In this post, I want to focus on sensible (I hesitate to use the term "defensive", but that is the gist of it) biking strategy.

As a backdrop, in 1995, I bought a "Shanghai Forever" bike in Beijing and used it for 6 months in Beijing and Nanjing. During that era, bikes were still the primary means of transportation for 90%+ of the population (i.e. personal car ownership was rare). As such, biking in Beijing wasn't all that different from driving on SoCal freeways. That said, I felt that the situation was quite civilized (e.g. think of a slow-moving mass comprised of semi-independent organisms).

Fast forward 28 years
-I'm guessing the total number of personal bikes, as a percentage of vehicles, has plummetted, especially in tier 1 cities
-But, in addition to shared bikes, there has been an explosion in (silent but deadly) e-bikes (think scooters, as opposed to those modified Specialized products that are common in the US and Europe)
-TMK, no sort of license is required in order to operate a bike, ebike, or escooter; while I oppose excessive regulation, this means that many of your fellow riders are grossly undereducated with respect to the most basic principles
-The delivery guys are the most dangerous group because, in addition to not understanding the basic principles, these guys have a financial incentive to pretend that others don't exist
-The second most dangerous segment is people who think it's cool to talk on their phones while biking (even hands free distracts them from the immediate surroundings that they should be paying attention to)
-The third most dangerous are small children who may or may not be tethered to mom

Strategy
-If you plan on biking between 6p and 8p, mentally prepare yourself (all will be good as long as you are chill, and know what to expect)
-Use Baidu to suggest a route for you
*These tend to be somewhat conservative, and Baidu doesn't completely understand "bike friendly", but it's a good starting point
*Baidu will never suggest illegal options
-I ride in the middle of the path/lane in order to prevent the bikes behind me from trying to attempt dangerous passes (inside or outside); the Ele.me guys still pass me but in a somewhat measured manner
-Hone in on bike-friendly roads
*Baidu won't tell you that Yongja is more pleasant than Jianguo, but if you do your own A/B test, you will know
-Be willing to take a longer/slower route if you think it will make you feel safer
*In one of these threads, a poster said that he can beat Baidu's estimates
*While it's true that we can do this, pretty every time, especially if we loosely interpret red lights, my survivalist instinct has implored me to peace out