"Spontaneous" — Phrase of the Week
Tens of thousands of students spontaneously gather to enjoy a late-night bike ride
Our phrase of the week is: "spontaneous" 心血来潮 (xīn xuè lái cháo)
Context
On the night of Friday 8 November, traffic heading east from Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan province, came to a standstill.
The main highway connecting Zhengzhou to the neighbouring historic town of Kaifeng (开封) was gridlocked for hours, overwhelmed by a massive influx of cyclists and onlookers.
According to media reports, around 20,000 people, mostly students, took part in the spontaneous night cycling event, riding rental bikes for 50 km to Kaifeng.
The "night cycling" trend began back in June when four students biked to Kaifeng just to try the city’s famous guantang bao (灌汤包) dumplings. Since then, images of similar nighttime bike trips have spread widely across social media.
Kaifeng's tourism department embraced the trend, seeing it as an opportunity to boost local tourism. But the November 8th event was unprecedented. By nightfall, waves of cyclists on shared bikes stretched for miles along Zhengkai Avenue, the road linking Zhengzhou and Kaifeng, with parts of the route completely overtaken.
In response, Zhengzhou's traffic bureau implemented bike lane restrictions and a temporary ban on non-motor vehicles, putting a stop to more gatherings.
What began as a small, impromptu ride to Kaifeng has now grown into a social movement where young people express their passion and enjoy their freedom—even if just for a short time.
"Night cycling to Kaifeng" has gone viral, but in this age where people blindly follow the trend, the contribution to GDP from a wave of students' spontaneous budget cycling trips is destined to be short-term, while the impact on the locals is real and tangible.
“夜骑开封”火了，但在“网红跟风年代”，一波学生心血来潮穷游骑行带来的GDP收入注定是短期的，对本地人影响却是实实在在的。
Yèqí Kāifēng huǒ le, dàn zài "wǎnghóng gēnfēng niándài", yì bō xuéshēng xīnxuè láicháo qióngyóu qíxíng dàilái de GDP shōurù zhùdìng shì duǎnqī de, duì běndì rén yǐngxiǎng què shì shí shí zài zài de.
And with that, we have our Sinica Phrase of the Week!
What it means
"Spontaneous" is a four-character idiom which directly translates as "heart" (心 xīn), "blood" (血 xuè), "come" (来 lái), and "tide" (潮 cháo). Literally, it suggests "the blood comes to the heart."
It’s a metaphor for a sudden impulse or inspiration.
The origin of the idiom is the novel, The Investiture of the Gods (封神演义 fēngshén yǎnyì), written in the 16th century during the Ming dynasty period (1368–1644). This major work has 100 chapters blending Chinese history, folklore, mythology, and fantasy, with elements from Chinese Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism.
The novel is set during the decline of the Shang dynasty (1600–1046 BC) and the rise of the Zhou dynasty (1046–256 BC) and is attributed to the author Xǔ Zhònglín 许仲琳.
Our idiom appears in Chapter 34 of the novel:
Immortals are usually free from worries, anger, and desires, so their heart is like stone, never to be shaken again; but when they feel a sudden impulse, it means something is going to happen.
但凡神仙，烦恼、嗔痴、爱欲三事永忘，其心如石，再不动摇；心血来潮者，心中忽动耳。
Dànfán shénxiān, fánnǎo, chēnchī, àiyù sān shì yǒng wàng, qí xīn rú shí, zài bù dòngyáo; xīn xuè lái cháo zhě, xīn zhōng hū dòng ěr.
In contemporary Chinese, the idiom conveys the idea of acting on a whim, driven by fleeting emotions or sudden desire—often leading to impulsive decisions, like riding a bike 50 km to find some dumplings.
Andrew Methven is the author of RealTime Mandarin, a resource to help you learn contemporary Chinese in context, and stay on top of the latest language trends in China.
Read more about how this story is being discussed in the Chinese media in this week’s RealTime Mandarin:
