'Little tech giants' fill the gap in Tianjin

Tianjin Flying Pigeon, a time-honored Chinese bicycle company, is enjoying success thanks to the popularity of the internet - producing smart bikes in cooperation with LeEco, a technology startup.

The bikes, ranging in price from 3,999 to 39,999 yuan ($607 to $6,074), enable riders to track their motion, communicate with others and lock or unlock the cycles via apps.

Since August, when the bikes went into production, Flying Pigeon has secured more than 400,000 orders, according to Zhang Jinying, president of the company, which has been trying hard to shake off its traditional image as a manufacturer of low-end bikes.