About three decades ago, China was known as the 「Bicycle Kingdom」. But the two-wheeled mode （方式） of transport’s popularity began to fade, with many bikes soon replaced by their fuel-powered competitors.
大約在30年前，中國被稱為「自行車王國」。但隨著自行車不久被燃油驅動的汽車所取代，這種雙輪交通方式的熱度開始衰退。
But recent months have seen a revival of the humble bike across China, with an increasing number of people choosing cycling instead of driving to schools, to workplaces or to do sightseeing. The introduction of bike-sharing schemes, pioneered by start-ups like Ofo and Mobike, has brought the trend to a new level.
但在近幾個月中，中國大地上見證了一場普通自行車的復興，越來越多的人選擇騎車上班上學、遊覽觀光，而非駕車出行。而由Ofo、摩拜單車等新興公司發起的共享單車計劃，則將這一趨勢帶向了一個新高度。
According to data compiled by iResearch Consulting Group, the first week of this year saw 5.85 million active users of Mobike while Ofo had 1.4 million active users.
根據艾瑞諮詢集團整理的數據顯示，在本年度的第一周中，摩拜單車共有585萬活躍用戶，而Ofo則有140萬。
People can unlock the shared bikes by simply using their smartphone. The bikes are equipped with GPS and can be left anywhere in public for the next user. They’re popular among many Chinese people as they provide an effective solution to the 「last mile」 problem, which refers to the final leg of a person’s journey.
僅憑自己的智慧型手機，人們就能解鎖這種共享單車。這些單車都裝有全球定位系統，可以被放在公共場合的任何地方，等待下一位用戶使用。它們受到了許多中國人的歡迎，因為它們有效地解決了「最後一公裡」難題，即個人行程中的最後一段。
「In places where the subway doesn’t extend, where it’s difficult to change from one kind of transport to another, it’s so easy to get where you want to go with Mobike,」 Hu Hong, 29, told AFP. She pedals to her Shanghai real-estate job.
「在地鐵線路覆蓋不到的地方，很難換乘其他交通，用摩拜單車去你想去的地方就簡單多了，」29歲的胡紅（音譯）在接受法新社採訪時表示。在上海從事房地產行業的她都是騎自行車去上班的。
However, the schemes have also led to problems such as illegal parking, vandalism and theft.
然而，這一計劃也出現了一些問題，如非法停車，故意破壞和偷竊等。
Last month, two nurses in Beijing were placed under administrative detention for five days for putting locks on two shared bikes.
上個月，北京的兩名護士因在共享單車上上鎖（佔為己有），被處以行政拘留5天。
And in December, a man who stole a shared bike was sentenced to a 3-month detention with a 3-month probation, and fined 1,000 yuan by the Shanghai Minhang People’s Court.
而在去年12月，一名男子因偷竊一輛共享單車，被上海閔行人民法院判處拘役3個月，緩刑3個月，並處罰金人民幣一千元。
「Bike-sharing is a greener method of transportation and provides a user-friendly experience,」 said Liu Xiaoming, vice-minister of transport. 「But it’s a combination of online and offline business. Operators are usually strong in online services, but lack offline business experience, which causes problems.」
「共享單車是種更加綠色的出行方式，並且為用戶提供了一種友好的體驗，」交通部副部長劉小明表示。「但是這是一種線上和線下商業的結合。經營者的線上業務能力很強，但缺乏線下業務經驗，導致了問題產生。」
In fact, these problems are also shared by bike-sharing schemes abroad. Launched in 2007, Vélib is a large-scale public bike sharing system in Paris. At its early stage of operation, it also suffered from problems of vandalism or theft.
事實上，這些問題在國外的共享單車體系中也同樣存在。創建於2007年的Vélib是一個位於巴黎的大型公共單車共享系統。在其初期的運營中，它也曾遭遇故意損毀及偷竊等問題。
By Oct 2009, a large number of Vélib’s initial bikes had to be replaced due to vandalism or theft, according to The New York Times. Bikes were found hanging from lampposts or thrown into the Seine River.
據《紐約時報》報導，截至2009年10月，由於故意損毀和偷竊問題，大量初期的Vélib自行車不得不被置換。這些自行車曾被發現掛在街燈柱上，或是被扔進了塞納河中。
To deal with these problems, the company came up with the idea of encouraging people to return the bikes to stations by rewarding free time for their next rides.
為了處理這些問題，該公司想到一個辦法：鼓勵人們將自行車歸還至站點，並在他們下次使用時獎勵免費用車時間。
Now, Chinese service operators are also trying to address these problems. For example, Mobike sets a 100-point credit score for each user, with points taken in the case of bad behavior. Once a score drops below 80, bike rental is increased to 100 yuan per 30 minutes, up from 0.5-1 yuan.
現在，中國的服務經營者們也開始嘗試去解決這些問題。舉個例子，摩拜單車為每個用戶設定了100分的信用值，行為不當將會被扣分。當信用值降到80分以下時，自行車租賃費用將會從每30分鐘0.5-1元上漲到100元。
來源：21世紀英語