bike rental red ocean. Wukong bike (悟空单车) and 3Vbike have halted operations, while Machi-cho bike (町町单车) failed to refund the deposit.

This post first appeared on our sister site, The Beijinger.
Photo: fairfaxstatic.com.au

The Clown Is Down in Beijing Town
A much-loved clowning classic is coming to Beijing for the first time this month. Slava’s Snowshow is the creation of Slava Polunin, former Master Clown at Cirque de Soleil, and this celebrated combination of slapstick and special effects been touring the world since 1993. It’s a magical experience for the whole family, and plays at the Tianqiao Performing Arts Center from August 30 to Sept 3.

Manchester: Even Worse than Beijing at Bike Sharing
Bike sharing has been a mixed blessing for Beijing. While we all welcome the convenience and potential environmental benefits, we’re also very familiar with the downside: thoughtless parking, vandalized bikes, and attempts to rip off customers with fake QR codes. One video circulating on social media even showed needles fixed onto saddles with the clear intention of injuring riders; although here at beijingkids, we found it suspicious that the video makers managed to find several such booby traps in just one location, when we’ve never heard of anybody else encountering a single one among the city’s hundreds of thousands of bikes.

However it appears there is now a place whose citizens are even worse at sharing than Beijingers: step forward Manchester, England. The Guardian newspaper reports that after just two weeks since Mobikes arrived on the city’s streets, the “scale of vandalism took [the company]by surprise. It has been far worse than in any of the Asian countries where Mobike operates 5 million bikes.”

Not to be outdone, China struck back, as it was reported that an umbrella-sharing startup had lost nearly all its 300,000 brollies in just three months of operation. Undeterred, Sharing E Umbrella have pledged to put another 3 million out by the end of the year. Look forward to climbing past mountains of umbrellas to get to the subway station some time this fall…

Mini Maker Faire Returns
Tech fans, teachers, tinkerers, and toy lovers will gather at China Millennium Monument from August 11 to 13, for Beijing’s third Mini Maker Faire (see Chinese website here). Maker Faires began in California in 2006, and are described as “part science fair, part county fair, and part something entirely new”. Expect DIY creations, robots, offbeat competitions, and perhaps even to learn something about science and engineering.

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Winnie the Pooh: Bear Ban Backfires
Back in April we reported that the government had been forced to deny banning Peppa Pig. Now it’s Winnie the Pooh that’s facing a crackdown. The issue first arose in 2013, when a photograph of two global leaders walking together was compared by mischievous netizens to a picture of Pooh Bear and Tigger. Since then other images of Winnie the Pooh beside a certain important politician have been circulated, and subsequently banned. Now all searches for the much-loved character (the bear, not the politician) are being blocked. As so often though with attempts to censor the internet, the tactic has backfired, and what was previously a Chinese in-joke has been picked up and reported across the media worldwide, in a classic example of what is known as “the Barbra Streisand Effect.”

Photos: Courtesy of Andy Penafuerte, Tianqiao Performing Arts Center, makerfaire.com

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This article originally appeared on p 6 of beijingkids August 2017 issue.
Download the digital copy here.

The bike-sharing phenomenon sweeping across China is facing a big legal challenge after the death of a boy in Shanghai last March. Ofo, one of the major players in the industry, has been sued by the victim’s family for a RMB 8.78 million (USD 1.27 million) lawsuit, in the first Chinese case of a death of a minor using shared bikes.

China Youth Daily reported that the 11-year-old victim had been riding an Ofo bike along with three friends before he was struck and run over by a bus in an intersection on March 26. The Shanghai Municipal Public Security Bureau determined that the victim “bore primary responsibility” as he and his underage companions managed to unlock Ofo bikes and took the wrong side of the road.

According to Chinese traffic rules, children below 12 years old are forbidden to bike on public roads. The family lawyer, however, argued that Ofo is still responsible for the incident as its bikes are often left in public places, and that its bikes do not have a system that prohibits underage users. He also said the mechanical password locks are not sufficient, thus proving a safety risk.

Aside from the multi-million RMB claim, the victim’s family also asked a local court to order Ofo to recall all of its bike units and install additional child-safe locks.

The hearing date for the case is yet to be announced. Ofo has yet to respond to the claim. The bike-share company recently raised USD 700 million (RMB 4.82 billion) in a fresh funding round from investors including e-commerce giant Alibaba. American news channel CNBC reported in April that Ofo is worth more than USD 2 billion (RMB 13.77 billion), quoting CEO Dai Wei as saying.

The incident has become a widely-discussed topic across many social media networks in China, with some people arguing why the family sued Ofo when authorities determined the victim was at fault. Other people noted that Ofo’s system needs to be changed so as to prevent bike theft and unsupervised use by minors.

The incident puts another spotlight to the bane of bike-share in China. In Beijing, authorities have implemented plans and bans to curb users from parking anywhere. Dongcheng District, which banned cycle parking in as many as 600 public spaces, has recently implemented several designated parking zones in the Chongwenmen neighborhood.

These zones have sensors that can detect the presence of a nearby shared bike via its GPS tracker. The catch: there’s still no punishment for offenders, a member of Dongcheng’s traffic association admitted.

In other areas of the city, share bikes are considered an “epidemic” and a public nuisance as many of them are blocking sidewalks and pathways for the visually-impaired, as well as overwhelming bus stations.

Photos: www.fredicksburg.com, China Youth Daily, BJ News

More stories by this author here.
Email: andypenafuerte@beijing-kids.com
Instagram: @coolkidandy