Bikes on parade! All the bikes waiting for their riders outside the Beijing Xiling Hotel, to be sized and fitted ready for 'the off' the following morning. All the bikes were Treker 800s and although they were showing signs of hard riding they were still very well maintained.
King Wu was the first to declare Beijing the capital city in 1057 BC. Subsequently, the city has gone by the names of Ji, Zhongdu, Dadu, and finally Beijing when the Ming Dynasty Emperor ChengZu chose the name in 1421. Beijing was also known as Peking by the Western world before 1949.