Across China: Chinese embrace low-carbon transport in health drive

Source: Xinhua| 2021-08-25 21:03:34|Editor: huaxia

YINCHUAN, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Zhang Anjun has not driven his car for so long that the battery on the vehicle has gone bad while sitting unused.

The 49-year-old living in Yinchuan, the capital city of northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, prefers walking, jogging and cycling, as he considers these modes of transportation healthier and greener.

Zhang has lost nearly 25 kg since joining jogging and cycling clubs and adopting a more low-carbon lifestyle.

"Many sports lovers opt for a low-carbon commute," he said.

According to Wang Haili, head of the Ningxia Cycling Association, the number of members grew from hundreds in 2015 when the association was founded to more than 70,000 currently.

Increasing health consciousness and expanding infrastructure for facilitating green travel in China have fueled the low-carbon growth.

Chen Shan, a 66-year-old retiree at the bike association, saw his stomach symptoms improving after regular cycling. Since joining the association in 2017 with his wife, Chen cycles dozens of kilometers each day. In last year alone, he traveled more than 26,000 km on bike, data on his cycling app showed.

"I wouldn't have traveled this far even by car," Chen said, citing common problems such as finding parking and traffic congestion faced by car owners.

The cycling trend has become more apparent because of the popularity of bike-sharing services.

According to a white paper on sustainable development of transport published last year, the daily usage of bike-sharing services averaged more than 45.7 million trips in 2019.

Local governments have also been promoting green travel. For instance, Beijing opened a 6.5-km bikeway, its first bicycle-only road, in the city's northern areas in 2019. East China's Zhejiang Province has also unveiled a cycling infrastructure initiative aimed at building a massive network of green cycling paths by 2022.

Wang said his association organizes annual campaigns to increase people's low-carbon awareness.

"From children to the elderly, anyone can enjoy cycling," Wang said. "It is more than a way of traveling; it is a way to become healthy." Enditem

KEY WORDS: China,Low,carbon,Health
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