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Show B-15 The Park Record Wed/Thurs/Fri, July 9-11, 2008 Bikes, China's icon, thrive despite more cars By ELAINE KURTENBACH Associated Press Writer SHANGHAI, China (AP) - For a vivid insight into the clash of old and new in China, follow the bicycle. Morning rush hour in Beijing and Shanghai used to be rivers of cyclists flowing in a majestic hush down broad bike lanes. Today, many of those lanes have been taken over by cars and buses, their roar and honkdrowning out the tinkle of bicycle bells. Yet despite China's leap into modernity, the bicycle is far from dead - its numbers are growing. For many Chinese, pedal power remains a mainstay - for commuting, sending children to school or making a living. And getting around the traffic jams. As the Chinese fall in love with cars, and Westerners fall out of love with them, China is once again a winner. According to the Earth Policy Institute, a Washington-based environmental think tank, of the 130 million bikes manufactured worldwide last year, China made 90 million, and exported two-thirds of them. About nine in 10 bikes bought by Americans are made in China. In China, the bicycle's enduring role epitomizes the country's wider transitions - from countryside to city, from planned economy to freewheeling capitalism. Multiplying cars may be a sign of affluence, but the bike's staying power is a reminder that most of China's 1.3 billion people have yet to make it into the middle class. In the shadows of Shanghai's skyscrapers and towering elevated highways, it is bicycle wheels that have enabled migrants like Wang Chunliang to make the great leap from countryside to the big city. Tan and sturdy, the 30-year-old hauls flowers and garden supplies from an outdoor market to upscale Shanghai homes on a three-wheeled bicycle cart called a "sanlunche" parking onsite only for employees. Shanghai's 10 million bikes are (pronounced san-Ioon-chuh). That and a little gardening earn him about banned from many main streets. A $300 a month - enough to live on trip from Hongqiao, in the western and support his family in rural suburbs, to the busy Nanjing Road Anhui, hundreds of miles away. shopping district is an obstacle "Compared with some jobs, this course around no-go zones and subisn't too bad. And it's a decent liv- way construction projects. The rivering," says Wang, shrugging off the side bike paths so familiar in Western perils of traffic and bad weather. cities are nonexistent. "This is a question of government In Shanghai and other cities, pedal-pushing rural migrants can be policy," laments Chen Haiming, who seen everywhere, delivering goods, is an engineer and general manager gathering waste for recycling or ped- at Shanghai Forever Co., China's dling anything from popcorn and biggest bicycle maker. "In Europe pirated DVDs to books and baby they are building bicycle pathways rabbits. and encouraging people to commute The millennia-old Middle by bicycle. But not here." Kingdom can claim to have invented All the same, Shanghai's more many things - fireworks, the than 20 million people have few umbrella, paper and the compass options. The subways and buses can among them - but not the bicycle. handle only one-quarter of commutAccording to Amir Moghaddass ing volume. A modest family car Esfehani, a historian at the Technical costs about $6,000 and licensing it Institute of Berlin, the Chinese first $5,000 - adding up to more than learned of bicycles from a customs most Shanghai workers make in a official named Binchun who visited year. A scooter sells for about $300. Paris in 1866 and wrote of Parisians So by bicycle or scooter they wind riding vehicles made of "two wheels their way through rush hour traffic, with a pipe in the middle." many wearing cotton masks to filter Back then, well-heeled Chinese out exhaust fumes. They weave on generally got around in rickshaws or and off sidewalks, dismount to sedan chairs, both hauled by man- squeeze between buses and curbs, power. It was only after expatriate slip haphazardly through gridlocked Americans and Europeans began intersections and, sometimes, glide cycling around Chinese cities that the triumphantly past traffic jams. fashion took off, Moghaddass writes Later in the day comes a second in "The Bicycle and the Chinese set of cyclists. Clanging cowbells to People." be heard above the din of the street, Through the three decades of they roam the city hunting for scrap Communist central planning, bicy- metal or discarded appliances. Some cles were encouraged as transport; balance TV sets, computer terminals, buses were crammed and infrequent, even refrigerators and mattresses, on taxis virtually unheard of. the backs of two-wheelers. Life on wheels can be a cat-andShanghai Forever. Flying Pigeon and Phoenix bicycles were the mouse struggle. Chevys and Buicks of those days. "It's easy to park, and easy to For the Beijing Olympics, the city escape when the police come after is offering visitors 50,000 bicycles for us." says Wang Dali, a migrant from rent, but many bike pathways in Anhui province who sells pirated Beijing and Shanghai have been DVDs of movies such as "Kung Fu taken over by right-turn and bus- Panda" and "Sex and the City" off only lanes. Big offices and hotel the back of his old Phoenix. buildings generally provide bicycle "We aren't allowed to sell in these areas, since it s said to give the city a bad image," said Wang, looking a decade older than his 33 years from a lifetime spent outdoors in the sun and wind. "Only we poor rural people do this, but we have to, to make a living," he said. Meanwhile, bike companies have been retooling. Twenty-two years ago, when Chen was first assigned to work at Shanghai Forever's rusting factory in downtown Shanghai, the company was still only turning out 40-pound heavy-duty bikes built to carry loads and entire families on the crossbar, handlebars and rear carrier. Today, Forever's Web site displays dozens of models, from high-tech mountain bikes to foldables that can squeeze into a briefcase. Chen is confident that despite China's enchantment with the automobile, bicycles are here to stay. "Bicycles can help protect the environment. People need them for exercise," he says. "The bicycle will never be obsolete. No matter how well developed the automobile and aircraft market grows, the bicycle still has its purpose." Wu Liqiang, manager for the host of a Shanghai TV show, agrees. He vividly remembers his first bicycle, in the 1970s, a chic black Forever. "The feeling I had riding that bicycle was amazing. It was just about as cool as driving a Porsche would be now," says Wu, now 50. "Girls were very glad to go out with me because they could sit on the back of my bicycle and enjoy the breeze and sunshine." He owns a bright-blue VW Polo but hardly ever drives it. "The traffic's getting worse and worse and you end up wasting hours on the road," Wu says, adding, "The bicycle is still the best vehicle for China." He commutes to work by bicycle. ON -^ K 1 O ^ K p SPACE POU HEJn Pi j ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ K . ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ E '•••'... 'Vv. , '-. • J '•, ";• 1' ttm'-i JO-; . . . m f f ^ Till-; PARK RI-COR1) A BETTER WAY TO ADVERTISE RfctPS KITCHEN Named BEST Middle Eastern 2008 Salt Lake Dining Awards Bear River roadwork to begin next week Submitted by Bear River Refuge Refuge staff and others have listened to visitor complaints of flat tires, vehicles vibrating off the road, or having to drive through flood waters only to end up in a giant pothole. The Box Elder County road which provides access to the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuges auto tour route, hunting and fishing-areas has tested the road-worthiness of many a vehicle over the past 25 years. Work will soon begin to improve the situation. A federal roads project will include installation of new culverts, widening, raising and paving the county road. The first section to receive treatment will be from the Refuges security gate, near the beginning of the auto tour route, proceeding east for approximately 34 miles, to the Refuge's "O" line canal. The_road will be closed to the public at this point, which is 8 miles east of the Refuge visitor center. Construction and road closure will begin on July 14 and continue through mid September. Project managers say that with complete closure of the road, they will be able to accomplish the work more quickly. Although contractors have until July of 2009 to finish this first phase of the project, they hope to have it done well before that date. A turn lane at the end of the visitor center driveway, and a bike path from Forest Street to the building are also scheduled to be completed this year. The next section of road work will begin in 2010, and bring develop- ments to the Canada Goose club, which is 5 miles west of the visitor center. During this time, in order to offer visitors a look at Refuge wildlife, guided tours are being offered on Thursdays at 9:00 a.m. and Saturdays at 10:30 a.m. Reservations can be made, but walk-ins are welcome as well, until tours are full. For tour information, visit the Refuge web site at: h ttp://beaniver. fws.go v. Questions can be directed to Refuge Managers by calling: (435) 723-5887. i i i i Entrees Recent i coiripliiTicntary cntrfe when you tJuje inc-tHer entree ol eqml or greater niuc. VJIH! Mon-Thur) ihrough ?'31'08 Valid .'or dinner and din:-in only, for 2 or more people. L__. Reef's Kitchen • 1612 Ute Blvd. • KimbaUjunction • 435.658.0323 rum CITY/cwrnvi nmntc CQmrnnYme/on/ M UTflH H U N K OF I K OFF-DliOflDlUflY C01IWflMJHHIT! At The Canyons Resort OPEN FOR SUMMER Enjoy a scenic gondola ride to this truly unique alpine location for a gourmet lunch. ••>•*?- AVOCADO &. CRAB STUFFED TUNA ROLL NEW SUNDAY BRUNCH MENU io:oo a.m. - 3:00 p.m. SUMMER HOURS Wednesday - Sunday Lunch 11:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Apres Hike: 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. *You must purchase a gondola ticket , to access Red Pine Cafe - Guests who have purchased a gondola ticket will receive a special 10% discount on food and non-alcoholic beverages.. •* GOD HOCKS! YdflH! PftRK CITY LOCALS: Give us your Park City business card JUnt Q7TH - DUO QHD C FOR TICKETS CALL 435-649-9371 OR VISIT WWW.PARKCITYSHOW5.COM For mote information, visit WWW.THEliANY0NS.COM er call (435) 615-2888 O 2O08 Tho Canyons. All Rights Rcp/ved The Canyons and The Canyons mountain logo arc? registered trademarks of A5C Utah, Inc. Wednesday Friday, and you & your guests gondola ride to Red Pine Cafe is FREt. available at Canyon Mountain Sports. |