@nytimes reporter covering China and Asia, but mostly China. Got a tip? alexandra.stevenson@nytimes.com GPG
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This is a story of a Chinese town that once made the world's bicycles. It was whiplashed by a boom and sudden bust in bike-share start-ups (the guys who flooded cities w/ millions of 'dockless' bikes). Now it's dealing with the mess left behind w/ @caoclihttps://nyti.ms/2DBRfad
It's example of how China's scale leads to so much waste. This farmer's field is filled w/ bikes that belong to one of the many bike-sharing start-ups once called unicorns and valued at billions of $$. Now not even the tires on these bikes are worth selling, the farmer sayspic.twitter.com/VHkIwf7q0K
During the boom, this town was so busy that delivery trucks created daily traffic jams. Factories couldn't find enough workers and paid double. A residential high rise went up to money sloshed around. “They came very quickly,” said one guy who starting a biz painting bike frames.
"They left very quickly," he added. Soon factories were making so many bikes that there was a surplus. Some start-ups could no longer pay for their orders. Here is his shop today. Other storefronts stand empty on the street, too. Bicycle parts litter the town.pic.twitter.com/bNjZ95lYJL
Here is one shuttered factory. The note on the door says: “I am going back home for Chinese New Year. Will restart on the 18th of Chinese New Year," referring to Feb. 22. More than a month later, the person had yet to return. There are many others like this.pic.twitter.com/OAqcZCUXws
Booms and busts punctuate the Chinese internet scene in a way that even Silicon Valley at times might think extreme. The farmer's field with its rows of bikes -- and the many bike cemeteries across the country just like it -- are just another tombstone.https://nyti.ms/2DBRfad
So many people have mentioned donating them to developing countries. I would be happy to “sponsor a bike” (pay for it and shipping) if it goes to a good place.. if someone decides to organise it.
You are assuming they are constructed properly and are safe
If they are in usable condition they can send them to poor African countries where people still have to walk a lot to get basic needed things
Ya..they just wanna use their land and resources and not help them in developing...... i wish people and governments were more humane.
Traditional capitalism won’t solve environmental problems, it will create more.
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