Major issues for biking revival in urban China

•China's strategies focus on public bike systems, not private bike usage.•The public bike programs have limited impacts on biking infrastructure.•Planning professionals in China still lack cognition of cyclists' right of way.

China, the former Kingdom of bicycle, is reviving city cycling. Over 100 city governments have invested in public bike systems. Can this government endeavor reverse the declining trend of cycling in urban transportation? Reviewing city governments' bike strategies, the quality of bike infrastructure, and popular ideas for biking planning, we identify three issues. First, the government strategy for bike revival has focused on subsidizing public bike systems, with too few programs and policies to encourage private bike usage. The result is a shift of cyclists from private bike usage to public bike systems. Second, biking infrastructure, including quantity and quality of bike lanes and bike parking, are significantly under-supplied or insufficiently invested. Third, the perception of automobile as an indicator of higher social status persists, even in communities where cycling is the majority mode. Biking revival requires a better cognition of cyclists' right of way by planning professionals and the society at large.