How to Rent a Bike in China With Your Smart Phone!

Did you know that you can rent a bike in China just by using your smart phone?  Yep, it is that simple.  And even better, the cost to rent a bike is hardly anything (think pennies) to get around town.  The great thing is that the bike sharing system in China is not only in big cities, little cities are getting in on the action too. 

Bike sharing in China is a SmartPhone app-based system.  You will need to download a couple of apps to be able to rent a bike in China, which you can easily do through your smart phone's app store.  

Watch Full Tutorial - HERE

While there are many different bike sharing companies across China, in this post we will give you an overview of how to use the 2 most popular shared bike systems that are in major cities around China, Mobike and Ofo.

MOBIKE

Before you begin, make sure you have an Alipay or WeChat wallet account bond with your Chinese bank card.

Click HERE to see How to Setup Your WeChat Wallet.

Step 1: Download the App and Sign Up

No worry, Mobike has an interface in English.Besides，you can also find Mobike in WeChat Wallet’s “bicycle”.

Or access Mobike via its mini program on WeChat.

(Long press the code to extract mini program)

Open the app and tap “sign in”.

Your phone number is required when signing into the app.  Another option is to sign in with your WeChat account.

Step 2: Make Deposit and Verify Your Account

You will be asked to make a fully refundable CNY299 deposit via WeChat or Alipay.

After that, you need to verify your account. Select the option to use a passport as your identification, and take two pictures following the instruction. One is the main page of your passport, another is the picture of yourself holding the passport below your face.

Step 3: Top UP

Tap “My Wallet”, and then “Top Up”.

Tips to renting a MOBIKE in China:

Step 4: Rent a Mobike

Locate and unlock. Make sure the app has access to your location, it will locate the nearby bikes for you. Choose a bike, and simply scan the QR code on the bike, it will be unlocked automatically. Then you can ride away! Both mobike and ofo have different models of bikes, choose the model you feel the most comfortable with.

Make a reservation. You can also click on a bike on the map, and tap “reserve”. You then have 15 mins to walk to that bike and unlock it.

Return the bike. After your trip, park the bike at a proper location (don’t get in anyone’s way) and simply lock it. Your riding time will automatically stop on the app.

Please park the bike at a proper place. It is recommended to leave the bike in a bicycle parking area.

OFO

Step 1: Sign Up and Put Down the Deposit

To use ofo bike, you can download an app on your phone, or subscribe to its official account on WeChat, which called “ofo小黄车”. Click “点我用车（click to rent a bike）” in the middle of the menu bar.

Same as Mobike, your phone number will be required for signing up. For ofo, the deposit is CNY 99, it is fully refundable. It is possible to use Alipay, WeChat wallet or Apple pay to make a deposit or to top up your account.

You can also try out the test ride program as a new user without putting down a deposit and verifying your ID. It allows you to ride 5 times a week for free. 

Tips for renting a OFO bike in China:

Step 2: Verification

Same as mobike, your passport ID number will be needed to complete the verification process.

Step 3: Rent an ofo Bike

There are two ways to unlock an ofo bike. You need to get a code first to unlock it, or you can simply scan the QR code to unlock. It depends on the model of your ofo bike.

Scan the QR code. Tap “扫码用车（Scan to rent a bike）”，and then scan the QR code on the bike. If the QR code was destroyed, you can also enter the bike number.

For bikes requiring an unlock code, you will soon receive a pin code on the app. Use it to unlock the bike!

In other cases, scan the QR code, the bike will be unlocked automatically.

Return the bike. After your trip, remember to lock the bike. Your riding time will automatically stop on the app. Park the bike on the roadside, make it easy for other people to find and rent it.

Want to learn more about living and working in China? Read The Ultimate Guide for Moving to China