Feel the charm of Zhejiang Province on the bike

At Zhejiang University, there is such a team who has cycled in all prefecture-level cities in Zhejiang Province, and whose total mileage has added up to 150,000 kilometers, literally equivalent to 4 times around the equator.

The team called Team ZJU Road Bike Club was established in 2015 by road cycling enthusiasts at Zhejiang University. It now has more 600 members, including both novice and professional cyclists. It ranks among Top 10 in the amateur category of Zhejiang Provincial Cycling League. “Cycling is not only the bond that links us but also the catalyst for our unity,” said LI Yuan, captain of the team.

Self-discipline is synonymous with the club. The 30-kilometer ride involves interval training, hill climbing training and endurance training. After that, its members will feel refreshed and reinvigorated, ready to embrace a new day of studying.

While mesmerized by the stunningly picturesque scenery along the ride, cyclists can also reap plenty of unexpected gains. “What we see and hear makes us have a more impressive grasp of Zhejiang’s development in a tangible way,” LI Yuan added.

In 2019, Zhinan Village in Lin’an District was inscribed on the list of China’s National Forest Villages. In that very year, LI Yuan rode to this village for the first time. At that time, there were merely occasional visitors. In 2020, the village took advantage of its massive terraces with rice paddies in the lower part and maple trees in the upper part. When LI Yuan road past the village the second time, he found a mushrooming number of distinctive countryside stores and pastoral B&B vacation homes. With rural revitalization in full swing, the village is now teeming with tourists. The happy smiles on the faces of the villagers are a “golden business card” of a vigorous Zhejiang.

LI Bei, a senior student at the School of Public Affairs, feels the same feeling. It is common practice for him to conduct surveys as a public affairs major. Once he rode past Houying Village in Lin’an District. His attention was dramatically drawn to an eye-catching QR code posted on the wall of a semi-detached house at the entrance of the village. Out of curiosity, he scanned the QR code with his smart phone. “Such micro-programs as ‘Livelihood and Welfare’ and ‘Public Opinions’ capture my attention. I feel that Zhejiang’s grassroots construction is indeed practical and pioneering,” said LI Bei. This experience was a valuable source of inspiration for his term paper in one high-division course. He explored the vigor of digital government construction, using the feedback system via the QR code as a prime example.