0044 - Sales in the countryside are growing with improved living standards....Back

Sales in the countryside are growing with improved living standards. There were very few bicycles in the rural areas before liberation, and they belonged mainly to landlord and other rich families. Today it is a common sight to see commune members riding to the fields on their bicycles, carrying their tools. Some very sturdy models have been built for peasants for they often carry heavy loads over rough roads. One made by the Tientsin Bicycle Plant, whose "Flying Dove" model has won a reputation in Southeast Asia, has a reinforced frame and luggage carrier and is designed specially for rural use. China's bicycle industry has a history going back to 1919, when a few workshops were set up to assemble foreign-made bicycles. The Tientsin Bicycle Plant was established by the Japanese in 1937 to assemble Japanese-made cycles for the Japanese army of occupation. After Japan's surrender, turned to assembling U.S.-made bicycles. It was a poorly equipped plant, and has been completely retooled since liberation. It has been greatly enlarged and is now one of China's biggest bicycle factories. With the exception of the tyres, it makes every part of a bicycle on its own premises.