(Source: CGTN)

Turning to the bike-sharing industry, which has snowballed across China in recent months. Millions of shared bicycles have suddenly appeared in the country’s first-tier cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen.

New market opportunities and an influx of private capital have transformed both China's sharing economy and its bicycle culture.

This time of year used to be quiet for bicycle manufacturers. Yet workers are exceptionally busy in this bicycle workshop in China’s southern city of Shenzhen.

"Orders have increased tremendously since the beginning of the year. We work extra time every night – often until 9 o’clock," said Su Zhida, head of workshop, Shenzhen Taifeng Yongda Bicycles.

Shenzhen has a considerable history of playing host to bicycle manufacturers. At its peak, the city had 20 such large-scale enterprises. However, only seven or eight have left as market demand began to dwindle.

But now, the booming sharing-economy is bringing bicycles back on the city's streets. And thanks to surging demand, manufacturers of bicycle-related accessories have never had it so good.

"Never in our wildest dreams could we imagine that we would see such a large amount of orders. Our production lines are stretched to the limit. Recently, Foxconn was thinking about giving us 200,000 orders a month, on top of 300,000 a month from Mobike, and 500-thousand a month from Ofo," said Du Kaishan, manager, Shenzhen Yibotong Bicycle Parts.

Earlier this year, China's top bike-sharing startups Ofo and Mobike announced the closing of D-round financing, making them among the world's best-funded companies in the industry – with a brand value that can exceed billions of dollars a year.

Experts hope that the booming industry will not only breathe life into China’s traditional bicycle manufacturing enterprises, but also encourage them to transform their old business model, by embracing the competition of the sharing economy and creating their own market value.