Dumpling craze causes chaos in China as thousands on bikes block roads

A viral craze has left a small tourist city in China overwhelmed. The night-time cycling trend sees thousands of university students riding their bikes for 50 kilometres to the ancient city of Kaifeng in search of soup dumplings.

On Friday, it went out of hand with 100,000 people taking the trip, jamming roads, and forcing authorities to shut down some routes over the weekend.

Most of these students were on public share bikes and rode several hours through Henan province from their campuses in Zhengzhou to Kaifeng. The Friday trip saw people singing and cheering each other. Some people call it the "Night Riding Army" which has gained massive attraction over the past few weeks.

However, Kaifeng was soon drowning with people, and everything was completely packed. The six-lane Zhengkai avenue, the expressway between Zhengzhou and the streets of Kaifeng, could be seen filled with tens of thousands of cyclists in a video on social media.

Officials quickly took measures for the weekend, restricting bike routes and some roads. Bike share apps also warned that the bikes would be remotely locked if they were taken out of designated zones in Zhengzhou.

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Some universities in Zhengzhou banned bicycles on campus.

Can you imagine this is a contingent of university students riding on shared bikes for 5 hours over 50 kilometers from Henan's capital city Zhengzhou to Kaifeng city just for sightseeing and snacks? China's consumption potential is enormous! pic.twitter.com/CKYMtbcVzY — He Rulong 何儒龙 (@HeRulong) November 10, 2024

When did the soup dumpling trend start?

It all started in June when four Zhengzhou University students rode several hours to Kaifeng on share bikes to get their hands on the famous oversized soup dumplings, guan tang bao. Their social media posts became quite popular, spurring the hashtag “Youth is priceless, night ride to Kaifeng has it”.

Soon, more students started riding their bikes to the small city of Kaifeng which has been trying to attract more tourists. Nearly 2,000 of them reached Kaifeng last weekend. Official state media outlet, the People’s Daily was thrilled to see young Chinese going up there.

Then on Thursday, the number rose to a reported 17,000. On Friday, an estimated 100,000 to 200,000 students jammed the road.

Angry at seeing their city overrun by so many people, residents of Kaifeng filed complaints with the police. There were bikes and garbage strewn across the city, triggering a debate about whether authorities failed to put appropriate measures in place while pushing ahead with the trend.

One user wrote on Weibo, "At the beginning, it was hyped up, but in the endit all ended in collapse and failure. You media should reflect on yourselves. At the beginning, you all encouraged and praised this behaviour."