电动车厂商之间的竞争日益激烈。

Beijingers get back on their bikes

北京人开始骑电动车

Office worker David Dai is one of a growing army of Beijing residents returning to two-wheeled transport.

办公室职员David Dai是日益增多的开始骑电动车的北京人之一。

But the 28-year-old does not rely on his own pedal power - like hundreds of thousands of others, he has bought an electric bike.

但是这位28岁的小伙子并不用脚蹬——如同成千上万的其他人一样，他买了一辆电动自行车。

These battery-powered, and virtually silent, machines have become increasingly common on the streets of the Chinese capital.

这些电池动力、非常安静的电动车在中国首都的街道上日益普及。

With roads often clogged with cars - there are now four million vehicles in Beijing - they offer a speedy way to get around.

随着道路日益被汽车所堵塞——北京目前有400万辆汽车——他们提供了快车道以供通行。

But not everyone seems to like them: government officials are unsure about how to deal with this explosion of electric bicycles.

但看起来并不是每一个人都喜欢电动车：政府官员对于如何应对电动车的爆炸式增长并不一致。

Congested streets

拥挤的街道

China used to be known as the "kingdom of bicycles". In the 1980s, four out of five commuters pedalled to work on them in Beijing.

中国过去是众所周知的“自行车王国”。在1980年代，在北京五分之四的人上班依靠脚踏自行车。

But as the capital's residents became richer following economic development, they ditched their bikes for four-wheeled transport.

但随着经济的发展，首都居民日益富裕，他们日益由自行车换为汽车。

Recent statistics suggest that only one in five city residents now use an ordinary bicycle to travel around.

最近的统计显示，目前仅有五分之一的北京居民依然使用老式自行车出行。

In a matter of just a few years Beijing has gone from a city with few private cars to one where traffic jams are commonplace.

仅仅数年之内，北京已经从一个私家车很少的城市转变为一个交通拥挤非常普通的城市。

But many Beijing residents are now buying electric bicycles to avoid wasting time on congested streets.

但现在许多北京人开始购买电动车以避免在拥挤的街道上耽误时间。

"It takes only 10 minutes to ride my electric bike from home to work," said Mr Dai.

Dai先生说：“从我家骑电动车到单位仅仅需要10分钟。”

成千上万的居民已经购买了电动车。

"If I took the bus, I'd have to spend time waiting for it, and then I could be trapped in a traffic jam. It could take me half an hour to make the same journey."

“如果我乘公交车，就不得不花时间去等车，然后再忍受堵车之苦。从家到单位需要半小时的时间。”

These bikes are on sale everywhere, with shops sometimes clustered together. Their wares are lined up on the pavement in neat rows.

这些电动车到处都有销售，商家往往聚在一起。他们的电玩车整齐地排列在道路旁。

Zhang Zhiyong, the manager of a store selling a brand of electric bike called "Capital Wind", said it is easy to see why sales are booming.

张志勇（音译）是一家名为“首都之风”的销售电动车的经理，他说寻找电动车快速发展的理由太容易了。

"Beijing is not like other smaller cities - it's big. If people ride their bicycles to work, they get really tired. If they drive to work, the roads are often congested," he told the BBC.

他告诉BBC：“北京与其他小城市有所不同——它太大了。如果人们骑自行车上班，确实太累了。如果开车上班，道上又经常堵车。”

"But an electric bike is environmentally friendly and convenient. Promoting the use of these bikes would benefit us all."

“但是电动车既环保又方便。支持这些电动车的发展对所有人都有益。”

And they are much cheaper than cars. The most expensive model in Mr Zhang's shop is only 2,680 yuan ($390:£260).

同时它们比汽车便宜多了。在张先生的店里最贵的一款价格只有2680元（390美元:260英磅）。

Public outcry

公众疾呼

But not everyone is convinced by the shop owner's argument.

但并不是所有人都认可这位店主的看法 。

Many ordinary bike riders complain that the fast, silent electric bikes that now whizz about the city are a menace to other road users.

许多普通的骑自行车者抱怨，现在充斥街头的速度快、声音小的电动车对于其他通行者是一种威胁。

Late last year the government announced it was going to issue guidelines on what could be considered an electric bike.

去年晚些时候政府宣布，它将发布关于电动车的发展纲要。

Officials initially planned to bring in rules that defined an electric bike as a something weighing less than 40kg and travelling at less than 20kmh.

官员最初计划规定，将自重低于40公斤、时速低于20公里的车辆定义为电动车。

A bicycle that was heavier and travelled faster would be considered an electric motorbike.

比此标准更重、速度更快的车辆被定义为电动摩托车。

The owners of these larger machines would have to get a licence, register their motorbikes and buy insurance.

这些较大型的电动车将不得不xxx、上车牌、交保险。

But the government scrapped the introduction of the new guidelines after a public outcry.

但是在公众对此强烈不满之后，政府部门对于这些新规定开始辩论。

"There's been a big debate in China about exactly how to deal with electric bikes," said Vance Wagner, who works for a transport research centre linked to China's Ministry of Environmental Protection.

Vance Wagner在与中国环保部门直接相关的一家交通研究所就职，他说：“在中国，对于如何看待电动车确实存在巨大的争议。”

But with the number of electric bicycles increasing all the time, the government might find it hard to put off forever a decision on how to classify them.

但是随着电动车数量日增，政府发现对于电动车如何进行分类确实很难。

"Many people don't realise that the population of electric bikes is actually growing way faster than the population of cars," explained Mr Wagner.

Wagner先生解释说：“许多人并不知道电动车数量远远快于汽车数量的增长。”

The sale of electric bikes has slightly dropped off recently as people wait to see how the government will tackle the problem of how to define one.

随着人们对于政府如何出台对于电动车的政策持观望态度，最近电动车的销售已经下降。

But, ultimately, it is something else that might kill off sales.

但是，最终可能是其他因素会扼杀这一行业的销售量。

Some experts believe they are a stop-gap form of transport; a link between an ordinary bike and a car.

一些专家相信，现在市场上缺乏对于交通分层管理的规定，也就是说在自行车与电动车之间如何进行界定。

As Beijing car owner Richard Liu put it, cars give a clue to a person's status - the more successful they are, the bigger the car they own.

正如一位汽车拥有者Richard Liu所言，汽车是一个人社会地位的象征——他们事业上越成功，拥有的汽车排量越大。

"I think 80% of Chinese people want to have a car, even if they don't have much money they will buy cheaper ones," he said.

他说：“我认为80%的中国想拥有汽车，即使钱不够，也想买一辆价格稍低者。”

So while they are popular now, electric bicycles might one day prove as unwanted as the pedalled variety.

因此尽管目前电动车非常受欢迎，但是有{yt}也许会象脚蹬自行车一样被人们所放弃。