Black Bike Ring of China

Three days into the CET language program, I was ready for a bike. After asking numerous teachers, the dorm RA, and an elderly bike repair 师傅, fellow classmate Lydia马丽恬 and I were ready to explore the second-hand bike market of Harbin. A thirty minute walk to He Xing Road 和兴路 brought us upon two used bikes- they were beautiful. But a mandatory CET meeting that same afternoon forced us to make a hard decision; clutch onto our wallets and walk back to campus. If China has taught me anything, it is to never put time constraints on making a purchase. This is coming from someone who has made some pricey purchases in the past because their flight was the next morning and they were in a rush to finish gift shopping…

But we were back to bike shopping! The first weekend had past at Harbin Institute of Technology (哈尔滨工业大学) and we had made it to Guxiang (the red circled area on the map above). Bikes, bikes, glorious bikes!That day I dropped a hefty $15 dollars, an adventurous investment.

Biking back to campus, I realized the bike markets of China really need a double take. At first glance the set-up seems to be nothing more than an old man/woman selling eight crummy bikes on the side of the street, but there’s a humorous and bittersweet market cycle behind it. Often called the “Black Bike Ring,” some second-hand bike markets have sellers standing on bridges or overpasses daily, whispering “买车” (“selling bikes”) to passer-byers. The accepted fact among locals is that most, if not all second hand bike stock are obtained though questionable means- they’re stolen. One of the CET teachers relayed a story of a local who bought a second hand bike only to be stopped by a furious stranger who recognized the bike as their own. As a precaution to what I still feel is a very UNLIKELY situation, I chose a bike commonly seen being ridden throughout the streets of Harbin.

It’s a karma-like circle. These bikes are the cheapest to buy, selling around 100 to 200 RMB (17 to 25 U.S. dollars) but there worn exterior makes them great second-hand bike stock- who would recognize them? There is no doubt in my mind that the bike I own now had a wonderful owner in its earlier days, and I empathize with the heart-clenching feeling they felt finding only a broken chain where they had last left their bike. I will feel the same way when it comes time for my bike to return the second-hand street market; I just hope it happens during winter.

-Ma