Youths find freedom in customized scooters

Manga-inspired

For Wu Jianguo, however, it took two weeks to customize her scooter as she waited for decorations ordered online to arrive. The scooter was a birthday gift from her friend last November and looked quite plain in its original state.

Wu added stickers and ornaments from popular Japanese manga series Crayon Shin-chan as well as custom-made foot mats. The most interesting modification was the tail box trunk.

"Originally, I just liked the look of the trunk and was planning to make holes in it with a soldering iron. However, to my surprise I discovered four holes under the trunk that were perfectly suited for zip ties.

"So I attached the trunk to the back seat using baking cooling racks as supports. This made it very stable and versatile. If I ever decide to replace the trunk, I simply need to detach the zip ties."

She said after the modifications the scooter is more practical to use. "The phone holder in the front allows me to use navigation, and the cup holder makes it easy for me to drink water without having to dig a bottle out of my bag when waiting at a red light. The rear trunk is even big enough to carry a watermelon."

The 30-year-old from Zhejiang province rides the scooter two to three times a week in spring and fall, mainly to go buy food.

"This is actually my first scooter. I often heard news reports about stolen vehicles, so I only considered having one now that fewer scooters are being stolen. It's great that I don't have to worry about losing it.

"With this small scooter, I don't have to search for parking spots, pay parking fees, or wait for buses. It saves me money and time on short-distance trips. However, in summer and winter, I still choose to drive a car because it can get too hot or too cold on the scooter," she added.

During the modification process, Wu also took the time to learn traffic regulations to avoid breaking any rules. For example, the size of the tail box trunk cannot exceed the size of the handlebars, so she measured the dimensions carefully before purchasing it online.

About 500 netizens gave a "like "or commented on her scooter diary released on the lifestyle-sharing platform Xiaohongshu. One netizen wrote, "Although I don't have one myself, it made me infatuated with having one."

There are more than 80,000 stories on Xiaohongshu about scooter modifications, many of which have inspired more people to do similar things to their two-wheelers.