It started as a social media quest for breakfast dumplings, but ended with thousands of cyclists bringing traffic gridlock between two cities in central China.
What should have been a boost to the ancient city of Kaifeng’s economy backfired when the trend went viral – tens of thousands on rented bikes cycled through the night from nearby Zhenghou.
A six-lane expressway between the two cities quickly filled with cyclists as police took to loudspeakers urging them to leave. Bike rental firms warned they would remotely lock bikes taken out of Zhengzhou.
The event is part of a trend where young Chinese are travelling cheaply at a time when the economy is faltering and job prospects are scarce.
It began with four university students who cycled for 50km (30 miles) from Zhengzhou to Kaifeng in June to try guantangbao, a type of soup dumpling.
“You don’t get a second chance at youth, so you must go for a spontaneous trip with friends,” one of the four had told local media.
That message struck a chord with other young people in the city of 12.6 million – China’s young have increasingly been complaining of burnout from an overly-competitive and grinding job market.
Thus was born the social media trend “Night Ride to Kaifeng”.
State media initially praised it as a demonstration of young people’s “passion”. And local government saw it as an opportunity to recreate the instant fame that the town of Zibo enjoyed last year as millions arrived to sample its barbecues.
Before Friday night’s gridlock Kaifeng’s officials even announced discounts and events targeting college students. They also put in place additional traffic control measures to protect the cyclists.
“Everyone was beaming with energy and interacting with people around them. It was like back to my college days,” 27-year-old Ms Li told the BBC.
