A viral night-time cycling trend has taken over the small tourist city of Kaifeng in China, leaving local authorities scrambling to manage the influx of visitors. Thousands of university students have been riding their bikes for up to 50 kilometers to reach the city, drawn by the allure of its famous soup dumplings.
On Friday, the situation escalated dramatically, with an estimated 100,000 people making the journey. This caused severe traffic congestion and prompting officials to close several roads over the weekend.
Most participants used public share bikes, pedaling several hours through Henan province from their campuses in Zhengzhou to Kaifeng. The scene was enthusiastic, with cyclists singing and cheering each other on. Dubbed the “Night Riding Army,” this trend has captured the attention of many over the past few weeks.
However, the sheer number of cyclists quickly overwhelmed Kaifeng. Videos circulating on social media depicted the six-lane Zhengkai Avenue, the main expressway connecting Zhengzhou to Kaifeng, choked with tens of thousands of cyclists.
In response to the chaos, officials implemented restrictions over the weekend, limiting bike routes and closing certain roads. Bike-sharing platforms also issued warnings that bicycles would be remotely locked if taken outside designated zones in Zhengzhou. Some universities in Zhengzhou even imposed bans on bicycles on campus.
The soup dumpling craze began in June when four students from Zhengzhou University rode to Kaifeng to sample the oversized dumplings known as guan tang bao. Their social media posts gained traction, leading to the popular hashtag “Youth is priceless, night ride to Kaifeng has it.”
As word spread, more students made the trek, with nearly 2,000 arriving in Kaifeng alone last weekend. State media outlet People’s Daily expressed enthusiasm for the trend, celebrating youth engagement. However, the numbers surged dramatically, with reports indicating that 17,000 made the trip on Thursday and between 100,000 to 200,000 on Friday.
Frustrated residents of Kaifeng lodged complaints with local police, expressing their discontent at the overwhelming crowds. Bikes and litter were scattered throughout the city, igniting discussions about whether authorities had implemented adequate measures to manage the trend.
One Weibo user lamented, “At the beginning, it was hyped up, but in the end, it all ended in collapse and failure. Media should reflect on their role in encouraging this behavior.”
