The film stars first-time actors Cui Lin and Li Bin, supported by the already established actresses Zhou Xun and Gao Yuanyuan.

It premiered at the 51st Berlin International Film Festival on 17 February 2001 and won the Jury Grand Prix, but was subsequently banned in Mainland China.

[3] Along with a number of other boys from the country, Guei finds employment with a courier company, which assigns them brand-new bicycles for use in their deliveries.

The manager fires Guei for neglecting to deliver the package, but, upon the latter's pleas, agrees to take him back if he succeeds in recovering his bicycle.

At the other end of the city, Jian (Li Bin) is a seventeen-year-old schoolboy who longs for a bicycle of his own so he can ride with Xiao (Gao Yuanyuan), the girl he fancies.

This arrangement persists for some days until Jian finds out that Xiao has fallen for Da Huan (Li Shuang), a bicycle freestylist.

According to Elizabeth Wright of Senses of Cinema, the juxtaposition of Guei and Jian, in particular their contrasting relation to the bicycle, highlights their differences in social standing and status.

On the other hand, Jian comes from an upwardly motivated city family concerned with providing the children with good education.

Director Wang Xiaoshuai depicts both the new face of Beijing's youth through Jian and alludes to the disillusion of migrants from the country through Guei.

According to Wright, Guei and Mantis's misconception of the Qin's social status is "an obvious indictment on the beguiling nature of surface images and material possessions".

Beijing Bicycle was released on DVD on 9 July 2002 and distributed by Sony Pictures Classics in the United States.

The film was released in cinemas in the United States on 11 January 2002 and over its 24 days on screen, earned a meager US$66,131 in box office.