As warmer weather approaches, Wuxi residents have been granted another excuse to explore the scenic Jiangsu province city with the news that Mobike, a station-less bike sharing scheme, has officially begun its operations on March 3.

Mobike joins a further three bike sharing programs already peddling around the East China city and, given that the company's manufacturing operations are based in Wuxi, the arrival is something of an exciting homecoming for the world's largest bicycle operator. The company has experienced rapid expansion since its unveiling in Shanghai less than a year ago.

As with Mobike's unveiling in other Chinese cities, the number of iconic silver-orange bicycles deployed in Wuxi will gradually expand in accordance with customer usage. The first batch of bicycles was placed in the city's downtown loop, from Jiefang Road through Renmin Road and Zhongshan Road, with the company estimating an eventual unrolling of 50,000 bicycles.

Wuxi is the latest city in China to see the arrival of widely popular bike sharing program Mobike. Here dozens of aluminum bodied bicycles are lined up on Wu'ai Road, in downtown Wuxi. [Photo provided to China Daily]