Cycling events are attracting more and more attention in Asia! After the success of Velo-city 2016 in Taipei, on the 20th of November, the Green Bike-Transit hosted another great event in Shenzhen. It was the Second China Cycling Conference which attracted hundreds of experts and scholars from all over the world to share their opinions and insights, discuss the challenges and opportunities of increasing use of bicycles and growing modal share of cycling.

Yang Tao, a chairman of the Nanjing Institute of City & Transport Planning, delivered an opening speech, where he stressed that the “Dark ages” of Chinese urban traffic had arrived, and it caused various problems such as traffic jams, haze and health risks. He emphasized that the ‘greener solution’, such as cycling, is an emergency need under the current circumstances in China.

However, some promising developments are already taking place in China. For instance, Zhou Xiang, director of Comprehensive Planning Department, Transportation Branch of Shanghai Urban Planning and Design Institute, introduced the city’s vision for 2040, where sustainable transportation (including cycling, of course) play the crucial role in further development of the city. What is more, following great European examples of cycle highways, Li Minsheng made the recommendations for building bicycle freeways in addition to already existing cycling networks in Xiamen Island. Even in mountainous territories in China cycling could be a solution as it is proved by another example presented by Ms. Fu Yan, deputy chief engineer of Chongqing Transport Planning Institute who shared her experiences of how the cycling infrastructure was created in a mountain city, Chongqing.

Public bike-sharing schemes (BSS) was another milestone at the conference which has also attracted attention of the participants as well as Chinese society in general. Li Hao, an expert from Beijing Tsinghua Tongheng Urban Planning and Design Institute, presented the remarkable advantages of a mixture of BSS and subways in urban cities, and their possible development in Chinese cities.

Overall, the conference tackled various topics concerning the growth of cycling and development of cycling-friendly cities in China. Chen Jiajun, an executive director of Green Bike-Transit, told after the conference: “Among nearly 300 participants, there were students and professionals of urban planning and transportation, cyclists and simply interested citizens. They all provided a heated discussion about the come-back of bicycles to the Chinese cities; and thousands of advice and suggestions were received on how to further implement and promote a sustainable city development”.