| Mr. and Mrs. Tang were born in the 1970s when bicycles were still considered a luxury item. Like many others living in China's big cities where the pace of life is fast, they bought a car out of necessity and for added convenience. Still, they have a lot to say about the role bicycles have played in their lives over the years.
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Mrs. Tang said, I learned how to ride a bicycle when I was 7 or 8. At that time, there were many children living in my residential compound. All the other children admired those who could ride a bicycle. I learned to ride a bicycle at a very young age. The bicycle's speed seemed very fast. Back then, not many people had a bicycle so most people walked. Riding a bicycle past them, I felt very speedy.
Tang Xu said I could ride a bicycle since I was in primary school, but I had to ride my sister's bicycle. My classmates made fun of me because the bicycle was a red one. They laughed at me for riding a girl's bicycle. I was eager to have my own bicycle, a black 26-inch one. By 1988, I finally had my own bicycle. At that time, my home was on the fifth floor so for many months I had to carry my bicycle up the stairs. When I finished my homework, I would clean the bicycle and just looking at it would make me feel very satisfied.
For Tang Xu and Han Yu, bicycles have played many roles beyond that of a simple transportation tool. In fact, it was a bicycle that brought the couple together in the first place.
Mrs. Tang said back then I thought the riding positions of young boys were very handsome. Tang Xu could do more than ride though. He could push the seat of a bicycle with a single hand, and the bicycle would go in a straight line. Watching him from the back, I felt he was very capable and handsome. That is what attracted me to him most. In order to have an excuse for us to spend more time together, I sometimes flattened the tyres of my bicycle on purpose after class and told him I couldn't ride it. Naturally he would offer to give me a ride home. On the ride home he would balance my bicycle beside his as he rode. I felt that he was indeed a great man.
From falling love with each other to getting married, bicycles have always been there. To them, bicycles will always be a symbol of romance and change.
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