A Traditional Transportation:
Between 1910 to the 1930s, Beijing was transformed by the ideals of the Republican era in terms of its buildings, shops, and communities but residential areas were not changed. The Republican Era was when the Chinese were fixated on modernizing the city’s structures by constructing paved roads, expansion of the city, etc [1]. The walls of the Imperial City were torn down in 1927 in order to facilitate new streets created and the flow of traffic [2]. The municipal government mainly focused on constructing streets that allowed its citizens to get around in the city. As a result, numerous amounts of paved roads and expanded streets were created, thus benefiting rickshaws.
Rickshaws, the two-wheeled mode of transport that is pulled by a human being, were first imported during the Qing dynasty (around 1874) from Japan. The Shanghai newspaper, Shenbao, claimed that Western merchants from Japan were interested in bringing the rickshaws into China via Shanghai. A French merchant known as Menard tried to register the rickshaw through the municipal councils of French Concession and the British Settlement of Shanghai because he believed that rickshaw operations could improve traffic flow as well as maximize revenue. Bringing Japanese products to China symbolized a form of colonialism that ultimately resulted in incidentally influencing the development of roads in Beijing by first importing them into Shanghai [3].
Rickshaws became one of the main uses of transportation in Beijing during the Republican Era (late 19th century and early 20th century). However, the first rickshaws created tension since horses, wheelbarrows, and sedan chairs were the only modes of transport in the city and the rickshaws seemed degrading since it was a man-power-vehicle. In addition, rebels invaded Beijing in mid-1900 and sought to destroy foreign objects, including the rickshaws. The rickshaw trade was able to make a comeback and even presented new developments and improvements to the old rickshaw model. Replacing the iron body and wheel rims that made loud clanking sounds and uncomfortable riding with rubber tires and an overall lighter rickshaw frame benefited both the rider and the puller. Other advantages of the rickshaw included saving time to get from place to place and trouble of walking for passengers. Rickshaws were also useful in being able to speed across the parallel road systems that were usually narrow, like hutongs (alleyways) [4]. However, critics of rickshaws believed that they were symbolic of human exploitation because they were essentially one individual pulling another, acting like a horse or an ox. Nowadays, tourists can utilize the rickshaws to get an experience of the old Beijing culture and Hutongs along with comprehensive details about the history at a negotiated price.
Between 1910 to the 1930s, Beijing was transformed by the ideals of the Republican era in terms of its buildings, shops, and communities but residential areas were not changed. The Republican Era was when the Chinese were fixated on modernizing the city’s structures by constructing paved roads, expansion of the city, etc [1]. The walls of the Imperial City were torn down in 1927 in order to facilitate new streets created and the flow of traffic [2]. The municipal government mainly focused on constructing streets that allowed its citizens to get around in the city. As a result, numerous amounts of paved roads and expanded streets were created, thus benefiting rickshaws.
Rickshaws, the two-wheeled mode of transport that is pulled by a human being, were first imported during the Qing dynasty (around 1874) from Japan. The Shanghai newspaper, Shenbao, claimed that Western merchants from Japan were interested in bringing the rickshaws into China via Shanghai. A French merchant known as Menard tried to register the rickshaw through the municipal councils of French Concession and the British Settlement of Shanghai because he believed that rickshaw operations could improve traffic flow as well as maximize revenue. Bringing Japanese products to China symbolized a form of colonialism that ultimately resulted in incidentally influencing the development of roads in Beijing by first importing them into Shanghai [3].
Rickshaws became one of the main uses of transportation in Beijing during the Republican Era (late 19th century and early 20th century). However, the first rickshaws created tension since horses, wheelbarrows, and sedan chairs were the only modes of transport in the city and the rickshaws seemed degrading since it was a man-power-vehicle. In addition, rebels invaded Beijing in mid-1900 and sought to destroy foreign objects, including the rickshaws. The rickshaw trade was able to make a comeback and even presented new developments and improvements to the old rickshaw model. Replacing the iron body and wheel rims that made loud clanking sounds and uncomfortable riding with rubber tires and an overall lighter rickshaw frame benefited both the rider and the puller. Other advantages of the rickshaw included saving time to get from place to place and trouble of walking for passengers. Rickshaws were also useful in being able to speed across the parallel road systems that were usually narrow, like hutongs (alleyways) [4]. However, critics of rickshaws believed that they were symbolic of human exploitation because they were essentially one individual pulling another, acting like a horse or an ox. Nowadays, tourists can utilize the rickshaws to get an experience of the old Beijing culture and Hutongs along with comprehensive details about the history at a negotiated price.
Sources:
[1] David Strand, Rickshaw Beijing: City People and Politics in the 1920s, University of California Press, Ltd. 1989 p. 5
[2] Lillian M. Li, Alison Dray-Novey, Haili Kong. Beijing: From Imperial Capital to Olympic City https://books.google.com/books?id=2EtCTP7v8K0C&pg=PA144&lpg=PA144&dq=why+were+rickshaws+brought+into+beijing+japan&source=bl&ots=jegDASpHkQ&sig=2lrdntAPaPVom4Yp7GHMl8KeUbQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CDAQ6AEwA2oVChMI7bb954jFxwIVgzSICh3EzAJU#v=onepage&q=rickshaws&f=falsep. 142-144
[3] Hanchao Lu, Beyond the Neon Lights: Everyday Shanghai in the Early Twentieth Century https://books.google.com/books?id=p9OUk0BU9ToC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Beyond+the+Neon+Lights:+Every+day+Shanghai+in+the+Early+Twentieth+Century+by+Hanchao+Lu&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CCcQ6AEwAGoVChMI9qqC6YPNxwIVAlqICh2nTwH4#v=onepage&q=rickshaws&f=false p. 68-69
[4] David Strand, Rickshaw Beijing: City People and Politics in the 1920s, University of California Press, Ltd. 1989
Media:
[1] David Strand, Rickshaw Beijing: City People and Politics in the 1920s, University of California Press, Ltd. 1989 p. 35
[1] David Strand, Rickshaw Beijing: City People and Politics in the 1920s, University of California Press, Ltd. 1989 p. 5
[2] Lillian M. Li, Alison Dray-Novey, Haili Kong. Beijing: From Imperial Capital to Olympic City https://books.google.com/books?id=2EtCTP7v8K0C&pg=PA144&lpg=PA144&dq=why+were+rickshaws+brought+into+beijing+japan&source=bl&ots=jegDASpHkQ&sig=2lrdntAPaPVom4Yp7GHMl8KeUbQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CDAQ6AEwA2oVChMI7bb954jFxwIVgzSICh3EzAJU#v=onepage&q=rickshaws&f=falsep. 142-144
[3] Hanchao Lu, Beyond the Neon Lights: Everyday Shanghai in the Early Twentieth Century https://books.google.com/books?id=p9OUk0BU9ToC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Beyond+the+Neon+Lights:+Every+day+Shanghai+in+the+Early+Twentieth+Century+by+Hanchao+Lu&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CCcQ6AEwAGoVChMI9qqC6YPNxwIVAlqICh2nTwH4#v=onepage&q=rickshaws&f=false p. 68-69
[4] David Strand, Rickshaw Beijing: City People and Politics in the 1920s, University of California Press, Ltd. 1989
Media:
[1] David Strand, Rickshaw Beijing: City People and Politics in the 1920s, University of California Press, Ltd. 1989 p. 35