China: Two affluent Chinese women, one with a child, being pulled in rickshaws, Beijing, late Qing Dynasty (c.1890)

Rickshaws (or rickshas) are a mode of human-powered transport: a runner draws a two-wheeled cart which seats one or two persons. Rickshaws are commonly made with bamboo. The word rickshaw came from Asia, where they were mainly used as means of transportation for the social elite. In recent times the use of rickshaws has been discouraged or outlawed in many countries due to concern for the welfare of rickshaw workers.

Runner-pulled rickshaws have mainly been replaced by cycle rickshaws and auto rickshaws. The term 'rickshaw' is today commonly used for those vehicles as well.

The word 'rickshaw' originates from the Japanese word jinrikisha, which literally means 'man-powered vehicle'.

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