'Bicycle Kingdom' Comes Back as a Solution to Air Pollution in China

New York, N.Y.  Cars have replaced bicycles as the primary means of transport in many Chinese cities but, with air pollution a major problem for the country, the bike is making a comeback, thanks to digital technology, and some 21st Century thinking.

Youth riding share bikes along the UNESCO World Heritage Site

West Lake in Hangzhou, China. Photo: Yimin Feng.

China was once considered to be the "Kingdom of the Bicycle,” with bikes dominating city streets across the country, but over the past four decades, China’s dramatic economic prosperity and urbanization has seen many people move to motor vehicles as their primary means of transport, contributing to a marked deterioration in air quality.

In Hangzhou, a city in eastern China that was once described by the Italian explorer Marco Polo as “the finest and most splendid city in the world,” air pollution has had a devastating effect. According to  data  backed by the World Health Organization ( WHO ), Hangzhou’s air pollution is well over WHO’s safe level.

However, in a bid to improve public health and the environment, the Hangzhou authorities have put a fresh emphasis on cycling, which, allied with digital technology, is helping to cut pollution: other cities are following their example.