共享单车的城市 · Cities of Shared Bicycles
Gòngxiǎng Dānchē de Chéngshì — How bike-sharing reshaped Chinese cities, for better and for worse.
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Every word shows its pinyin above the characters. The English translation follows each line.
几年前,共享单车在中国的城市迅速普及。
A few years ago, shared bicycles spread rapidly across cities in China.
只要用手机扫一下,就可以骑车去任何地方。
With just a swipe of your phone, you can ride one anywhere.
它解决了所谓"最后一公里"的出行难题。
It solved the so-called "last mile" transportation problem.
然而,盲目扩张很快带来了严重的管理问题。
But blind expansion soon brought serious management problems.
街道上的自行车乱停乱放,挡住了行人的路。
Bicycles were piled randomly on sidewalks, blocking pedestrians.
不少公司因为扩张太快,最后破产倒闭。
Many companies expanded too fast and eventually went bankrupt.
如今,这个行业已经成熟,共享单车成了城市基础设施的一部分。
Now the industry has matured, and shared bicycles have become part of urban infrastructure.
这是一个非常中国式的故事:先爆发式增长,再小心治理。
It's a very Chinese story — explosive growth followed by careful regulation.
最疯狂的时候,有几十家公司同时投放单车。
At the maddest point, dozens of companies were putting out bicycles at once.
每家都用不同的颜色,街上像开了一场比赛。
Each used a different color, and the streets looked like a race had opened.
黄色、橙色、蓝色、绿色,人们叫它们"彩虹大战"。
Yellow, orange, blue, green — people called it the "rainbow war".
公司为了抢用户,甚至推出一元骑一个月的活动。
To grab users, companies even ran promotions of one yuan for a whole month.
结果是钱烧完了,车却还堆在路边。
The result was that the money burned away while the bikes still piled up on the roadside.
有些城市出现了巨大的"单车坟场"。
Some cities grew enormous "bicycle graveyards".
成千上万辆车锈在空地上,从高处看非常震撼。
Tens of thousands of bikes rusted on open ground, staggering to see from above.
后来政府开始限制投放的数量。
Later the government began limiting how many could be put out.
也要求企业把用户的押金存进专门的账户。
It also required firms to hold user deposits in dedicated accounts.
现在剩下的几家公司规模小了,却活得更稳。
The few firms left today are smaller in scale but live far more steadily.
Vocabulary in this story (146 words)
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 几年前 | jǐ nián qián | a few years ago |
| 共享单车 | gòngxiǎng dānchē | shared bicycles |
| 在 | zài | in |
| 中国 | Zhōngguó | Chinese |
| 的 | de | (of) |
| 城市 | chéngshì | cities |
| 迅速 | xùnsù | rapidly |
| 普及 | pǔjí | became widespread |
| 只要 | zhǐyào | as long as |
| 用 | yòng | use |
| 手机 | shǒujī | phone |
| 扫 | sǎo | scan |
| 一下 | yíxià | once |
| 就 | jiù | then |
| 可以 | kěyǐ | can |
| 骑车 | qíchē | ride |
| 去 | qù | to |
| 任何 | rènhé | any |
| 地方 | dìfang | place |
| 它 | tā | it |
| 解决 | jiějué | solved |
| 了 | le | (past) |
| 所谓 | suǒwèi | so-called |
| 最后 | zuìhòu | last |
| 一公里 | yì gōnglǐ | one kilometer |
| 出行 | chūxíng | transit |
| 难题 | nántí | problem |
| 然而 | rán'ér | however |
| 盲目 | mángmù | blind |
| 扩张 | kuòzhāng | expansion |
| 很快 | hěn kuài | quickly |
| 带来 | dàilái | brought |
| 严重 | yánzhòng | serious |
| 管理 | guǎnlǐ | management |
| 问题 | wèntí | problems |
| 街道 | jiēdào | streets |
| 上 | shàng | on |
| 自行车 | zìxíngchē | bicycles |
| 乱 | luàn | chaotically |
| 停 | tíng | parked |
| 放 | fàng | placed |
| 挡 | dǎng | blocking |
| 住 | zhù | (holding) |
| 行人 | xíngrén | pedestrians |
| 路 | lù | path |
| 不少 | bùshǎo | many |
| 公司 | gōngsī | companies |
| 因为 | yīnwèi | because |
| 太 | tài | too |
| 快 | kuài | fast |
| 破产 | pòchǎn | went bankrupt |
| 倒闭 | dǎobì | closed down |
| 如今 | rújīn | now |
| 这个 | zhège | this |
| 行业 | hángyè | industry |
| 已经 | yǐjīng | has already |
| 成熟 | chéngshú | matured |
| 成 | chéng | became |
| 基础 | jīchǔ | basic |
| 设施 | shèshī | facilities |
| 一部分 | yí bùfen | a part |
| 这 | zhè | this |
| 是 | shì | is |
| 一个 | yí ge | a |
| 非常 | fēicháng | very |
| 式 | shì | -style |
| 故事 | gùshi | story |
| 先 | xiān | first |
| 爆发式 | bàofāshì | explosively |
| 增长 | zēngzhǎng | grow |
| 再 | zài | then |
| 小心 | xiǎoxīn | carefully |
| 治理 | zhìlǐ | regulate |
| 最疯狂 | zuì fēngkuáng | the maddest |
| 的时候 | de shíhou | at the point |
| 有 | yǒu | there were |
| 几十家 | jǐshí jiā | dozens of |
| 同时 | tóngshí | at once |
| 投放 | tóufàng | putting out |
| 单车 | dānchē | bicycles |
| 每家 | měi jiā | each one |
| 都 | dōu | all |
| 不同 | bùtóng | different |
| 颜色 | yánsè | colors |
| 街上 | jiē shàng | the streets |
| 像 | xiàng | looked as if |
| 开 | kāi | had opened |
| 一场 | yì chǎng | a |
| 比赛 | bǐsài | race |
| 黄色 | huángsè | yellow |
| 橙色 | chéngsè | orange |
| 蓝色 | lánsè | blue |
| 绿色 | lǜsè | green |
| 人们 | rénmen | people |
| 叫 | jiào | called |
| 它们 | tāmen | them |
| 彩虹大战 | cǎihóng dàzhàn | the rainbow war |
| 为了 | wèile | in order to |
| 抢 | qiǎng | grab |
| 用户 | yònghù | users |
| 甚至 | shènzhì | even |
| 推出 | tuīchū | ran |
| 一元 | yì yuán | one yuan |
| 骑 | qí | riding |
| 一个月 | yí ge yuè | a whole month |
| 活动 | huódòng | promotions |
| 结果是 | jiéguǒ shì | the result was |
| 钱 | qián | the money |
| 烧完 | shāo wán | burned away |
| 车 | chē | the bikes |
| 却 | què | yet |
| 还 | hái | still |
| 堆 | duī | piled |
| 路边 | lù biān | the roadside |
| 有些 | yǒu xiē | some |
| 出现 | chūxiàn | grew |
| 巨大 | jùdà | enormous |
| 单车坟场 | dānchē fénchǎng | bicycle graveyards |
| 成千上万辆 | chéng qiān shàng wàn liàng | tens of thousands of |
| 锈 | xiù | rusted |
| 空地上 | kòngdì shàng | open ground |
| 从 | cóng | from |
| 高处 | gāochù | above |
| 看 | kàn | seen |
| 震撼 | zhènhàn | staggering |
| 后来 | hòulái | later |
| 政府 | zhèngfǔ | the government |
| 开始 | kāishǐ | began |
| 限制 | xiànzhì | limiting |
| 数量 | shùliàng | the quantity |
| 也 | yě | also |
| 要求 | yāoqiú | required |
| 企业 | qǐyè | firms |
| 把 | bǎ | (object marker) |
| 押金 | yājīn | deposits |
| 存进 | cún jìn | deposit into |
| 专门 | zhuānmén | dedicated |
| 账户 | zhànghù | accounts |
| 现在 | xiànzài | today |
| 剩下 | shèng xià | remaining |
| 几家 | jǐ jiā | the few |
| 规模 | guīmó | in scale |
| 小 | xiǎo | are smaller |
| 活 | huó | live |
| 得 | de | (manner) |
| 更稳 | gèng wěn | far more steadily |