Shared bikes continue to haunt in China, literally

One programme used to be popular on Chinese TV: the narrative would tell a story with a super natural phenomenon, and continue with an investigation, and end with a logical and scientific explanation of the phenomenon.

The programme was called “Approaching Science” (走近科学).

Recently what happened in a residential district in the city of Changsha (a medium sized city of 7 million people, and hometown to one of our colleagues) resembled what an episode of “Approaching Science” would be about.

The residents, who live next to an abandoned site now covered with bushes, would hear dozens of eery voices: “I have fallen to the ground, please help me” from the site as night approaches.

Scared and unable to sleep for weeks, the residents eventually reported to the press. The results of the investigation came back in a hilarious way.

There were actually thousands of abandoned shared bikes on the empty site, and many of them were equipped with this automated voice call for help once the night approaches…

So in addition to creating massive graveyards, the shared bikes are having more ways to haunt the people, literally.