In China, the color gold is a symbol of richest and the number 8, which is pronounced as ‘ba’ and sounded much like Chinese word for prosperity ‘fa’, is symbol of, well, prosperity. Those are two symbols one Chinese delivery man by the name of Chen yearns and adores, and instead of dreaming about them, he took action to deliver them on his delivery bike… by coating his entire electric bike in gold.. paint and slapped on a fake license plate with the number “A888888” for good measure. There is a Lamborghini logo on the handlebars too.
And why not? Lamborghini is the international symbol of richest, isn’t it? In case you haven’t got it. The entire bike is coated in gold. Entire meaning, including the seat, handlebar, dashboard, food delivery box and even right down to, believe it or not, the tires. Now, you have agree that thing there is one heck of bling. Except that it is not real gold; it is just gold paint. But it was eye-catching enough to get the attention of Shanghai traffic police.
Chen’s golden delivery bike did not make the news because the gold paint job was superbly executed (in fact, it is not quite as sign of peeling and cracking are obvious), but it was because it broke the local traffic rule. In China, like many countries, vehicle owners are not allow to alter the license plates, or change the color of the vehicles without explicit permission. Apparently, it is an absolutely no-go in the case of electric bikes. Anywho, Chen was slapped with a fine of around 750 yuan (about US$110) and had his bike impounded.
He will be able to get his bike back, but he will need to restore the bike back to its original condition. The fine came as a huge pinch because, China had spent hundreds for the cosmetic. And why would anyone do that? Well, the reason is simple and borderline naive. Chen dream of becoming a local tycoon, but knowing that his dream is far beyond his reach as delivery man, Chen decided the next best thing to do is to look like one and hence, the golden bike.
TBH, except for the peeling and cracking here and there, a fully gold bike actually looks kind of nice, though I would not think it as a symbol of richest. Good try, Chen. Good try. Next time, try sticking on some fake diamonds for some added bling.
Image and source: South China Morning Post.
