200 thousand cyclists who went out at night for dumplings caused chaos in China (4 photos + 1 video)
Category: Interesting photo stories, PEGI 0+
14 November 2024
In China's Henan Province, bike lanes leading from Zhengzhou to Kaifeng were closed as students flocked to sample the city's signature dumpling soup. 
Around 200,000 young people rented bikes to travel from Zhengzhou to Kaifeng, 80 km away, to sample the city's signature dumpling soup at night. The sudden flash mob, which spread on social media, eventually caused a traffic jam.
Chinese authorities have clamped down on a social media trend after thousands of cyclists blocked a highway. Police in Henan Province closed bike lanes connecting Zhengzhou and Kaifeng to curb the number of students cycling the 77-kilometer (47-mile) distance.
Photos show a crowd of students, dubbed an "army of night riders" by some, blocking a highway in central China on Friday night.
Local media estimated that about 200,000 young people rented bicycles (costing only about $2 a month) to go to Kaifeng to try the city's famous guantangbao, a type of dumpling soup.
Liu Lulu, a student at Henan University, told state media China Daily: "People sang together and cheered each other on as they climbed the mountain together. I could feel the passion of the young people. It was much more than just a bike ride."
One person also wrote on social media: "Last night's Night Riding Army was amazing! They had two lanes open, but it just wasn't enough: the army of cyclists took up four!"
The trend started in June when four young women in Zhengzhou suddenly went on a dumpling shopping trip. Since then, social media users in China have turned cycling into a trend.
But the flash mob became too big, so cyclists ended up blocking the highway and then causing parking problems when they started dumping their bikes at city landmarks.
The province's three major bike-sharing providers, Hellobike, DiDi Bike and Mobike, also issued a joint notice on Saturday saying their bikes would be blocked if ridden outside designated areas in Zhengzhou.
And while the Kaifeng government said "youth needs passion," it urged Zhengzhou students to avoid riding in large groups.
