Hasta La Ideas

Middle class aspirations—of car ownership, of course—notwithstanding, the humble bicycle endures as a touchstone of everyday life in Beijing. Although usage is unlikely to come anywhere near the 2/3-of-trips-by-bicycle mark set in the mid-80’s, the 2012 launch of the city’s bikeshare program and ever-increasing congestion are key factors in bringing pedal power back into fashion in the capital city… and at somewhere between 16–20% usage as of the current decade, they’re easily an order of magnitude beyond, say, NYC. The iconic Flying Pigeon may be a veritable endangered species among the mix of domestically-produced bikes on streets and sidewalks throughout the city, but the bicycle commuter, as a breed, certainly is unlikely to go extinct any time soon.

So too is the curbside repair shop a common sight, at least along the more heavily trafficked bicycle routes in the city center. In the interest of elevating the mundane mechanic, a team of students from CAFA’s Visual Communication program saw fit to elevate the ultralocal repair shop in the heart of Dashilar into a “Museum of Bicycle Parts,” repurposing bits and pieces of hardware into jewelry and toys.

Although there is nothing particularly precious about the upcycled parts—mostly chainlinks, plus nuts and bolts that remain recognizable as such—many of the native Chinese visitors were delighted by the winsome works, and I personally thought that the trinkets and tchotchkes made for more charming souvenirs than the gift items available at Beijing Design Week’s new retail store.

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