This is about a 9 day bike trip from Ganzi to Lushan with two American’s, Eric and Jeff
10/12
This is about a bike trip last fall from Ganzi to Lushan area. Two of my friends from my hometown of Buffalo, New York came to do what I consider one of the best bike trips in China.
Our first part begins with a bus trip to begin our journey. In Chengdu, we left my place in the morning to head over to the Xiananmen bus station to catch our two day bus ride to Ganzi. As soon as we got there a guy must have known we were coming because he was super eager to get us thru the security and getting our three bikes on the bus. Not without any incentive of course. The cost of a bike is half the price of the bus ticket. The bus ticket was less than 300 so he got almost 150 rmb from each of us which is a pretty decent amount. I’m not sure how he divides who gets what between him and the bus driver etc, but I doubt it’s going to the company. Good for them I guess.
Getting to Kangding wasn’t too bad. I thought of just flying there which is cheap enough and less than an hour, but I figured it would be nice for Jeff and Eric to see the scenery along the way. The first couple hours isn’t anything special, but after you pass Yaan you get into the mountains and it’s a more scenic. You also go off the highway to a smaller 2 lane road for the most part, that’s super windy and there’s tons of traffic competing to pass each other, so it’s not for the faint hearted. They are luckily in the process of building a highway to Kangding which will make it twice as fast but that won’t be done until next year.
You finally get up to Mount Erland pass and tunnel around 2200 meters a couple hours after Yaan. The tunnel is about 8500 meters long and when you get to the other side the views are really amazing after that for a while. It would almost be worth it to start the bike trip there but the road has too much traffic. From there its 2 to 3 more hours to get to Kangding.
We left our bikes in the storage area of the bus and brought the important things with us downtown. It was raining really hard and difficult to get a cab but we finally did to take us a couple kms to downtown. We met my Czech buddy Max in a little bar of one of his friends. Max has a hostel and brewery a couple hours away in the scenic town of Tagong. The bar was the kind of place I would never find if someone didn’t bring me up some random stairway through some hallway to a little international looking bar on the second floor overlooking the street.
We hung out a little bit and Max couldn’t stay long anyway so we decided to head back near the bus station since the bus was leaving at 545 AM and we didn’t want to need a cab in the morning. We ate nearby the hotel and headed to bed not too late.
10/13 Bus to Ganzi
We got up early and got on the same bus and busy road for a while until you get to the turn off to head north a couple hours away. We stopped about a half hour later in Tagong for a break at one of the large parking lots where a temple and some stalls are. They didn’t really have much food except bbq stuff they were preparing and some bread or yak jerky.
We continued on for a bit past Bamei and then we had to stop because of some road construction for a couple hours. At least the scenery in the area was beautiful and locals got plenty of photo’s of Eric and Jeff. We finally got to Ganzi around dinner time and headed up to the Zhilam hostel, a place run by an American guy. It’s a great new hostel remodeled from a Tibetan house with great western food and clean rooms. I would have gone more local, but I figured we could get a little more western style setting after a long bus ride and it’s the last we will have until Chengdu, besides Max place. They were tired and went to bed after a couple drinks and dinner, but I wanted to head into town to find a big advertisement I saw with a picture of some singers and dancers. I went in and had a couple drinks and it was pretty good but super loud. I would have stayed longer but one of the younger drunk guys was kind of annoying me. After a bit of hearing damage I headed back in the rain.
10/14 – 60 kms to Luhou
The next morning we went out to the taxi area to find out about getting a ride out of town to skip the pass. It’s as lazy bones tour. We aren’t spending the extra time to do all the passes which would add two or three extra days to the trip. Ganzi is around 3300 meters and the pass is around 4000, about 27 kms away.
I’m not sure if it’s Tibetan culture or because they are just bored and ambitious taxi drivers looking for easy money from foreigners, but there is no concept of personal space, or at least in this situation. As I began to negotiate and explain what I wanted and about 15-20 guys surrounded me and got as close as humanly possible, which was obviously uncomfortable. I almost decided we should just bike up it since it was so obnoxious. The first guy was saying 590 rmb which is way too high. Eventually one younger guy got down to 240 rmb and we strapped our three bikes on top of his van and took off.
It didn’t seem super steep until last 10-15 kms. We took our pictures on the top and some locals wanted to get a picture with Eric, a big theme of the trip since he’s so big and with a beard. I guess people thought he looked like someone in Hollywood or a WWE wrestling star. After our photo’s we began biking around 1130 and there were still a couple small ups and downs for a couple kms before the decent, which was about 15 kms. There was one small shop to the left if you needed water or anything before heading down. The views of the snowcapped mountains back towards Ganzi were amazing and the way down has a beautiful lake so it’s a great way to start the trip and one of the most scenic areas of the entire trip.
The traffic was normal for most part, but a reminder of how the these roads can be dangerous. I looked back when I heard the sound of brakes above me and saw a truck quickly pulling to the side of the road because of oncoming traffic or something. It doesn’t help there isn’t a huge shoulder, but in general this is normal for these areas and they are used to cyclists so I think its as safe as anywhere else. No better or worse than other countries more less. It was around 15 kms to the bottom where there was a village and we continued on for about another 20 kms to another village and shop. I asked about places to eat and he said there was only one in the last one we past 20 kms back, so I guess we wouldn’t get one until Luhou, the next city. Most regions of China have tons of restaurants and things everywhere, but when you are in some of these minority regions there are less commercial and business kinds of things which hast its good and bad. We did get off the main road and went on the other side of the road for about 5 kms to avoid the traffic which was a little tougher but worth it. Just some small climbs and some head winds.
The road goes downhill next to a river pretty much to Luhou. There was one tunnel we passed through about 500 meters long. I didn’t think to stop and put on my headlamp or anything. I just went for it since I’m used to entering dark tunnels like this and there wasn’t traffic going through, but I forgot it might have been a surprise for Eric and Jeff and it was. It’s tough for anyone’s eyes to adjust and know where you are going easily. You just have to look at the light on the other end of the road and stay to the right but not hit the walkway thing. I should have definitely stopped to make sure we had our headlamps on, which I will do next time. Eric and Jeff were freaked out a bit when they got to the other side. I think one of them just walked on the sidewalk area of the tunnel, which probably isn’t a bad idea. Eric immediately mentioned he needed to take a dump lol. I guess it literally scared the shit out of him.
We continued on and they were biking ahead of me. I seem to be moving more like a turtle these days. I guess my broken leg from years ago doesn’t improve my speed. Around 4 I could tell it was probably going to rain and it did. Eric and Jeff were putting on their rain gear and I noticed a large shelter just below the road we went down to it as it poured super hard for about a half hour. We just waited it out for a bit and luckily it stopped and we continued cycling to Luhuo arriving past six. I guess it was about 6 hours to do the 70 kms from the top with an hour of breaks or so. We found a hotel and got a room on the second floor that had soft beds called the Moonlight shadow for 160 rmb a room. Always make sure to get rooms on the back side of the hotel away from the roads unless you love to hear beeping all night and especially in the morning.
Checking in usually takes time because they have to input our information and get either copies of our passports or take photos to send them to the police station. I went down to get some water for a minute and when I came back there was one attractive young woman with hair almost to the floor trying to communicate with Eric and Jeff, which was funny. There was some confusion about the rooms like how many we wanted or how much or whatever. Eric obviously couldn’t understand, so he was using gestures and was pointing at her and upstairs and using his fingers to show one or two etc. I guess Jeff said the other woman there were laughing hard and the attractive woman face turned red and she looked pissed. I think the woman assumed Eric was asking if it was one or two hundred rmb for her to come to his room lol.
After we got settled we went out to look for a good restaurant. I happened to begin chatting with a woman around 30 who was walking beside us. I asked her about good local restaurants in the area. She wasn’t from there but she tried to help. There weren’t too many options in that area for the local food I was looking for, so we got a bbq that was average and she joined us. She said she was singing later at the bar next door called ‘Why Not.’ We went up there afterwards and it was similar to the place I was at the evening before. It was very loud as before, but a good time. She brought us some crates of beer that they didn’t charge us for anything. They do that in many clubs and places in China to attract more foreigners for advertisement. There were probably 40 or more bottles, but you don’t get drunk easily because beers in China are often 2.5 to 3.3 percent. We stayed for a couple hours and watched and listened to a dozen different great singers. I assume the singers get partially or all their pay based on the tips from audience from what I’m guessing. When the singer is performing the people can buy a long cloth that they drape over the singers neck while they are performing. If they get a few of them they eventually get a bunch of flowers as if it’s like first prize or something. I think it was relatively expensive for these things because it looked like they were giving about 100 rmb and not getting change. Anyway, we danced a bit on stage and it was a great way for me, Eric and Jeff to see a local cultural or music event.
10/15 – From Luhuo 3200 m to Dawu 3000 m 67 kms
It rained at night and was cloudy in the morning but luckily it held off. We took off biking around 1020 and the ride today was generally easy with only some small climbs of three kms or so. It was mostly through a wide valley along a river going downstream. There was more traffic than I was happy with, a lot of 18 wheelers and stuff and not really a big shoulder. I explained to Eric and Jeff my idea about how best to ride in these conditions. It’s natural to want to go as close as you can to the right of the road so that you don’t get hit, especially when a vehicle is coming behind you and one is coming at you and you are in a pinch. You know that the road is going to be tight but it’s actually better to hold your ground beforehand and stay a little bit in the lane so that cars can’t attempt to pinch thru. Its unlikely that they will see you and literally drive you over. Instead, they are forced to slow down and wait for the oncoming traffic to pass. Also, if there is no oncoming traffic they will make a bigger effort to move more widely around you. If you are as far right as you can go without a shoulder, you will notice cars seem lazy and won’t change their movement on the road even if they are very close. But if they have to move a little to get around you, they will make a much bigger effort to go around you, often going completely in the opposite lane. It doesn’t feel comfortable at first but you will notice the cars changing their behavior immediately.
After about 20 kms there a big corporate building on the right that’s pretty new and closed but to the left there is a walkway next to some nice views and a lake. I’m not sure how far the walkway goes but a good break place and maybe a nice place to walk for a bit. We got into town by 4 pm and found a local style Tibetan homestay on the left we ended up staying at. Pretty easy day in general. There was another nicer hotel just before that that might be better in the future. The only problem is that there must be an army base across the street below out of site because at 6 am the next morning there the army songs to wake everyone up and dogs barking below. Too bad because quiet area in general but maybe going to the other side of town would be better. We walked around town for a bit and had dinner and they were pretty tired so we didn’t stay out late. I talked to the lady running the homestay about arranging a taxi to take us up tomorrow since there was a big climb.
10/16 Dawu 3000m to Tagong 3700 m 75 kms
We got up early and paid the taxi 200 rmb to take us up to the pass 35 kms away, which is about a 1000 higher than Dawu at about 4000 meters. It took about 40 minutes to get to the top and we started biking just past 930. It was super cold but at least there was no traffic since the road there was under construction and cars couldn’t get through for a couple hours. After a few kms you can see an amazing view to the left called dragon grassland that has hundreds of prayer flags on display to form a colorful triangle covering the entire side of mountain. There is also a large Buddhist statue and I think a monetary behind there. It’s about a kms away and I considered going to check it out, but I was pretty cold and wanted to get down the mountain more, but it’s definitely the most epic place since our first day.
We had some headwinds biking down. It wasn’t a steep downhill like I would have hoped and there were even some small climbs. You turn to the left and have a small 5 kms climb before arriving in Bamei which was about 42 kms away from the top. I was feeling lazy and grabbed onto a tractor going by at one point just before town. We got into town around 1235 and we went to a Muslim noodle place on the right in the middle of town I had been at a couple times before which was great.
I had planned on maybe staying in Bamei, but since we got there so early and we would be bored after an hour I thought we should continue and go to Tagong, another 30 kms away. If we had not taken the taxi to the top of the pass, Bamei would be a place to stay. We left Bamei around 2 and begin a tough climb for about 17 kms that takes a couple hours or more to do but has nice views from the top. We then headed the ten kms down to Tagong which also had some great views of Mount Yala just east of us. Just the last couple kms are usually a little tough with the headwinds along the river.
We got checked into my friend Max and his wife Coco’s hostel in Tagong around 515 called the Khampa café that’s just above the square and next to the main temple. Max is in his late 20’s and is from the Czech Republic and his wife is a local Tibetan who just had a boy together over a year before. Their place is a great location and they have both western and local food that’s awesome. It’s more of a homestay or hostel feel, so if you don’t mind a shared bathroom and shower and think walls its fine. However, if you are looking for something upscale you might have to go to Bamei or Xinduqiao. We were all pretty tired so we had some food and tried Max great beer he made and didn’t stay up too late.
10/17 Day off in Tagong
In the morning we had breakfast and checked out the sites in the town and walked up the hill to get some nice views around. The one monastery next to the hostel in the square is one of the better ones I’ve been to in general. If you don’t have time to see all the temples or monasteries in this region I would at least see that one. On the other side of town there is another monastery that’s pretty run down or abandon I guess and not too special, but the hill next to it has some great views of Yala Mountain and the temple. We had some great food at a local restaurant across from the hostel and later got a taxi down to meet Max at his brewery in the nearby town of Xinduqiao about a half hour away. That’s also one of the most scenic areas of the trip with murals on rocks and inscriptions of Buddhist writings on tens of thousands of rocks in the raging river below. Then as you get closer to Xinduqiao the valley opens back up and there are wide open areas with prayer flags and more Tibetan writing on the mountain sides that are beautiful.
We had some drinks at his brewery which is just being finished. It’s adjacent to a Tibetan house which I assume was for livestock and storage in a courtyard you would never know unless someone told you. The downstairs is the brewery itself and upstairs he has remodeled it to look like a restaurant/bar. We hung out there for a bit before heading back to get some yak burgers at his hostel. The police came and were interested in who was staying there. There is some big government meeting in Beijing at that time so these more sensitive areas of China are being more monitored. There have been more police checkpoints in general and a much larger police presence then I think I have ever seen in most of the cities we had gone through.
10/18 Day off in Tagong
The next day we walked up the mountain behind the hostel, which is tough but worth it. An Australia guy at the hostel had recommended it to us. The first part is steep but at least there is a path but once you’re about two thirds up the path ends at a house and you have to blaze your own way to the top from there. At nearly 4000 meters it’s not that easy to walk continuously without being out of breath since it’s so steep, but it’s worth it. I guess it took us just over an hour to get up to the top. Amazing 360 views around of the town and in the distance you can see Mount Yala (5820 m or 19,094 feet) in the east and Mount Gonga in the south which is the highest mountain in Sichuan at nearly 7260 m or 25,000 feet.
We took a different way down that passed dozens of horses grazing in the valley nearby. We stopped where a few locals were having lunch. They shared some of their yak tea and yogurt and food and we chatted a bit. They said the animals are all the town’s people and they rotate taking turns as shepherds (not sure proper name for horses). Anyway, we headed down the mountain to the hostel and we actually only planned on staying in Tagong for one night but it was Coco’s birthday so her and her friends and others headed to the brewery for a hotpot dinner and party. I made some potato salad for them and we went over there around dinner time. The Australian, a couple of woman from the Czech were there and a bunch of Coco’s friends. We had a great time and headed back after midnight or so I guess.
10/19 To Danba (2100 m) 60 kms
We took our time getting up since we were a little hungover, especially Jeff and Eric’s. Since we are headed back in the same direction we already passed, we asked if Max could take us up past Bamei to the top of the pass. He said he could and would also show us some monasteries and the birthplace of a Dali Llama along the way. We got our bikes in the van and the Australia guy Ryan also joined us so it was pretty crammed and by the time we got on the road, which was much later then I would have wanted.
We first checked out Huiyuansi temple that was built in 1729, which ended up an awkward but funny experience. There was only one monk in the back of the temple I guess. Me, Eric and Jeff walked carefully around observing the different things. Behind we saw the Ryan taking his time and he was touching a drum or something on the wall and the Monk yelled for him to not touch anything. While Ryan was still behind, Max showed us a large painting or a frame that had a religious looking cloth covering it. He lifted the cloth up and you could see it was the current Dali Lamas that’s in exile in Tibet. This is obviously illegal in China. We walked outside and waited about ten minutes for Max and Ryan to finally return to tell us of their little incident. Ryan or Max asked if they could see the Dali Llama picture and the monk said no. They lifted it up anyway and when they walked away it fell down by accident. Of course the monk was furious. Afterwards we went down the road another km or two to checked out the birth place of the 11th Dali Llama in 1838, which was simple but ok.
Max then drive us a few more kms up the road to some hot springs on the side of the road I had seen before but didn’t realize what it was. It was already past 330 and I wanted to hit the road since we still had 60 kms to Danba and even though its downhill I noticed some headwinds that might slow us down. It’s also a remote area so there is no town or restaurants before Danba, besides a guesthouse or two and one large new hotel. We said goodbye and went down the mountain by the river in a gorge which at most times is narrow and could be dangerous, especially in rainy seasons because of landslides etc.
We ate at a newer hotel which is the only place you can eat pretty much before Danba and then we decided we would try camping instead of getting another hotel for once. It’s often that camping is better in many ways. Hotel beds in China are rarely soft so a sleeping mat is the same or better. It’s also much quieter to camp normally. Hotels have noisy roads with beeping traffic or nearby KTV places and guests or workers are in the hallways at all times of night or morning often shouting and being obnoxious. A good campsite can be a much better option and I believe it’s safe. Especially in that area since there is no one around anyone to disturb us.
We went 30 kms from where we started and found a nice campsite. We still had 30 kms before Danba and it was getting dark. A little close to the road but a big enough area for several people and not near any village or anything. Eric had a slow leak so I helped him fix his tire as it got dark. There was still no shoulder but at least the road was much quieter today then other days and it was all downhill so super easy.
10/20 85 kms to Xiaojin
We got up and cycled 30 kms to Danba to have lunch around 11. From there it’s a slow climb back up along the river and through a canyon all day and the next until we finally go over Jia Jin pass. We started biking again around noon and went another 50 kms to Xiaojin, a densely populated mountain city. I would have just taken the bypass and skipped it, especially since the road going in was under construction and a mess, but Jeff’s gear system was messed up and we couldn’t fix it on the road so we wanted to find a bike shop. It’s rare to find bike shops in mountain towns because climbs are too steep. In flat places you can find many but not in the mountains.
We finally found a shop that was closed, so I called the number and a young guy came a few minutes later. Unfortunately he couldn’t fix it and he didn’t have the part he needed for that type of bike. I had hoped to have already purchased some bikes for my tours for Eric and Jeff, but I didn’t find the size I needed in time so I had to rent them from a company in Chengdu. Next time I’ll have better bikes and extra parts. It was annoying for Jeff he could still continue and we only had a couple more days anyway.
We decided we would stay in Xiaojin and arrange a taxi for the next day to take us to Jia Jin Shan since it’s a huge climb up to around 4200 meters and we are a little behind schedule anyway. We got a small hotel restaurant leaving town and had a good meal. The lady was pretty intense and when she was cleaning up she just threw the trash out the window to the raging river below to my guest’s dismay. She talked to a cab driver and I tried to negotiate but couldn’t get less than 400. A little expensive but it’s a long 63 kms climb and would take an extra day so worth it.
10/21 56 kms to town past reservoir
We got up and loaded our bikes into the taxi and took off around 10. We got to the top of Jia Jin Shan around 11:30. It was freezing and many things were partially frozen, but luckily not the road. I was glad there were some local’s barbecuing as usual so we ate lunch, got some photos and began the long decent. I couldn’t get far without stopping several times to warm up my hands. At least there is almost no traffic on this road, but it is bumpy and there are some pot holes so you need to take your time since it was so steep. It was also very foggy in many areas too. Eric didn’t have adequate gloves so he had underwear on his hands lol. After about 15-20 kms you get through the clouds and it gets a little bit warmer.
We continued down and biked around the scenic reservoir and a few more kms to a village with a few hotels I stayed at the last time I was there. I wanted to continue another 30 kms or so but we got rained on the first time since our first day and it didn’t seem like a short shower so we got a room, had dinner and stayed for the night.
10/22 Back to Chengdu
It was still pouring in the morning and cold when we got up. It almost 50 kms to Baoxian and downhill for the most part but it still would suck in the rain. I asked the lady at the hotel about transport and she said there was a bus that comes by and we could ask the driver if we could get onto the bus. The driver stopped and said it was ok so we put our bikes on the bus and headed to Baoxian. We had lunch there and took the bus back to Chengdu arriving around dinner time. We then biked the last half hour to my place from there.
Conclusion
The trip went great overall. We lucked out with no rain besides the last day and almost every day was pretty sunny. It wasn’t super warm since it was already late October and the elevation is so high, but it was decent enough. I think only about a week after we were at Jia Jin shan it snowed so October is probably the latest you want to travel in most these areas. Jeff and Eric liked the trip overall, especially Jeff. The only things they didn’t like was the trash in so many areas and the crazy traffic, which was a little intense the first half of the trip. I have no idea why they didn’t make a wider shoulder in those areas since they are all new roads. I’m sure over time there will be better education about not littering and things will get better. The States were the same years ago and are still like that in some rural areas I’ve been too. I’ve been in Asia and biked around the world for years so the traffic and trash was no different than anywhere else. Its still one of the best routes I think anyone can do in China and one of the best in the world. The contrast of different scenery, good roads, glimpse into Tibetan and other cultures, great food etc. It has pretty much everything you would want in a great bike tour. The elevation might be a problem with some people but luckily we didn’t have any issues.