The bicycle (children’s bicycle) industry in Pingxiang County emerged in the 1970s. After more than 50 years of development, it has achieved six major transformations: from individual products to complete sets; from low-quality to high-quality; from non-existent brands to established ones; from small-scale to large-scale operations; from domestic to international markets; and from scattered to clustered industries. It has become one of the four major bicycle and children’s bicycle industrial clusters in China, alongside the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta, and Bohai Rim regions. The Pingxiang County bicycle (children’s bicycle) industrial cluster and the intelligent electric toy industrial cluster are listed as key provincial-level characteristic industrial clusters. Among them, the Pingxiang children’s bicycle industrial cluster was recognized by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology as one of the first batch of national-level “Characteristic Industrial Clusters for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises.”
Early 1970s to early 1980s (from nothing to something, taking initial shape)
In the early 1970s, Pan Bose, Yin Shizeng, and Pan Yongfeng, residents of Lianglima Village and Huohong Village in Fengma Commune, Pingxiang County, started a bicycle refurbishment business by welding, painting, processing, polishing, and reselling recycled old bicycles and spare parts.
In January 1975, Tan Yumin, from Dongmayan Village, Hegumiao Commune, began assembling bicycle saddles at his home. This was the first family workshop for bicycle parts in the county, and it inspired surrounding villagers to start processing and producing bicycle saddles, pedals, and other parts.
In 1978, following the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the people of Pingxiang welcomed the spring breeze of reform and opening up. People began setting up stalls to sell bicycle parts at the traditional temple fair in Hegumiao. Hokumiao gradually developed into a well-known and important distribution center for bicycle parts.
By the late 1970s, Pingxiang County had basically formed a complete industrial chain integrating bicycle and spare parts processing, assembly, transportation, and sales. At the Hegu Temple Fair, there were over 1,000 stalls selling spare parts. On the 1st, 4th, 7th, and 9th days of the lunar calendar, the fair attracted merchants from more than 10 provinces and cities, including Hebei, Henan, Shanxi, Shandong, and Tianjin, with a daily visitor flow of over 6,000 people and a daily transaction volume exceeding 200,000 yuan.
Early 1980s – Late 1980s (A winding path forward, a phoenix rising from the ashes)
In the early 1980s, with the increasing prosperity of the bicycle market, some unscrupulous merchants engaged in speculation and profiteering, assembling and reselling counterfeit bicycles, which seriously disrupted the Pingxiang bicycle market.
This was followed by market rectification, business closures, and a three-year period of depression.
In September 1983, the Pingxiang County Party Committee and County Government issued a “Notice on Resolutely Banning the Installation and Resale of Counterfeit Bicycles,” organizing townships and law enforcement departments to severely crack down on illegal activities involving the installation and resale of counterfeit bicycles.
This enhanced the legal awareness of businesses and the public, leading to the application for business licenses and trademark registration, further expanding the bicycle industry. The “Hokumiao Bicycle Parts Market” developed into the largest specialized bicycle parts market in northern my country.
By the late 1980s, the bicycle industry in Pingxiang had experienced three rises and falls, twists and turns, and a phoenix-like rebirth, and began to embark on the road to prosperity for the people and the county, gradually forming a new situation of simultaneous development of adult bicycles and children’s bicycles.
Early 1990s – Late 1990s (Continuing the struggle and forging ahead)
By 1992, the county had over 100 bicycle, children’s bicycle, tricycle, and parts manufacturing enterprises, all of which had registered trademarks. A number of specialized villages and households had also emerged. Bicycles, children’s bicycles, tricycles, and parts gradually developed into the county’s largest pillar industry.
In early 1996, to meet the trading needs of the public, the Pingxiang County government planned to build the “China Bicycle Parts City.”
In May 1997, the first phase of the “China Bicycle Parts City” project at the Pingxiang County Hegumiao Bicycle Parts Market was completed, and more than 100,000 merchants and people from all directions attended the opening ceremony.
Early 21st Century – 2012 (Striving for Excellence and Leapfrogging)
The overall plan for the bicycle industrial park is as follows: The park is located in Hegumiao Town, with a planned area of 19.23 square kilometers. The first phase covers 1,000 mu (approximately 67 hectares) and is planned to house more than 300 enterprises, achieving an annual output value of more than 36 billion yuan.
In May 2011, 6,210 children’s bicycles from Pingxiang County, valued at US$175,000, were successfully exported to Germany. This marked the first time in 30 years of Pingxiang County’s bicycle industry development that it had successfully entered the high-end EU market.
Entering a new era, Pingxiang County, based on the new stage of development, fully and accurately implements the new development concept, actively integrates into and serves the new development pattern, adheres to reform as the driving force, science and technology as the support, and factors as the guarantee, strengthens technological innovation, creates independent brands, explores international markets, and promotes the leading industries to build momentum and sail steadily and far on the road of high-quality development.
