Bicycle Markets around the Campus

As most foreign teachers don’t want to drop a large sum of money on a bicycle they’ll only need for a year or two, it’s better to buy used. The following two locations are both massive used bike markets where you can find a decent bicycle for as low as RMB 100 if you have the bargaining skills. Word of warning: the vendors will try to rip you off, so be weary.

Bike Market of Zhejiang

Zhejiang Sheng Hangzhou Shi Jiang Gan Qu Kai Xuan Lu #319

(浙江省杭州市江干区凯旋路319号)

Used Bicycle Market

Just outside the Old East Hangzhou Bus Station

(杭洲老汽车东站东边)

As this market isn’t exactly “official”, per se, there’s no official address. If you spend some time walking around the East Hangzhou Bus Station though, you’ll run into someone offering to show you his or her bicycle selection. Somewhat sketchy, but the best way to get a high-quality bike at a low price.

Public Bicycle Rentals

To rent one of the red public bicycles you see around Hangzhou, head to your nearest Hangzhou Public Transit office and apply for a bus card. They’ll ask for a 200 RMB deposit for the card, which is good for both riding public transit and for renting public bicycles. The Z card is exclusively for bike rentals. If you want to rent a bike with the card, simply find your closest station and swipe the card to release a bike. It’s free for the first hour, two yuan for the second hour, and three yuan an hour after that. There’s a bicycle station located outside of Wenyi campus East Gate. Just exit the gate, turn right, and walk for approximately 2 minutes. The major complaint from people is that sometimes it’s difficult to find a bike station where they can drop the bike off when they’re done, as the stations fill up in the evening.