Wang Xiaoshuai's Beijing Bicycle tells of a 16-year-old country boy who gets a sought-after job working for a Beijing messenger company. In due course, if he does well, he will own his bike.

Bicycles get their ... and head up Beichang Jie, the road running just to the west of the Forbidden City. This is Zhongnanhai, the political nerve center of Beijing, named for the two lakes ...