China Clamps Down on Quest for Soup Dumplings by 'Night Riding Army'

11/11/2024 12:16

        Police in central China imposed traffic curbs at the weekend to halt a viral craze in which thousands of university students borrowed share bikes to ride overnight to the city of Kaifeng in search of breakfast.
        
        The "Night Riding Army", as some participants described it, clogged a highway on Friday, pictures posted on social media showed, a surge in turnout for a rolling flash mob that had been gathering riders for months.
        
        The event was part of a trend of young Chinese travelling on the cheap - "like special forces" - and spending as little as possible at a time of scarce job prospects, when wages are under pressure.
        
        The riders travelled on a straight road more than 60 km long beside the Yellow River that links Zhengzhou, the largest city in Henan province, with Kaifeng, an ancient capital famed for its soup dumplings.
        
        The trend was set off in June, Chinese media said, after four women college students chronicled their ride on social media to eat dumplings in the morning.