Beijing Courier Bicycle

14.12.2009 von Ines.

A lot of people ask me if there are bicycle couriers in Beijing. Well of course! …but not the kind you are thinking of. A lot of goods in the center of the city are delivered on two or tree wheels. It is often some elderly Chinese guy that cycles in the summer with his tank top rolled up to the arm pits, spitting on the ground while smoking a cigarette and cycling at an amazingly slow pace.

But there are also the companies specialized in delivery like EMS (Express Mail Delivery) that use bikes. Today I say a nice EMS Flying Pigeon in the Beijing modern flashy CBD district.

The guys riding these bikes ride faster than the typical tricycle delivery guys, but I would not call them bicycle messengers or couriers. And they often do not ride because they like riding but because their boss only gives them a bike and that is their job. So a very different perspective compared to bicycle couriers in other metropolitan cities around the world. But I wonder if Beijing will have bicycle couriers in the future - especially when the streets are more and more jammed and it will be obvious that cycling is the fastest way to get around or important documents delivered. I hope so.

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