The Ultimate Guide to Bicycles At The Beijing Language and Culture University

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If you're planning on coming to study Chinese at The Beijing Language and Culture University for a semester or more, investing in a new or second-hand bicycle would be an excellent idea. I waited until I moved off-campus at the end of my first semester before sorting myself out with one, but even if you're living on campus at BLCU it can be a convenient way to get to and from classes and explore the surrounding area as well.

In this post I've tried my best to share some of my own experiences on buying, selling and protecting your bike during your time at BLCU. I also mention a few bike accessories which I found very useful and would recommend to others. I hope it helps.

Buying a bicycle new (and where I bought mine)

There is no shortage of bike shops in the BLCU and Wudaokou area. In my case, I was actually brought to one by a Chinese friend at the time who recommended it, though I think as long as you haggle and don't settle for their first price you should be able to get a good deal pretty much anywhere. It's also a great chance to practice your Mandarin.

The place I bought from was fairly small and all the way past Wudaokou near Tsinghua University's west gate, if I remember correctly. To get there you have to go straight past the crossroads at the Microsoft and Cernet buildings and continue on until the next right-turning which is a fairly busy junction.

If you didn't turn off down this road and instead continued straight on you would eventually come to a T-junction where Peking University is located. A left turn at that point would take you to Zhongguancun (the electronics district where I recommend you go to buy an electronic dictionary if you're in the market for one).

To get to this bike shop you would take the right turning and follow the road round until you saw it on the right-hand side. There are in fact two bike shops next to each other here but I bought mine from the first one. Let me make it clear though that I don't think you need to come here to get a bicycle and I'm simply sharing with you where I got mine.

At the time I believe I paid in the region of 250 RMB or so though my memory is now pretty foggy as it was well over a year ago. My Chinese friends also helped me get a good price and did all the negotiating which was lucky for me as otherwise I might have ended up paying a bit more.

My story aside, there are plenty of bike shops around BLCU and even one on campus which I mention a bit later as the best place to get your bike repaired (see map at end of post). You may want to inquire as to the prices of their bikes and if it's agreeable then that place is as good as any in my opinion. Otherwise, have a look in the surrounding area and see what the best deal you can find is. It's really just a matter of doing a bit of hunting for yourself and haggling hard for a good price.

Buying a bicycle second-hand (and selling your old one)

Due to the high turnover rate of students at BLCU, if you ask around towards the end of semester you should have no problem finding people that are either willing to sell you their bikes for next to nothing or just give it away for free because they are leaving. This makes it a great time to consider getting a bike if you hadn't already.

Alternatively, sometimes people will decide to upgrade to an electric scooter or gas moped (often costing a few thousand RMB) and so are also looking for a quick sale on their bike. These cases happen all through term and so it's really just a matter of knowing the right people or hearing about them through word of mouth.

Alternatively, the internet can be a great place to check for second-hand bikes (and other vehicles). The Beijinger website has a classified section for the sale of "Bikes, cars and other vehicles" which you could definitely check out if you're in the market for one.

It's a particularly good idea to buy second-hand if you're only going to be at BLCU for a semester or less, and even though new bikes are generally very cheap anyway, second-hand ones can literally be picked up for under 50 RMB sometimes. More often than not they're also still in good condition and were only purchased a matter of months earlier brand new. The owner might be selling it because they are leaving Beijing or upgrading, as I've already mentioned.

This is also information to bear in mind should you decide to sell your bike when you eventually leave BLCU. In my case, I gave mine away to a good Chinese friend I met out there as I didn't feel it was worth going through the hassle of finding someone to buy it for next to nothing anyway. Each to their own though and that's just what I decided to do.

Repairing your bicycle

As with anything, bikes don't last for ever and eventually you're probably going to need some repair work done to them. My old bike at BLCU actually needed quite a lot of repairs throughout the time I was there, the most common one being new or patched inner tubes due to riding over nails or other sharp objects.

I also had quite a few problems with my chain snapping on a number of occasions which would cause a lot of frustration at the time, particularly when I was a good distance out from BLCU and then had to push it all the way back to get it looked over. In the end though it was always just a matter of replacing a couple of the pins which held the chain links together. Nothing problematic and taken care of in a few minutes.

Maybe you're wondering why I used to push it all the way back to the BLCU campus instead of stopping at a repair place on the way? The answer's simple: the repair shop at the north-west of campus was the cheapest place I'd ever come across and sometimes they didn't even charge me for little things once they knew I was a regular customer.

Whereas off-campus I might get charged 20-30 RMB for basic repairs, at this place they would literally only charge me around 5 RMB or less. The difference was massive and that's the reason I kept going back and refused to use other repair shops after a while. It just made sense to go to the cheapest place that offered the best service.

Protecting your bicycle

I'm just guessing this but at the same time I know I'm probably right. It's likely that if Beijing has more bicycles than any other city in the world, it probably also has more bicycle thieves than any other city in the world too. To ensure my bike was never stolen, I purchased a good lock on the same day that I bought it. Doing it this way may also mean getting it slightly cheaper than if you were to buy it separately.

Don't be afraid to invest in a decent quality lock as at the end of the day it's all that's stopping somebody from picking up your bike and walking (or should I say riding) away with it. A decent lock shouldn't cost you much more than 30-50 RMB in my experience and that's not a lot to pay when you've just splashed out on a new bike anyway. Think of it as insurance.

Even if you got a really cheap second-hand bike, there's no need to be careless as I saw plenty of cases of people not locking their bikes up and then returning a few minutes later to find them gone. Gone with the wind. I mean gone with the Beijing wind. It happens all the time so don't be careless. You might not be bothered about losing a cheap bike but then you've also wasted your own time on getting it in the first place.

Providing you keep your bike locked up wherever you go, you should have no problems.

Bicycle accessories

Although I didn't think I'd ever use it, I decided to get a basket attached to my bike when I bought it and it ended up being a great decision. I would use it for everything from keeping my textbooks in on my way to and from class to loading it up with shopping or whatever else I was lugging around with me at that particular time. I'd even throw my bike lock in it when I was riding. It really did make a lot of things so much more convenient and I'd recommend anyone to invest those extra few RMB in getting one too.

Another useful accessory that I had added at the time of buying my bike was a "back seat". It was really just a flat but durable piece of padding which was fixed and screwed in behind the main seat and allowed anyone to hop on the back quite comfortably as a passenger. Again, for a few extra RMB it was a great investment.

Finally, a must-have accessory that you're going to use constantly in Beijing is a basic bell. There can be so many people out on the streets or around campus that you'll want to be able to let others know when you're coming up behind them or are otherwise nearby. Be sure to get one thrown in with your new bike or pick one up cheap if you're buying second-hand.

A little tip I'll throw in here too is that you don't need to buy a pump for your tyres as bike and repair shops always have them sitting out on the pavement for anyone to use free of charge. Also, if you're chain needs a quick oil my experience has been that you will never be expected to pay for this either. So keep these things in mind.

Well, I hope you have found this post helpful. What has your experience been with bicycles at BLCU? Any tips you could share with others? Please leave your thoughts and comments as well as questions in the comments section below.

Official BLCU campus map, Bicycle repair shop

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