Tens of thousands of Chinese college students went cycling at night. That put the government on edge

As night falls, a large group of young people, riding shared bikes, complete a 48-kilometer journey in the cool evening breeze. They are full of youthful energy, enjoying this spontaneous adventure with their friends.

In Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan province, a trend of college students cycling to Kaifeng at night has become very popular. Kaifeng, an ancient city, is known for its historical sites and soup dumplings. Initially, the government even encouraged this trend to promote local tourism. However, now the situation seems to be out of control, and officials have had to take measures to curb the craze, including deploying police and closing bike lanes.

Thousands of cyclists have paralyzed intercity traffic, and discarded bikes have piled up on the streets of Kaifeng, making it difficult for commuters in Zhengzhou to find bikes to return home. The official reason given is that this spontaneous gathering has caused traffic chaos and safety hazards.

However, the sight of large groups of college students mobilizing, organizing, and gathering in public spaces may have made local officials uneasy. Given the ruling Communist Party's history with Chinese youth movements and its high priority on stability, this concern is understandable.

Last Friday night, Zhengkai Avenue, the main road connecting Zhengzhou and Kaifeng, was packed with a continuous stream of young cyclists. Police tried to maintain order, but according to videos circulating on Chinese social media, cyclists completely occupied the five-lane road in some sections. Over the weekend, authorities in Kaifeng and Zhengzhou closed the bike lanes on Zhengkai Avenue to prevent cyclists from entering.

Meanwhile, three shared bike platforms in Zhengzhou issued a joint statement warning that their bikes would be automatically locked if ridden out of the city. To prevent students from joining the cycling groups, some universities in Zhengzhou even restricted students from leaving campus. Chinese authorities have long been deeply suspicious of spontaneous youth gatherings, whether political or otherwise.

In the spring of 1989, college students in Beijing rode their bicycles to Tiananmen Square to participate in pro-democracy protests, which were ultimately bloodily suppressed by the Chinese army. This remains one of China's most sensitive political taboos, to the point that most of what happened at that time is heavily censored domestically. In late 2022, young people protested leader Xi Jinping's strict Covid-19 restrictions, mainly on the streets or university campuses in major Chinese cities, which was considered one of the most unusual challenges to the Communist Party's rule in decades.

However, the cycling events to Kaifeng do not seem to be intended to convey a political message. Although some student cyclists carried Chinese flags, sang the national anthem, and shouted slogans supporting the Communist Party, and some even waved banners calling for unification with Taiwan, most seemed to have joined the ride just for fun. But as the scale of the night rides grew and began to spread to other cities, local officials intervened.

These emergency measures mark a sudden shift in the government's stance. Previously, authorities had actively promoted this trend. The trend began in June this year when four female college students in Zhengzhou impulsively rode shared bikes to Kaifeng to satisfy a late-night craving for soup dumplings. Their journey quickly went viral, inspiring more students in Zhengzhou to follow suit, and the topic "Youth is Priceless" became a hit on social media.

One student cyclist wrote on Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok): "Riding a shared bike from Zhengzhou to Kaifeng for breakfast. Youth should be used to enjoy, indulge, and have unlimited energy." This post received nearly 250,000 likes. To attract more tourists and capitalize on its newfound internet fame, Kaifeng went all out to welcome students, including free entry to tourist attractions. Official media also expressed support for the students' journeys, calling it a display of "youthful passion."

A report on the English website of the People's Daily stated: "The spontaneous trip, which began for soup dumplings, has become a symbol of youthful vitality and the joy of shared experience, energizing the streets of Henan in a new and unexpected way." A student from Henan University told the People's Daily: "I met many people like me along the way, some carrying flags, some playing music, and even some singing together. When we encountered uphill sections, everyone encouraged each other. We didn't know each other, but we felt like comrades-in-arms."

This craze and the subsequent crackdown have sparked controversy on the Chinese internet. Some people accuse the students of flooding into Kaifeng and causing trouble for residents. Others say that local authorities should have been better prepared for the influx of students before they started promoting the trend. One Weibo user commented, "The local tourism bureau wanted to make money from the trend, but they didn't make the necessary preparations."

However, seeking fun or chasing discounts are not the only motivations for the long rides. For some students, it also provides a rare opportunity to escape the anxiety of a grim job market and an uncertain future amid an economic slowdown. A college graduate in Zhengzhou told the official media outlet, West China Metropolis Daily, that she was busy looking for a job and felt like she was stuck in a "bottomless pit." After seeing the trend on social media, she rode to Kaifeng with her friends on the night of November 3rd.

She told the newspaper, "The night ride felt like an adventure." She also said that listening to music and chatting with friends during the journey made all the anxiety and worries disappear. "At that moment, I wished I could keep riding forever and never return to reality."