Thousands of students block highway while cycling for dumplings

A clampdown has been enforced to curb a social media trend in China - where thousands of students rent bikes late at night to buy soup dumplings.

Police in Henan province closed bike lanes connecting Zhengzhou and Kaifeng in a bid to reduce the number of students making the 37-mile journey.

Pictures showed that the crowd of students - which was called the Night Riding Army by some taking part - had blocked a highway in central China on Friday night.

Local outlets estimated that up to 200,000 young people had rented bikes - which cost as little as £1.51 for a month - to travel to Kaifeng for its famous guantangbao, a type of soup dumpling.

Liu Lulu, a student at Henan University, told state media outlet China Daily: "People sang together and cheered for each other while climbing uphill together.

"I could feel the passion of the young people. And it was much more than a bike ride."

One person also posted on social media: "Last night's 'Night Riding Army' was spectacular! Two lanes were opened, but that simply was not enough: The cycling army accounted for four!"

The trend started in June, when four young women from Zhengzhou made a sudden journey for the dumplings. Since then, social media users in China have made the bike rides a trend.

China Daily reported that the bike lanes between the cities were closed temporarily after Kaifeng residents reported issues such as bikes being improperly parked near city landmarks, making it difficult for people to walk in those areas.

Three major rental bike providers in the province - Hellobike, DiDi Bike and Mobike - also issued a joint notice on Saturday stating that their bikes would become locked if ridden outside of designated zones in Zhengzhou.

And while the Kaifeng government said "youth needs passion," it called on the Zhengzhou students to avoid riding in large groups and consider public safety.

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It comes after Shanghai authorities clamped down on Halloween celebrations and allegedly arrested those in costumes after 2023 saw some use the night to make political statements, dressing up as CCTV cameras and COVID inspectors.

In 2022 Shanghai saw the country's largest demonstrations against China's COVID-zero policy, not long after the government abruptly lifted all its restrictions.