SamTexas said:
Thanks. So is that portion of China bicycle friendly? Are you on a regular bicycle ride, or an ebike ride?
I was actually out on my recumbent.
I will say something that may sound a bit harsh; but by western standards China is not bike friendly at all. Very few conventional bikes are seen on the streets. Most of the bicycles are the electric scooter style that have no pedals. Conventional bicycles tend to fall into two camps, th every poor, and more expensive, sport style, bikes.
Bicycling is seen as transportation for the very poor; however, in China the disdain for the poor is conspicuous and that turns into rude treatment of bicyclists. Just a few examples, last week I went to a relatively large forest park in Nanjing. Autos are permitted to drive in; but bicycles are not permitted in at all. It is common for bicyclists to be required to dismount at intersections while waiting for a light. Further, it is common, at entrances to campuses and other large facilities, for bicyclists to be required to dismount and walk through the entrance while autos are not even stopped; creating a situation where bicyclists are mounting and dismounting in the middle of a swarm of speeding autos, motorcycles and trucks. . . it is about reminding the poor of their place in society.
The much heralded separate lanes for bicycles suffer from terribly planned intersections that give priority to autos. Further, the lanes are typically used by autos and lorries to bypass traffic stalls. Bicycles are not permitted on any public transportation, not even if folded (however, this is frequently ignored on the long distance trains if you use the "slow" service trains). There is also th e stunning carelessness with which the Chinese drive. One of the things I look forward to on my returns to the US is the polite, orderly traffic.