10,000 impounded bikes look like abstract art

It may look like a painting, but this is actually what 10,000 bicycles being dumped into one space looks like.

Tens of thousands of shared bikes have been impounded by authorities, and left at a playground in the Chinese city of Hefei.

It's simply the latest chapter in the recent shared bike phenomenon, which has seen a surge of bikes scattered around cities from service providers which hope users will hop on one of theirs.

In many of these cities, the bikes tread the line between public and private good, in a way -- some cities see them as littering the sidewalk, and impound them, while others have agreed to let the bikes be, in hopes of encouraging green transportation.

According to a report by Chinese state media Global Times, the playground was originally owned by a school that had later vacated the premises.

HEFEI, CHINA - AUGUST 16: An aerial view of the rental bikes detained by the local urban administration authority of Luyang district in Hefei in Anhui province on August 16, 2017 in Hefei, China. Tens of thousands of rental bikes parked at spots causing troubles to pedestrians and traffic in streets have been removed away by government authorities to the graveyards of the bikes while bike companies struggle to regulate the parking behavior of their users. PHOTOGRAPH BY Feature China / Barcroft Images London-T:+44 207 033 1031 E:[email protected] - New York-T:+1 212 796 2458 E:[email protected] - New Delhi-T:+91 11 4053 2429 E:[email protected] www.barcroftimages.com (Photo credit should read Feature China / Barcroft Images / Barcroft Media via Getty Images) Credit: Barcroft Media via Getty Images

The empty grounds later became the de facto dumping ground for authorities, who had seized discarded bikes from the main roads and had nowhere else to put them.

Bikes which were found violating parking rules were also detained and dumped into these grounds.

According to the Global Times, there are at least 10,000 bikes dumped in this bicycle graveyard.

HEFEI, CHINA - AUGUST 16: A man walks by the rental bikes detained by the local urban administration authority of Luyang district in Anhui province on August 16, 2017 in Hefei, China. Tens of thousands of rental bikes parked at spots causing troubles to pedestrians and traffic in streets have been removed away by government authorities to the graveyards of the bikes while bike companies struggle to regulate the parking behavior of their users. PHOTOGRAPH BY Feature China / Barcroft Images London-T:+44 207 033 1031 E:[email protected] - New York-T:+1 212 796 2458 E:[email protected] - New Delhi-T:+91 11 4053 2429 E:[email protected] www.barcroftimages.com (Photo credit should read Feature China / Barcroft Images / Barcroft Media via Getty Images) Credit: Barcroft Media via Getty Images

HEFEI, CHINA - AUGUST 16: An aerial view of the rental bikes detained by the local urban administration authority of Luyang district on August 16, 2017 in Hefei, China. Tens of thousands of rental bikes parked at spots causing troubles to pedestrians and traffic in streets have been removed away by government authorities to the graveyards of the bikes while bike companies struggle to regulate the parking behavior of their users. PHOTOGRAPH BY Feature China / Barcroft Images London-T:+44 207 033 1031 E:[email protected] - New York-T:+1 212 796 2458 E:[email protected] - New Delhi-T:+91 11 4053 2429 E:[email protected] www.barcroftimages.com (Photo credit should read Feature China / Barcroft Images / Barcroft Media via Getty Images) Credit: Barcroft Media via Getty Images

People online found it pretty ironic that the shared bikes were causing so much damage.

"Shared bikes are supposed to promote sharing and save the environment, but then it's caused this instead," said one user on Weibo.

"This is a waste of resources," said another.

"No wonder I can't find any shared bikes in Hefei," one quipped.

According to the Global Times, Hefei's City Urban Management Bureau will begin returning the bikes to the respective companies.