On today's Real China, we'll observe some changes here in China, known to many as the "bicycle kingdom."

If you were told China was the "Bicycle Kingdom" before you come here, you would be a bit disappointed to find fewer bicycles and far more cars then expected, especially in big cities like Beijing and Shanghai.
 
Nowadays, I see fewer people around me biking. My friends, my family, most of them either take the subway, bus or buy a car.

But don't get us wrong here. There are still many bikers on the roads, but the difference is they sometimes have to make way for the increasing number of automobiles aside them. Our reporter Zhao Zhuang is here to tell you more interesting stories about changes in the bicycle kingdom..

REPORTER:  

Believe it or not, more urban dwellers are abandoning bicycles and turning to buses, subways, or private cars to get around.

Before, there used to be more than 10 million bicycles in Beijing. Now there are only four million, about half of which are used everyday. China produces some 70 million bikes a year, but 50 million of them are sold abroad.

Thirty-eight percent of passengers in Beijing travel by bike. Only 20 years ago, the figure was 58%. Over 30% of passengers take taxis and cars compared to only 6% in the past.

Shi Yan is among those who gave up his bike. It has been four years since he last rode one.

"In the past, riding for half an hour or even more was fun. But after I graduated from college and started working, I feel less energetic and vigorous and found it too exhausting to ride to and from work."

Rather than riding a bike, he chose to rent a house located very close to his company. A year later, when he quitted his job, he moved to a new area around a subway station since his second company was located near Beijing's subway line 2.

Now a car owner, it seems Shi Yan has left bikes far behind him.
 
"I think it's much more comfortable to drive than to bike, though sometimes traffic jams do waste a lot of time. When I drive, I fear bikes making their way onto car lanes. I think the traffic watchdog should put railings on more roads and streets to clearly separate bike lanes from car lanes."

Zhang Chong is a Beijing resident in her 50s. When recalling the old days, she can clearly remember the fun and hardship brought on by her bike.
 
"I used to ride over 20 kilometers everyday to and from work. I could breathe in fresh air, but it was tough in some bad weather. I also took my daughter to school and we chatted happily on our way. Sometimes she sang for me if she found I was tired."

She rode until the last few years. Now, she chooses to walk to her job.
 
"There's no place to park the bike, both in my neighborhood or around my company. Now public transportation is very convenient and my family bought a car. I seldom ride a bike now."

Known to many as the "bicycle kingdom," China is rapidly losing its status as its roads become increasingly clogged by automobiles.

Regardless of congestion in large cities or the government's calls for two-wheeled transportation, the country's fondness for the four-wheeled kind shows no sign of slowing down.

Automobiles on the roads increase by the millions each year as the number of bicycles declines. In 1949, there were only 2,300 automobiles on the boulevards of Beijing. In 1997, that number had increased to one million. Just six years later, the figure had been doubled. These days, 1,000 new cars are added to Beijing's streets every single day.

Last November, during the Forum of China-Africa Cooperation, the government requested citizens cycle so that traffic would flow more freely. The result was a congestion-free Beijing. But as soon as the event drew to a close, chaos came back to the streets.
Although people saw they've saved a lot of time cycling, there are disadvantages to cycling as well. A young man, Chang Hao, complained about the most troublesome part of owning a bike.

"It's so easy for bikes to be stolen. I've lost three to four at least. And it's scary sometimes when cars almost hit me. The air quality is also bad from the pollution by car emissions."
 
According to a recent survey, 30 percent of the 1,500 respondents in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou said they planned to purchase a car within a year. Car fever has reached an unprecedented high compared with similar surveys years ago.

You can find parking lots for cars near office buildings and residential communities, but hardly any for bikes, especially near newly built ones off Beijing's busiest streets.

Just like Shi Yan said, as society continues to develop and our lives continue to improve, why cycle when we can afford to drive?
 
"We have to experience the whole process. Bikes used to be a key transportation tool when I couldn't afford a car. Now, bikes are being left behind because the city has dramatically expanded and I have to have a car. In the near future, cycling will become a pure leisure exercise."

Despite this car craze, the Chinese government has encouraged residents to leave their cars at home to tackle pollution and traffic jams.

China's Vice Minister of Construction Qiu Baoxing said that China should maintain its number of cyclists and make biking more convenient. In the 1980s, there were 500 million bikes in China and more cities had special cycling lanes. They disappeared with the expansion of the roadways, but now they will be brought back.

For Beyond Beijing, this is Zhao Zhuang.