Admittedly, I have been sitting on this post for a while, because it features a brand of bike I have been able to discover nothing about.: Fenghong. Not to be confused with Feng Huang, ie Phoenix.
The picture was taken during a sandstorm in Yarkand, far to the west in Xinjiang province, south of the Taklamakan desert. The bike is a double-bar, and also painted in postal green.
Where the bike originates is a mystery. There seem to be about half a dozen Fenghong companies somehow involved in bicycle manufacture.
How the bike 's name itself is mysterioso. It could be the company name of course, but let's looks at some other, more creative possibilities.
Feng Hong was an emperor of a minor dynasty during the middle ages when China consisted of many warring states. But really that's too obscure a reference to name a bike after.
Feng means "Wind" and Hong means "Red", so the bike could be interpreted as "Red Wind" which would be perfect for a Maoist era ride, except the words should be reversed for grammatical correctness.
There is another "Red" option. In addition to the Phoenix, Chinese mythology has second famous bird: The Vermilion Bird or the Red Bird of the South as it is sometimes called. This is a celestial spirit and a Chinese constellation. Unfortunately, the Vermillion Bird is not called FENG HONG to my knowledge.
If anyone has further info on this make, please let me know.
Just discovered your blog. Lots of good stuff here. We sell Pigeons in Portland, Oregon and have the next-generation Pigeon as well as the old standbys (though none with rod brakes) in single (free or fixed), 3- and 8-speed. Get in touch!
Posted by: Joe Doebele | November 08, 2009 at 01:29 AM