Offbeat entrepreneurs in Beijing's hutong

David Wang saws the bamboo to make a bicycle frame in his studio in a hutong in Beijing, July 11, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

"A bamboo bicycle is not a business. All its value is endowed by the maker," he said, suggesting everyone interested in it to make one themselves.

Since 2015, Wang has a six-week long volunteer program during the summer vacation for free. Participants from various countries, mainly high school and university students, learn the skills of making bamboo bicycles and try to apply the research methods of anthropology in exploring the communities nearby and thinking about how they can serve them.

Through such services and cooperation with schools and businesses, he hopes that he can find a model of his own to keep growing.