|
TAIYUAN, Nov. 15-- While some Chinese metropolises have proclaimed "enough is enough" to shared bikes, fleets of two-wheelers have started rolling into the vast countryside. In late October, leading bike-sharing operator Mobike put 20 bikes in Qiqili, a poor mountain village in north China's Shanxi Province, its first launch in a rural area. "I know what they are! You can use one simply with your mobile phone," Liu Wensheng, 57, told his fellow villagers at the small square where the bikes were parked. "I saw them before, in the city where I worked." Trapped deep in the mountains, Qiqili has only a few dozen families scattered on rolling hills. Last year, it found a path out of poverty -- tourism -- by capitalizing on its proximity to the winding Yellow River and its rustic lifestyle, including house caves called "yaodong." "The bikes are like a 'window' connecting villagers with the world. As tourism has boomed in Qiqili, they can better serve tourists," said Guo Ruoqiao, an official working at the village, who spent half a year persuading Mobike to offer the service at Qiqili. Riding a bike, villager Liu Ningfu can get home earlier after farm work. "With the bikes, we drop by more than before, and simply go for a ride for fun," Liu said. Tourist Zhang Shengnan from northeast China's Liaoning Province was astonished to see a shared bike in Qiqili. "It brings me a familiar feeling," said Zhang, adding that bike rides make the trip to the Yellow River more fun. | 
