International bike fair arrives in Shanghai

Bicycles and state-of-the-art technology and products from the industry by nearly 7,500 brands are currently on show at the 2018 China International Bicycle Fair in Shanghai.

The fair, which lasts till May 9, occupies 180,000 square meters of floor space across the six halls at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai).

China is often known as the "Bicycle Kingdom" because of it massive population of bicycles. There were close to 500 million bicycle owners in China in the 1980s. Later, as cars became popular, bicycles were largely replaced and became a symbol of the poor.

However, the population of bicycles has been on the rise over the past few years following the advent of bike-sharing services.

According to statistics, the country produced about 88.3 million bikes while exporting 56.4 million of them in 2017.

Electronic bicycles, motorcycles and outdoor cycling equipment were also put on display at the fair.