"夜騎開封" Saitama ↔ Zhengzhou
A tour performance work created in collaboration with Shota Shimura, Ryo Kobayashi, and Haruka Wakuta, selected for the Artist in Residence Saitama program organized by Arts Council Saitama.
The work draws inspiration from ""夜騎開封", a phenomenon that originated in Zhengzhou, China—Saitama City’s sister city—where university students went viral on social media for riding bicycles approximately 50 km to the neighboring city of Kaifeng just to eat soup dumplings. This sparked a cycling boom in which young people began riding bicycles at night, with as many as 200,000 participants at its peak.
Participants in this project actually cycled through Saitama City, stopping at designated points where text objects unfolded through audio narration and AR technology. By engaging with these experiences via the bicycle as a physical medium, the project attempted to imaginatively connect the distant cities of Zhengzhou and Saitama.
What is ""夜騎開封"?
It was a popular night-time cycling activity among young people in Zhengzhou, China—Saitama City’s sister city—in which participants would ride bicycles from Zhengzhou to the nearby city of Kaifeng for sightseeing. Fueled by the introduction of bike-sharing services, the event gained significant momentum, bringing economic benefits through tourism. However, it also led to social issues such as traffic congestion and illegal roadside parking, and eventually declined due to regulatory restrictions imposed by Chinese authorities.
The work draws inspiration from ""夜騎開封", a phenomenon that originated in Zhengzhou, China—Saitama City’s sister city—where university students went viral on social media for riding bicycles approximately 50 km to the neighboring city of Kaifeng just to eat soup dumplings. This sparked a cycling boom in which young people began riding bicycles at night, with as many as 200,000 participants at its peak.
Participants in this project actually cycled through Saitama City, stopping at designated points where text objects unfolded through audio narration and AR technology. By engaging with these experiences via the bicycle as a physical medium, the project attempted to imaginatively connect the distant cities of Zhengzhou and Saitama.
What is ""夜騎開封"?
It was a popular night-time cycling activity among young people in Zhengzhou, China—Saitama City’s sister city—in which participants would ride bicycles from Zhengzhou to the nearby city of Kaifeng for sightseeing. Fueled by the introduction of bike-sharing services, the event gained significant momentum, bringing economic benefits through tourism. However, it also led to social issues such as traffic congestion and illegal roadside parking, and eventually declined due to regulatory restrictions imposed by Chinese authorities.
Venue: Misono Higashi, Iwatsuki-ku → Misaki, Urawa-ku, Saitama City
Meeting Point: Misono Higashi 1-chome Park [1-24 Misono Higashi, Iwatsuki-ku, Saitama City]
Dates: March 8–9, 2025
Performance Times:
– March 8 — 11:00, 15:00
– March 9 — 13:00, 17:00
Meeting Point: Misono Higashi 1-chome Park [1-24 Misono Higashi, Iwatsuki-ku, Saitama City]
Dates: March 8–9, 2025
Performance Times:
– March 8 — 11:00, 15:00
– March 9 — 13:00, 17:00
2025 Tour Performance