There's a guy in our group at work who moved here recently from China.
Occasionally we talk bikes, partially because I'm apt to ride some strange bike to work.
He told me about his "Flying Pigeon" and some touring type rides he'd taken on it.

FWIW, I believe the bikes you see in those pics (great shots, by the way), are mostly copies of the old Raleigh DL-1 from around 1909. My understanding is they were built for a British military contract, and at that time the Brits had outposts in the far east. Consequently, the most produced bicycle tire size in the history of the world is (wait for it), the 28" (iso 635), although pretty rare in the US & Europe. Hundreds of millions of these over the last 100 years or so... Occasionally you find a new production Flying Pigeon or Eastman or whatever here in the states - nut and bolt compatible with ye auld Raleigh.

The brakes... I'm no expert, but my understanding is the rod-brakes also date from that time. The advantage being no cables to bind or slip, simple inspection, and they hold up OK to neglect that would make your hair fall out. The disadvantage being "casual" braking.

Hopefully relations with Cuba will be normalized sometime fairly soon. Supposedly the PRC has sent a whole bunch of Flying Pigeons there in exchange for sugar.

Ya just gotta love that Roadster Ride. :-)

Thanks again for sharing!