Hi all,
I'm an experienced bike traveller, the last year I cycled along the Pamir Highway and I really enjoyed the challenge. I have always cycled alone, at least I started alone but I cycled with buddies I met along the road. The next "challenge" will be cycling with my gf. It will be the first real bike trip for her and she can cycle around 60km per day with a little altitude gain. She loves China and I'm corious to visit it as well, therefore we are considering it. From the photos we found on the web, the ideal might be Yunnan of Sichuan, but as far as I understood, there are really high mountains and unpaved roads. Probably, it will too tough for her. So is there any tour/road you may suggest? A paved and mostly flat road with great views are essential. Thanks
Cycling in west China
Re: Cycling in west China
If you posted here, you will find some regular visitors to that forum who have visited those parts of China. https://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/ ... -your-bike Though you may have to wait a little while for an answer.
You can also find travelogues at www.crazyguyonabike.com
My guess is you are asking for the impossible. And if by some miracle you do find flat paved roads with great scenery in mountainous parts of China, they will probably be very busy with traffic. Traffic is increasingly a serious problem and downer with cycling in parts of China with proper roads, as a friend (with Chinese wife) has recently discovered.
I would suggest that the underlying issue is that you are trying to avoid compromising sufficiently from your own "mountainous wilderness" desire down to your girlfriend's "60km flat" desire. Now my own taste (and my wife's) in cycling is like yours. But last year we decided we could take our 8-yr-old daughter on her first cycle-camping trip. When my wife told me that we were going to the Netherlands, I was nonplussed at first. I usually look on a map for the most mountainous, most remote and roughest roads, and clearly this wasn't any kind of a guide on how to cycle in the Netherlands. In fact I realised I really had no idea how to organise a nice bike tour in the Netherlands. So I ended up buying a book of recommended routes, we followed one, I got used to cycling slower, and eventually really enjoyed myself, though I took a bit of calming down to start with. We enjoyed it so much we went again this year. I have to recognise it will be a few years before I can take my daughter cycling to Iceland or Tajikistan, and in fact she may never want to do that, and we may have to wait for her to fledge before we can go back to cycling these places.
I can also tell a story about taking my first serious girlfriend cycling, many years ago. I didn't compromise for the first trip, there was a lot of shouting on the way home, and we nearly broke up over it. Then I started compromising, and she gave me a second chance. We went to Ireland for a fairly flat cycle tour next - the roads mostly go between the mountains - and she eventually became a very enthusiastic cyclist, if it was sufficiently easy, though we did cycle some high passes in fairly high mountains, like the Pyrenees, eventually. I was happy enough, though indulging my desire for serious wilderness cycling had to come after that relationship finally ended.
I can also tell a stories about various people who liked going on long remote cycling trips but who had picked up partners who did not do that. They discovered that in practice they had to choose partner or long remote trips, they were inconsistent.
You can also find travelogues at www.crazyguyonabike.com
My guess is you are asking for the impossible. And if by some miracle you do find flat paved roads with great scenery in mountainous parts of China, they will probably be very busy with traffic. Traffic is increasingly a serious problem and downer with cycling in parts of China with proper roads, as a friend (with Chinese wife) has recently discovered.
I would suggest that the underlying issue is that you are trying to avoid compromising sufficiently from your own "mountainous wilderness" desire down to your girlfriend's "60km flat" desire. Now my own taste (and my wife's) in cycling is like yours. But last year we decided we could take our 8-yr-old daughter on her first cycle-camping trip. When my wife told me that we were going to the Netherlands, I was nonplussed at first. I usually look on a map for the most mountainous, most remote and roughest roads, and clearly this wasn't any kind of a guide on how to cycle in the Netherlands. In fact I realised I really had no idea how to organise a nice bike tour in the Netherlands. So I ended up buying a book of recommended routes, we followed one, I got used to cycling slower, and eventually really enjoyed myself, though I took a bit of calming down to start with. We enjoyed it so much we went again this year. I have to recognise it will be a few years before I can take my daughter cycling to Iceland or Tajikistan, and in fact she may never want to do that, and we may have to wait for her to fledge before we can go back to cycling these places.
I can also tell a story about taking my first serious girlfriend cycling, many years ago. I didn't compromise for the first trip, there was a lot of shouting on the way home, and we nearly broke up over it. Then I started compromising, and she gave me a second chance. We went to Ireland for a fairly flat cycle tour next - the roads mostly go between the mountains - and she eventually became a very enthusiastic cyclist, if it was sufficiently easy, though we did cycle some high passes in fairly high mountains, like the Pyrenees, eventually. I was happy enough, though indulging my desire for serious wilderness cycling had to come after that relationship finally ended.
I can also tell a stories about various people who liked going on long remote cycling trips but who had picked up partners who did not do that. They discovered that in practice they had to choose partner or long remote trips, they were inconsistent.
-
Bhagat Singh
- Posts: 29
- Joined: 26 Aug 2011, 7:49pm
- Location: midlands
- Contact:
Re: Cycling in west China
> So is there any tour/road you may suggest? A paved and mostly flat road with great views are essential.<
A tour around big lake Taihu, mainly flat but several climbs along the paved roads along its circumference. Not in West China, of course, but in Jiangsu. Cycle lanes in the major roads and little traffic in the detours inland, some flat and some lumpy. Some pictures below from my travels there.
You can also investigate a little about some of the terrain using the street view in http://map.baidu.com. Its in Chinese but you can triangulate with google maps.
A tour around big lake Taihu, mainly flat but several climbs along the paved roads along its circumference. Not in West China, of course, but in Jiangsu. Cycle lanes in the major roads and little traffic in the detours inland, some flat and some lumpy. Some pictures below from my travels there.
You can also investigate a little about some of the terrain using the street view in http://map.baidu.com. Its in Chinese but you can triangulate with google maps.
- china bicycle 5.jpg (55.71 KiB) Viewed 3493 times
'Keep it simple'. This should be the mantra of the mathematician and of the cyclist.
Re: Cycling in west China
iviehoff wrote:If you posted here, you will find some regular visitors to that forum who have visited those parts of China. https://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/ ... -your-bike Though you may have to wait a little while for an answer.
You can also find travelogues at http://www.crazyguyonabike.com
My guess is you are asking for the impossible. And if by some miracle you do find flat paved roads with great scenery in mountainous parts of China, they will probably be very busy with traffic. Traffic is increasingly a serious problem and downer with cycling in parts of China with proper roads, as a friend (with Chinese wife) has recently discovered.
Hi,
thanks for your reply. Yes, I agree with you and for this reason I started this thread. No concern, no need to make any post, right?
BTW, I searched on crazyguy blog, I found some travelogues but nothing that can fit my need. Unfortunately the blog is not really handy with maps.
I would suggest that the underlying issue is that you are trying to avoid compromising sufficiently from your own "mountainous wilderness" desire down to your girlfriend's "60km flat" desire. Now my own taste (and my wife's) in cycling is like yours. But last year we decided we could take our 8-yr-old daughter on her first cycle-camping trip. When my wife told me that we were going to the Netherlands, I was nonplussed at first. I usually look on a map for the most mountainous, most remote and roughest roads, and clearly this wasn't any kind of a guide on how to cycle in the Netherlands. In fact I realised I really had no idea how to organise a nice bike tour in the Netherlands. So I ended up buying a book of recommended routes, we followed one, I got used to cycling slower, and eventually really enjoyed myself, though I took a bit of calming down to start with. We enjoyed it so much we went again this year. I have to recognise it will be a few years before I can take my daughter cycling to Iceland or Tajikistan, and in fact she may never want to do that, and we may have to wait for her to fledge before we can go back to cycling these places.
I can also tell a story about taking my first serious girlfriend cycling, many years ago. I didn't compromise for the first trip, there was a lot of shouting on the way home, and we nearly broke up over it. Then I started compromising, and she gave me a second chance. We went to Ireland for a fairly flat cycle tour next - the roads mostly go between the mountains - and she eventually became a very enthusiastic cyclist, if it was sufficiently easy, though we did cycle some high passes in fairly high mountains, like the Pyrenees, eventually. I was happy enough, though indulging my desire for serious wilderness cycling had to come after that relationship finally ended.
I can also tell a stories about various people who liked going on long remote cycling trips but who had picked up partners who did not do that. They discovered that in practice they had to choose partner or long remote trips, they were inconsistent.
I can imagine how might be hard not compromising. We tried to make a deal and we tested a bit on other two short bike trips in very populated Eu areas without camping. By carrying all the luggage, there wasn't a huge difference in our performances. I believe in China wilderness and nice ladscapres (for Europeans) can be also found on plain areas. Of course, they will not be the most stunning landscapes but anyway, they will be fine. The most important thing for us is being in contact with the Chinese culture and as much as possible with Chinese people. Qinghai seems to be a nice plain area and I'm investing it. However, China is full of areas to discover and for this reason I'm searching for suggestions.
Re: Cycling in west China
serbring wrote:Unfortunately the blog is not really handy with maps.
If you like the description of a ride, you can look on a map and see where they went. Involves a bit of work, sometimes a bit of sleuthing, I'll give you that, but it may be work worth doing. There is usually enough detail in a text that you can work most of it out.
I would imagine Qinghai was even more mountainous than Sichuan. Though maybe there are routes where you follow valleys, or remain in basins between the mountains.
Re: Cycling in west China
iviehoff wrote:serbring wrote:Unfortunately the blog is not really handy with maps.
If you like the description of a ride, you can look on a map and see where they went. Involves a bit of work, sometimes a bit of sleuthing, I'll give you that, but it may be work worth doing. There is usually enough detail in a text that you can work most of it out.
I would imagine Qinghai was even more mountainous than Sichuan. Though maybe there are routes where you follow valleys, or remain in basins between the mountains.
thanks, I'll keep reading! In the blog, I read that many tourers did not camp at all because guesthouses are very cheap. Would you suggest me to leave at home my camping gear? I'm a bit doubtful about it.
Re: Cycling in west China
I've done 2 trips to China, nearly 2 months each. I didn't take camping gear and never had a problem finding somewhere to stay. The only problem I had was that some hotels couldn't register me as I don't have a Chinese chip I D card. Their cards hold all their data and one swipe on the hotel computer loads all their personal data. Some hotel staff didn't know how to register me manually. Nonetheless I always found somewhere to stay and didn't have camping gear.
I cycled in the south, from Hainan Island across to Dali and Lijang and down to Lao. Loved it. There are some flattish bits, but regular climbs due to the many big rivers. One climb out of the Red River valley was 40 plus kms.
If you need flat then you could find smaller areas and use the train to travel between, or buses to cross high passes. Although this sounds a bit tedious.
Maybe your gf should say what Chinese culture interests her. The most interesting are often the so called minorities, but these are in the more remote areas and mountainous regions.
Hainan is fairly easy, but touristy. Across from there to Nanning is flattish, then maybe across to Vn border - but this is S E China, not Western.
I cycled in the south, from Hainan Island across to Dali and Lijang and down to Lao. Loved it. There are some flattish bits, but regular climbs due to the many big rivers. One climb out of the Red River valley was 40 plus kms.
If you need flat then you could find smaller areas and use the train to travel between, or buses to cross high passes. Although this sounds a bit tedious.
Maybe your gf should say what Chinese culture interests her. The most interesting are often the so called minorities, but these are in the more remote areas and mountainous regions.
Hainan is fairly easy, but touristy. Across from there to Nanning is flattish, then maybe across to Vn border - but this is S E China, not Western.
Re: Cycling in west China
simonhill wrote:I've done 2 trips to China, nearly 2 months each. I didn't take camping gear and never had a problem finding somewhere to stay. The only problem I had was that some hotels couldn't register me as I don't have a Chinese chip I D card. Their cards hold all their data and one swipe on the hotel computer loads all their personal data. Some hotel staff didn't know how to register me manually. Nonetheless I always found somewhere to stay and didn't have camping gear.
I cycled in the south, from Hainan Island across to Dali and Lijang and down to Lao. Loved it. There are some flattish bits, but regular climbs due to the many big rivers. One climb out of the Red River valley was 40 plus kms.
If you need flat then you could find smaller areas and use the train to travel between, or buses to cross high passes. Although this sounds a bit tedious.
Maybe your gf should say what Chinese culture interests her. The most interesting are often the so called minorities, but these are in the more remote areas and mountainous regions.
Hainan is fairly easy, but touristy. Across from there to Nanning is flattish, then maybe across to Vn border - but this is S E China, not Western.
Hi Simon,
thanks for your information. The tour suggested by my Gf is: Sanjiang, ziyuan, Xingpingzhen, Guillin, Yangshuo and then reach the Hainan Island, maybe passing through Nanning. It seems to be a really nice area even if is not very hilly. Great we can tour without the camping gear because she has anything. How is the water in China? Do I need a water filter? How is the road? Paved? I have some doubts for the bikes to bring. Considering I will carry all the bags, she has a pinarello treviso (carbon fork, 28" wheel and a Campagnolo group http://www.pinarello.com/it/bici2014/city/treviso). Instead I have a 26" MTB and a Genesis Croix de Fer. So The options are: MTB+Pinarello or MTB+Genesis. I would prefer the first one because she accustomed to her bike. But I'm afraid the Pinarello is too "roadie" for that trip, the max tire width is only 25. Actually Vittoria rubino tyres are on the bike. Really roadie tires.
We will go there is August. How is the weather? Rainy? Hot? Considering basic hotels and places where to eat, how much should we expect to spend per day?
She likes the Tibetan culture and the plan was visiting this area but for some reasons she couldn't train as much as needed for hilly areas. So we gave up for this area.
Thanks!
Re: Cycling in west China
Shocked to see I did my 2 trips to China 7 and 6 years ago, so out of date warning.
I flew into Guillin and cycled round Yangzhou on my first trip. Lots of tourists and plenty of places to stay. I then cycled north through some minority areas to Kaili. Tough riding in mts, made worse by roadworks.
Hainan and Nanning are easy, plenty of places to stay. Not sure about the rest of your route.
Generally roads in China are very good. My favourites are the old A roads now replaced by a new motorway. All the traffic goes on the motorway and you have a private road almost to yourself.
Biggest problem is if they decide to remake the road. They tear up hundreds of kms of the road and slowly replace it. The road is still open, but very difficult to cycle, with heavy duty construction work to cycle through.
I can't really advise on bikes, I prefer a decent touring bike as I know it will get me through most things. If using trains, your bike goes separately in luggage train. Decide for yourself if you want to risk carbon. Narrow tyres should be OK, but I prefer something wider with lower pressure for comfort and durability.
Looking at my diaries I usually paid about £5 for a reasonable hotel, although most of these were in small non touristy towns. Have a look at booking.com for current prices.
Kettle or water boiler in all hotels so you can fill for next day. Bottled water available. Take filter if you want, I don't bother anymore. Food was generally good. You often choose your food from cabinets and they cook it for you. Better if more than one of you as you can share dishes and increase choice. Prices cheap.
Lots of info on travelling in China on China branch of Lonely Planet Thorn Tree.
I flew into Guillin and cycled round Yangzhou on my first trip. Lots of tourists and plenty of places to stay. I then cycled north through some minority areas to Kaili. Tough riding in mts, made worse by roadworks.
Hainan and Nanning are easy, plenty of places to stay. Not sure about the rest of your route.
Generally roads in China are very good. My favourites are the old A roads now replaced by a new motorway. All the traffic goes on the motorway and you have a private road almost to yourself.
Biggest problem is if they decide to remake the road. They tear up hundreds of kms of the road and slowly replace it. The road is still open, but very difficult to cycle, with heavy duty construction work to cycle through.
I can't really advise on bikes, I prefer a decent touring bike as I know it will get me through most things. If using trains, your bike goes separately in luggage train. Decide for yourself if you want to risk carbon. Narrow tyres should be OK, but I prefer something wider with lower pressure for comfort and durability.
Looking at my diaries I usually paid about £5 for a reasonable hotel, although most of these were in small non touristy towns. Have a look at booking.com for current prices.
Kettle or water boiler in all hotels so you can fill for next day. Bottled water available. Take filter if you want, I don't bother anymore. Food was generally good. You often choose your food from cabinets and they cook it for you. Better if more than one of you as you can share dishes and increase choice. Prices cheap.
Lots of info on travelling in China on China branch of Lonely Planet Thorn Tree.
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steve.y.griffith
- Posts: 651
- Joined: 27 Aug 2007, 8:14pm
- Location: North London
Re: Cycling in west China
I have done three trips in china all in the south west in the past year. Few points that may help:
-don't bother with camping gear you can get a cheap privately owned hotel from £5 upwards. . The Chinese have many words for hotel you want to ask for 客栈 kezhan which is us usually translated as guest house . Usually small and you live withe the owners. Never need to book in advance except maybe if arriving at a big city. Booking.com prices are far too high and they don't have particularly good places.. No need to carry sleeping bag and China is one of those wonderful countries where there is boiling water even in the cheapest hotels . Infact the only time I saw a near riot was on a train when the hot water boiler had run dry
- food is plentiful and cheap no need to carry more than emergency supplies. Noodles in the day with rice and dishes in the evening . They like their food very spicy so a useful phase is 不吃辣 I don't eat spicy food
-what makes china expensive is admission prices the only place I know where you have to pay to go into some villages you can pay up to £14 . These can be avoided locals will often help. If you stay off the bullet trains the ordinary trains are cheap infact cheaper than buses. You can take your bike on the train but will need language skills to organise. You should be able to get your bike taken by bus.
Wifi pretty much everywhere even in the cheapest hotels. Carry a knife for peeling fruit etc. you can buy pretty much everything except shoes over size 42!
-cycling first buy your maps abroad you can't get good maps in china. In the south west ie Yunnan , Guizhou and Hunan and Guangxi provinces as in the rest of China the standard is too beep your horn when overtaking . This is the major problem infact it became a bonus for me if I was passed silently. Driving standards are poor so ride defensively . On the plus side the motorways have taken much of the traffic. Cities are horrible places polluted all full of high rise but easy to ride out to the countryside which is wonderful in the south west . Signposting is poor so have written in Chinese your destination
-places to go I really rate western Hunan 湘西 ancient towns and those wonderful erhh Chinese shaped mountains. Try 洪江 Hongjiang south of Huaihua. For a really off the beaten track area try north Guizhou eg 梵净山fanjing Buddhist mountain. Southern Guizhou around Kaili凯里which is a Miao,Dong minority area is very touristry eg to get into Xijiang village will cost you over £10!
Sanjiang is just a jumping off point for Chenyang程阳the Ding villages with those covered woodbridges fantastic area for cycling. On the way south from Sanjiang are the Dragon back rice terraces will cost you £12 to get in you will see better just riding around
Yangshou which was the western backpackers hang out a few years ago has now been discovered by domestic tourists ie ruined similarly Dali and Lijiang in Yunnan best avoided. It's difficult to explain the destructive impact of mass domestic tourism unless you see it A friend describes it as Disneyification . Still there are plenty of places with a little planning that are well worth the trip.
Getting there from the UK I have used China southern to Guangzhou(Canton) .Oddly if you book a domestic flight at the same time the price of the ticket comes down . Ideal for cyclists ie you could flying from Guangzhou to say Kunming capital of Yunnan and ride back .
Later this year a new flight we start Gatwick to Chongqing ideal for heading into the south west . I plan to use this in November to go back to north west Hunan friendliest people in China , all mountains in fact famous for being a bandit hide out before liberation. Remains of an ancient civilisation the Tujia people 土家族。 can't wait
People are very helpful and should be able to fix any mechanical problem , Giant bikes are the main brand so getting mountain bikes tyres etc should be fine. I would use wide tyres , only 700c I saw were narrow racing tyres. Road surfaces are pretty good except where they are rebuilding which is quite common
Best website for info on out of the way places in SW China not yet crushed by modernisation is http://www.travelcathay.com
-don't bother with camping gear you can get a cheap privately owned hotel from £5 upwards. . The Chinese have many words for hotel you want to ask for 客栈 kezhan which is us usually translated as guest house . Usually small and you live withe the owners. Never need to book in advance except maybe if arriving at a big city. Booking.com prices are far too high and they don't have particularly good places.. No need to carry sleeping bag and China is one of those wonderful countries where there is boiling water even in the cheapest hotels . Infact the only time I saw a near riot was on a train when the hot water boiler had run dry
- food is plentiful and cheap no need to carry more than emergency supplies. Noodles in the day with rice and dishes in the evening . They like their food very spicy so a useful phase is 不吃辣 I don't eat spicy food
-what makes china expensive is admission prices the only place I know where you have to pay to go into some villages you can pay up to £14 . These can be avoided locals will often help. If you stay off the bullet trains the ordinary trains are cheap infact cheaper than buses. You can take your bike on the train but will need language skills to organise. You should be able to get your bike taken by bus.
Wifi pretty much everywhere even in the cheapest hotels. Carry a knife for peeling fruit etc. you can buy pretty much everything except shoes over size 42!
-cycling first buy your maps abroad you can't get good maps in china. In the south west ie Yunnan , Guizhou and Hunan and Guangxi provinces as in the rest of China the standard is too beep your horn when overtaking . This is the major problem infact it became a bonus for me if I was passed silently. Driving standards are poor so ride defensively . On the plus side the motorways have taken much of the traffic. Cities are horrible places polluted all full of high rise but easy to ride out to the countryside which is wonderful in the south west . Signposting is poor so have written in Chinese your destination
-places to go I really rate western Hunan 湘西 ancient towns and those wonderful erhh Chinese shaped mountains. Try 洪江 Hongjiang south of Huaihua. For a really off the beaten track area try north Guizhou eg 梵净山fanjing Buddhist mountain. Southern Guizhou around Kaili凯里which is a Miao,Dong minority area is very touristry eg to get into Xijiang village will cost you over £10!
Sanjiang is just a jumping off point for Chenyang程阳the Ding villages with those covered woodbridges fantastic area for cycling. On the way south from Sanjiang are the Dragon back rice terraces will cost you £12 to get in you will see better just riding around
Yangshou which was the western backpackers hang out a few years ago has now been discovered by domestic tourists ie ruined similarly Dali and Lijiang in Yunnan best avoided. It's difficult to explain the destructive impact of mass domestic tourism unless you see it A friend describes it as Disneyification . Still there are plenty of places with a little planning that are well worth the trip.
Getting there from the UK I have used China southern to Guangzhou(Canton) .Oddly if you book a domestic flight at the same time the price of the ticket comes down . Ideal for cyclists ie you could flying from Guangzhou to say Kunming capital of Yunnan and ride back .
Later this year a new flight we start Gatwick to Chongqing ideal for heading into the south west . I plan to use this in November to go back to north west Hunan friendliest people in China , all mountains in fact famous for being a bandit hide out before liberation. Remains of an ancient civilisation the Tujia people 土家族。 can't wait
People are very helpful and should be able to fix any mechanical problem , Giant bikes are the main brand so getting mountain bikes tyres etc should be fine. I would use wide tyres , only 700c I saw were narrow racing tyres. Road surfaces are pretty good except where they are rebuilding which is quite common
Best website for info on out of the way places in SW China not yet crushed by modernisation is http://www.travelcathay.com
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Kieran2663
- Posts: 12
- Joined: 15 Apr 2015, 4:00pm
Re: Cycling in west China
Hi Serbring
I think our paths have crossed before re: Pamir...
Western China is a great place to tour, you have a choice of some of the most interesting provinces in the whole country, Xinjiang, Qinghai, Gansu Sichuan & Yunnan. The only problem is which one to choose...
It is true that larges parts of Western China are high in altitude and the days can long and tough but with amazing scenery & people it is worth the effort. Below are some examples of routes I have taken or other routes of cyclist we met.
Xinjiang is mostly desert and in the the North the Tian Shan mountains, so pretty tough cycling certainly during the summer months, but the Uighur people and food make for a great trip. Popular routes include the G314 (Chinese KKH) Kashgar to Taskkurgan around 400km passing lake Karakul and the Tajik & Kyrgy peoples of the area. But there is quite a bit of altitude gain, check the Himalaya on Bike book by Laura Stone for full details. other peps we meet either did the Northern or Southern Taklamakan routes, but depending on the month and wind directions this would be a very long, flat and hot cycle.
Qinghai - Xining to Yushu G214 is not an easy cycle and large parts of the journey are on top of the Tibetan plateau and the Tibetan mastiff a plenty but if your into Tibetan culture and open land and endless sky this could be interesting, I believe the road that goes into Sichuan the S217 is where the road gets pretty rough. But when we were in Sichuan the govt was on a massive road building push.
Qinghai / Sichuan - Xining to Kanding S101 - is a really great ride, this is the one I did with my partner. The road slowly creeps up to a number of high passes, but once over the passes you are on rolling 3000 meter plus grassland and the roads are great, a lot of the roads are new on this route and the gradient going up hill is around 5% mark, so big switch backs making it easier to cope with the altitude. Amne Machin the second most holy mountain is on this route and you can do the kora of the mountain if you have the time, energy and lung power. Lots of temples and nomads on route and friendly Tibetan people, unlike some of the dogs....
New Dali (Xinguan) - Mongla (Lao border) - G214 - This ride takes you though the Mekong valleys / basins and sub tropical region of Xishuangbanna, the area is home to the Dai people and you very much feel like you are in certain parts of Laos or Thailand in this region. The weather is hotter and much more humid. The scenery is of rice paddies, lush jungles and hills... The road was great and as there is a new highway meaning only local traffic on large parts of the road.
There are plenty of other options in Yunnan such as cycling from Old Dali to Shangri la via the Tiger Leaping Gorge, but this part of Yunnan is very touristy and may not be what you are looking for?
Important things; names and places seem to be different depending on who you ask (certainly in the Tibetan enclaves) so get a good map, we got one at a local bookstore in Xining then ask a Tibetan man to write all the names down so we knew both the Mandarin & Tibetan. Don't believe google maps...
In certain parts of Sichuan you may be asked to get a Alien Travel Permit which will enable you to stay in certain places that are normally off limits to tourist or none residency, we didn't get one but were never asked for it by any state official, although the PSB can detain you and force you to leave certain towns if they don't like your presence, this happen on a number of occasions but was always friendly enough.
Some hotels won't take foreigners even in large cities like Xining or Lanzhou so be prepared for that.
Travel to Western China is not that easy, if coming in from Western Europe, Chengdu is the only major airport hub that has direct flights from Europe and then it would be another internal flight or train ride to the start of your journey. Having said that China Rail's freight service for your bikes and luggage is great and not to expensive, this service is available at most large / medium sized stations.
Take a good Chinese / English translator with you as English is very limited in the these area of china.
We printed out a menu from CGOAB that had the translations of classic western Chinese food dishes and used that to order the amazing food that is present in western china.
Overall Western China is not an easy place to cycle tour due to large mountain ranges, high altitudes & vast deserts, so I would do some proper research into what will suit you and your partner best. But it is a really diverse and thoroughly fascinating part of China, that on some days will have you asking our we in China at all..
Enjoy the ride..
Kieran
I think our paths have crossed before re: Pamir...
Western China is a great place to tour, you have a choice of some of the most interesting provinces in the whole country, Xinjiang, Qinghai, Gansu Sichuan & Yunnan. The only problem is which one to choose...
It is true that larges parts of Western China are high in altitude and the days can long and tough but with amazing scenery & people it is worth the effort. Below are some examples of routes I have taken or other routes of cyclist we met.
Xinjiang is mostly desert and in the the North the Tian Shan mountains, so pretty tough cycling certainly during the summer months, but the Uighur people and food make for a great trip. Popular routes include the G314 (Chinese KKH) Kashgar to Taskkurgan around 400km passing lake Karakul and the Tajik & Kyrgy peoples of the area. But there is quite a bit of altitude gain, check the Himalaya on Bike book by Laura Stone for full details. other peps we meet either did the Northern or Southern Taklamakan routes, but depending on the month and wind directions this would be a very long, flat and hot cycle.
Qinghai - Xining to Yushu G214 is not an easy cycle and large parts of the journey are on top of the Tibetan plateau and the Tibetan mastiff a plenty but if your into Tibetan culture and open land and endless sky this could be interesting, I believe the road that goes into Sichuan the S217 is where the road gets pretty rough. But when we were in Sichuan the govt was on a massive road building push.
Qinghai / Sichuan - Xining to Kanding S101 - is a really great ride, this is the one I did with my partner. The road slowly creeps up to a number of high passes, but once over the passes you are on rolling 3000 meter plus grassland and the roads are great, a lot of the roads are new on this route and the gradient going up hill is around 5% mark, so big switch backs making it easier to cope with the altitude. Amne Machin the second most holy mountain is on this route and you can do the kora of the mountain if you have the time, energy and lung power. Lots of temples and nomads on route and friendly Tibetan people, unlike some of the dogs....
New Dali (Xinguan) - Mongla (Lao border) - G214 - This ride takes you though the Mekong valleys / basins and sub tropical region of Xishuangbanna, the area is home to the Dai people and you very much feel like you are in certain parts of Laos or Thailand in this region. The weather is hotter and much more humid. The scenery is of rice paddies, lush jungles and hills... The road was great and as there is a new highway meaning only local traffic on large parts of the road.
There are plenty of other options in Yunnan such as cycling from Old Dali to Shangri la via the Tiger Leaping Gorge, but this part of Yunnan is very touristy and may not be what you are looking for?
Important things; names and places seem to be different depending on who you ask (certainly in the Tibetan enclaves) so get a good map, we got one at a local bookstore in Xining then ask a Tibetan man to write all the names down so we knew both the Mandarin & Tibetan. Don't believe google maps...
In certain parts of Sichuan you may be asked to get a Alien Travel Permit which will enable you to stay in certain places that are normally off limits to tourist or none residency, we didn't get one but were never asked for it by any state official, although the PSB can detain you and force you to leave certain towns if they don't like your presence, this happen on a number of occasions but was always friendly enough.
Some hotels won't take foreigners even in large cities like Xining or Lanzhou so be prepared for that.
Travel to Western China is not that easy, if coming in from Western Europe, Chengdu is the only major airport hub that has direct flights from Europe and then it would be another internal flight or train ride to the start of your journey. Having said that China Rail's freight service for your bikes and luggage is great and not to expensive, this service is available at most large / medium sized stations.
Take a good Chinese / English translator with you as English is very limited in the these area of china.
We printed out a menu from CGOAB that had the translations of classic western Chinese food dishes and used that to order the amazing food that is present in western china.
Overall Western China is not an easy place to cycle tour due to large mountain ranges, high altitudes & vast deserts, so I would do some proper research into what will suit you and your partner best. But it is a really diverse and thoroughly fascinating part of China, that on some days will have you asking our we in China at all..
Enjoy the ride..
Kieran
Re: Cycling in west China
steve.y.griffith wrote:I have done three trips in china all in the south west in the past year. Few points that may help:
-don't bother with camping gear you can get a cheap privately owned hotel from £5 upwards. . The Chinese have many words for hotel you want to ask for 客栈 kezhan which is us usually translated as guest house . Usually small and you live withe the owners. Never need to book in advance except maybe if arriving at a big city. Booking.com prices are far too high and they don't have particularly good places.. No need to carry sleeping bag and China is one of those wonderful countries where there is boiling water even in the cheapest hotels . Infact the only time I saw a near riot was on a train when the hot water boiler had run dry
- food is plentiful and cheap no need to carry more than emergency supplies. Noodles in the day with rice and dishes in the evening . They like their food very spicy so a useful phase is 不吃辣 I don't eat spicy food
-what makes china expensive is admission prices the only place I know where you have to pay to go into some villages you can pay up to £14 . These can be avoided locals will often help. If you stay off the bullet trains the ordinary trains are cheap infact cheaper than buses. You can take your bike on the train but will need language skills to organise. You should be able to get your bike taken by bus.
Wifi pretty much everywhere even in the cheapest hotels. Carry a knife for peeling fruit etc. you can buy pretty much everything except shoes over size 42!
-cycling first buy your maps abroad you can't get good maps in china. In the south west ie Yunnan , Guizhou and Hunan and Guangxi provinces as in the rest of China the standard is too beep your horn when overtaking . This is the major problem infact it became a bonus for me if I was passed silently. Driving standards are poor so ride defensively . On the plus side the motorways have taken much of the traffic. Cities are horrible places polluted all full of high rise but easy to ride out to the countryside which is wonderful in the south west . Signposting is poor so have written in Chinese your destination
-places to go I really rate western Hunan 湘西 ancient towns and those wonderful erhh Chinese shaped mountains. Try 洪江 Hongjiang south of Huaihua. For a really off the beaten track area try north Guizhou eg 梵净山fanjing Buddhist mountain. Southern Guizhou around Kaili凯里which is a Miao,Dong minority area is very touristry eg to get into Xijiang village will cost you over £10!
Sanjiang is just a jumping off point for Chenyang程阳the Ding villages with those covered woodbridges fantastic area for cycling. On the way south from Sanjiang are the Dragon back rice terraces will cost you £12 to get in you will see better just riding around
Yangshou which was the western backpackers hang out a few years ago has now been discovered by domestic tourists ie ruined similarly Dali and Lijiang in Yunnan best avoided. It's difficult to explain the destructive impact of mass domestic tourism unless you see it A friend describes it as Disneyification . Still there are plenty of places with a little planning that are well worth the trip.
Getting there from the UK I have used China southern to Guangzhou(Canton) .Oddly if you book a domestic flight at the same time the price of the ticket comes down . Ideal for cyclists ie you could flying from Guangzhou to say Kunming capital of Yunnan and ride back .
Later this year a new flight we start Gatwick to Chongqing ideal for heading into the south west . I plan to use this in November to go back to north west Hunan friendliest people in China , all mountains in fact famous for being a bandit hide out before liberation. Remains of an ancient civilisation the Tujia people 土家族。 can't wait
People are very helpful and should be able to fix any mechanical problem , Giant bikes are the main brand so getting mountain bikes tyres etc should be fine. I would use wide tyres , only 700c I saw were narrow racing tyres. Road surfaces are pretty good except where they are rebuilding which is quite common
Best website for info on out of the way places in SW China not yet crushed by modernisation is http://www.travelcathay.com
Hi Steve,
Thanks for your precious and detailed information. Unfortunately, I go for another destination, an easier route for my gf that is from Guangxi to Hainnan riding the g76/g65. Here most of the route.
How was travelling with Southern China Airlines? They do not have clear regulations about bike transportation. As far as I understood the bike weight is included to the baggage allowance, and you pay for the excess, right?
Last question not fully related, I have many somoni left from my Pamir trip and I have not found any place or way to the exchange them in Italy. May I found a place to exchange that money there? Thanks
Last edited by serbring on 8 Jul 2016, 7:49am, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Cycling in west China
simonhill wrote:Shocked to see I did my 2 trips to China 7 and 6 years ago, so out of date warning.
I flew into Guillin and cycled round Yangzhou on my first trip. Lots of tourists and plenty of places to stay. I then cycled north through some minority areas to Kaili. Tough riding in mts, made worse by roadworks.
Hainan and Nanning are easy, plenty of places to stay. Not sure about the rest of your route.
Generally roads in China are very good. My favourites are the old A roads now replaced by a new motorway. All the traffic goes on the motorway and you have a private road almost to yourself.
Biggest problem is if they decide to remake the road. They tear up hundreds of kms of the road and slowly replace it. The road is still open, but very difficult to cycle, with heavy duty construction work to cycle through.
I can't really advise on bikes, I prefer a decent touring bike as I know it will get me through most things. If using trains, your bike goes separately in luggage train. Decide for yourself if you want to risk carbon. Narrow tyres should be OK, but I prefer something wider with lower pressure for comfort and durability.
Looking at my diaries I usually paid about £5 for a reasonable hotel, although most of these were in small non touristy towns. Have a look at booking.com for current prices.
Kettle or water boiler in all hotels so you can fill for next day. Bottled water available. Take filter if you want, I don't bother anymore. Food was generally good. You often choose your food from cabinets and they cook it for you. Better if more than one of you as you can share dishes and increase choice. Prices cheap.
Lots of info on travelling in China on China branch of Lonely Planet Thorn Tree.
Thank you so much for your information. Looking forward to get there. The tires are narrow and mostly slicks. Will they be fine in your opinion? I'm considering if the best is change them with Schwalbe marathon
Re: Cycling in west China
There is a general move to wider low pressure tyres. They give a better ride and counter intuitively they are often no slower.
Lots has been written on this branch and the technical branch about them. Also there are about 9 different types of Marathon, see recent thread on technical branch.
My opinion is I'd always go with wider, why suffer.
Lots has been written on this branch and the technical branch about them. Also there are about 9 different types of Marathon, see recent thread on technical branch.
My opinion is I'd always go with wider, why suffer.
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steve.y.griffith
- Posts: 651
- Joined: 27 Aug 2007, 8:14pm
- Location: North London
Re: Cycling in west China
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China southern are fine with bikes usual requirements eg boxing up.
I think you will struggle to change anything apart from £$€ in many cities inChina . NB usually only Bank of China not other banks can change money.
The route looks good definitely off the usual tourist routes and the scenery will be excellent .
If you need any further info happy to help best to email me griffith531athotmail.com