MyChinaMotoTrip

Stage one – Figuring out where to go

G’day,

I just want to share some info that I’ve come across in the past couple of months (most of it from this forum) which has been very useful in planning my China bike trip.

About 10 months ago, I arrived in Chongqing to start a year long work contract. I had just finished off a short but intense two month ride in India and was keen as mustard to get back on a bike and do some more riding. I bought a big map of China and marked out all of the interesting places I wanted to go to and it looked something like this.

Attachment 3061


The easiest choice was the round trip, to get the most destinations and riding distance, and to avoid mucking around with trains. The current route is around 20,000 kms total and goes through 17 provinces and 4 municipalities.

The original route changed a little after I read through some posts here and talked to some people. The highlight of the trip was supposed to be T*bed, but it turns out that it’s far too expensive and troublesome to do by myself. The requirement for the guide within the region is the main issue because I would have to pay for all of his/her expenses (accommodation, food etc) as well as the salary, fuel and hirage for the other vehicle and more fees. I was quoted by one company in Kashgar for RMB80,000 for 28 days (I was originally planning only 21 days in T*bed) and a very helpful ryanjpyle said that it can cost upwards of RMB1500 a day just to comply with the regulations for foreigners, not including my own expenses. I have wanted to visit T*bed for years so it’s a real bummer to not be going there. I’ll be bypassing the big T by going through Qinghai and into Western Sichuan.

I’ll be starting in Chongqing on the 1st of March so I decided to go anti-clockwise to give Spring some time to catch the more western and northern areas. It might still be a bit cold when I get to Harbin in early April though, and apparently they can get some pretty nasty thunderstorms in Qinghai around May so there’s that to keep in mind. I wanted to take 5 or 6 months to ride around, but my work contract has been extended to another 18 months, so they gave me 3 and a half months off to do this trip. I hope to finish in 100 days on the 6th of June.

I need to avoid going into many of the bigger cities on the route. Fortunately Chongqing seems to be more motorcycle tolerant than other cities in China, so I’ve had a bit of practice and I can park my bike in a garage downstairs. The list I have (courtesy of Mr. ChinaV) of no-go-moto-cities:

Guangdong Province - Guangzhou, Zhongshan, Shaoguan, Zhuhai, Dongguan, Shantou, Shenzhen
Liaoning Province - Shenyang, Dandong, Dalian, Tieling, Benxi, Anshan
Jiangsu Province - Nanjing, Suzhou, Wuxi, Changzhou, Zhenjiang, Nantong, Yangzhou, Yancheng, Huai'an, Xuzhou, Taizhou, Changshu, Zhangjiagang, Jiangyin, Lianyungang, Kunshan
Fujiang Province - Fuzhou, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Longyan, Xiamen
Zhejiang Province - Hangzhou, Wenzhou, Ningbo, Jiaxing, Shaoxing, Yiwu
Shandong Province - Yantai, Qingdao, Jinan
Hebei Province - Shijiazhuang, Tangshan, Zhangjiakou, Qinhuangdao
Henan Province - Luoyang, Zhengzhou, Xinxiang, Nanyang, Linzhou, Jiaozou, Anyang
Heilongjiang Province - Harbin
Guizhou Province - Guiyang, Anshun, Tongren, Duyun, Zunyi
Anhui Province - Hefei
Jiangxi Province - Nanchang, Jiujiang
Hunan Province - Changsha, Xiangtan, Yueyang, Zhangjiajie, Hengyang
Sichuan Province -Chengdu, Mianyang, Deyang, Yibin
Yunnan Province - Kunming, Yuxi, Qujing, Mengzi
Hainan Province - Haikou
Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region - Nanning
Hubei Province - Wuhan, Xiangfan, Yichang, Zhongxiang
Shaanxi Province - Xian
Shanxi Province - Taiyuan
Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region - Baotou, Ordos, Dongsheng, Hohhot
Jilin Province - Changchun
Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region - Yinchuan
Gansu Province - Lanzhou
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region - Urumqi

With some of the cities (like Shanghai, Beijing, Hangzhou etc) I’ll be parking the bike outside the restricted zone so I can bus or train into the city and nosy around the more interesting parts and take some photos.

I will also have to stay off the expressways in most provinces. I’ve been told by an MCM member here in Chongqing that in Guizhou you can drive on the expressways. Does anyone know if any other provinces allow motorcycles on their expressways?

Does anyone know some scenic/twisty/generally awesome bits of road on the way around?


Cheers,

Jeremy

Hi Jeremy,

A couple things to think about.

The list of cities is something you need to explore on a case by case basis. Many of those places are in the process of banning motorcycles, and that takes years to effectively implement. For instance, Kunming is a good place to stop for supplies and gather intel from the MCM community (also a nice place). With a little local knowledge, it's easy to enter and exit on motorcycle. However, Guangzhou is probably the least motorcycle friendly city I know in China, and I wouldn't suggest entering under any circumstance.

You have 3.5 months to cover a lot of ground, my question is, why? The entire eastern seaboard is the same giant pile of tiled concrete over and over. Sure, there are some interesting people and roads, but it's not the best this country has to offer, not by a long shot. Just a personal view, and not trying to tell you how to do your trip, but I would cut the country in half and focus on everything in the west and a bit of the north. Maybe start off from Chongqing, head down towards Guilin/Yangshuo via western Hubei and Hunan, then spend a month covering Yunnan and the Tibetan plateau of Sichuan, another month heading west through Qinghai and Xinjiang, then east through Gansu and Inner Mongolia, and finally head back home through Shanxi etc.

The western part of China is changing fast, and the opportunity to discover it is rapidly slipping away. The eastern half is already well developed with most of the good places now being expensive tourist traps. You can always take a long weekend and send your bike by train to go explore parts you're interested in, but it's pretty difficult to cover places like Xinjiang without a lot of time. Instead of blasting through the country on roads that have already been done by thousands of other tourists, maybe it would be better to spend more time in those special areas exploring villages and trails other people don't get to see.

Just my 2 cents. Whatever you decide, looking forward to following your journey, and hope we get to see a lot more of your photography. :deal:

Cheers!
ChinaV

Listen to the V. The west is where china hides its goodness

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ChinaV

Hi Jeremy,

A couple things to think about.

The list of cities is something you need to explore on a case by case basis. Many of those places are in the process of banning motorcycles, and that takes years to effectively implement. For instance, Kunming is a good place to stop for supplies and gather intel from the MCM community (also a nice place). With a little local knowledge, it's easy to enter and exit on motorcycle. However, Guangzhou is probably the least motorcycle friendly city I know in China, and I wouldn't suggest entering under any circumstance.

You have 3.5 months to cover a lot of ground, my question is, why? The entire eastern seaboard is the same giant pile of tiled concrete over and over. Sure, there are some interesting people and roads, but it's not the best this country has to offer, not by a long shot. Just a personal view, and not trying to tell you how to do your trip, but I would cut the country in half and focus on everything in the west and a bit of the north. Maybe start off from Chongqing, head down towards Guilin/Yangshuo via western Hubei and Hunan, then spend a month covering Yunnan and the Tibetan plateau of Sichuan, another month heading west through Qinghai and Xinjiang, then east through Gansu and Inner Mongolia, and finally head back home through Shanxi etc.

The western part of China is changing fast, and the opportunity to discover it is rapidly slipping away. The eastern half is already well developed with most of the good places now being expensive tourist traps. You can always take a long weekend and send your bike by train to go explore parts you're interested in, but it's pretty difficult to cover places like Xinjiang without a lot of time. Instead of blasting through the country on roads that have already been done by thousands of other tourists, maybe it would be better to spend more time in those special areas exploring villages and trails other people don't get to see.

Just my 2 cents. Whatever you decide, looking forward to following your journey, and hope we get to see a lot more of your photography. :deal:

Cheers!
ChinaV

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Hey, thanks for the feedback.

I’m still not very sure what to expect so I’ll be playing alot of it by ear, and listening intently to advice from experienced persons :icon10:

The main reason I want to do this is to see as much of China as I can by going to as many regions as possible. I know some of it won’t be pretty or easy, but I’d like to see it anyway. Guangzhou sounds unpleasant for any rider, so I’ll take your advice and stay away to save my wallet and my sanity. I’m also going to skip Qingdao and Fuzhou and spend more time in Yunnan now. Here is a more detailed GoogleMap of the general route.

Another reason for the length is that I’m also raising funds for a charity called Half the Sky Foundation, which is a registered charity that works in orphanages all over China. I’d like to raise USD$1 for every kilometer I travel, and the total will go to the Infant Nurture Program at the Urumuqi centre in Xinjiang.

No doubt I’ll be back to see the more scenic places when I get the chance (hopefully before the concrete tiles get there), but I’m sure that the ride will raise more money if it is longer and covers more regions. There are a lot of articles around about people doing charity motorcycle trips through Africa to raise funds for charities that work there, so it would be great to do the same in the world's 2nd largest developing country.

I'm sure I can get some epic photos on the way too. I took Motokai’s advice and got the latest from the Nikon P range (the P7000) and I'm still learning how to drive it. I’d like to put the helmet-cam to some use too and upload some videos to MCM at some stage as well. I’m still figuring that one out.

Cheers

Yes, listen to the V.

CC

If you insist on doing the east side as well, then I would suggest getting it out of the way first. I think it would be very difficult to come back east after having seem so much of the western half.

Like the saying goes... "Go West you man!"

CC

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CrazyCarl

Like the saying goes... "Go West you man!"

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Or as Jim Morrison said "The west is the best. The west is the best. Get here and we'll do the rest." :naughty:

+1 on what CC mentioned. The east will be a major let down after the amazing scenery in the west. It's like visiting Disneyland and then getting stuck at the county fair.

Cheers!
ChinaV

Just my 2 cents : saw a lot of bikes in Kunming (125 & 250) last week, same in Chengdu.
I don't know if this no-go-moto-cities list is updated or as ChinaV said only in the process of being implemented.

The best spotting was 2 big street bikes zooming by on a street in Kunming, didn't spot the brand of the 1st, but the 2nd one looked like a BMW roadster to me. Impressive to say the least, and definitely more than 500cc bikes.

Only this time the county fair is ten times more expensive and people spit on you while you're on the rides! GAAH!!!
:gun_bandana:

CC

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ChinaV

Or as Jim Morrison said "The west is the best. The west is the best. Get here and we'll do the rest." :naughty:

+1 on what CC mentioned. The east will be a major let down after the amazing scenery in the west. It's like visiting Disneyland and then getting stuck at the county fair.

Cheers!
ChinaV

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Isn't the BMW Roadster a car?

CC

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Fred

Just my 2 cents : saw a lot of bikes in Kunming (125 & 250) last week, same in Chengdu.
I don't know if this no-go-moto-cities list is updated or as ChinaV said only in the process of being implemented.

The best spotting was 2 big street bikes zooming by on a street in Kunming, didn't spot the brand of the 1st, but the 2nd one looked like a BMW roadster to me. Impressive to say the least, and definitely more than 500cc bikes.

---

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Roadrunner

Hey, thanks for the feedback.

I’m still not very sure what to expect so I’ll be playing alot of it by ear, and listening intently to advice from experienced persons :icon10:

The main reason I want to do this is to see as much of China as I can by going to as many regions as possible. I know some of it won’t be pretty or easy, but I’d like to see it anyway. Guangzhou sounds unpleasant for any rider, so I’ll take your advice and stay away to save my wallet and my sanity. I’m also going to skip Qingdao and Fuzhou and spend more time in Yunnan now. Here is a more detailed GoogleMap of the general route.

Another reason for the length is that I’m also raising funds for a charity called Half the Sky Foundation, which is a registered charity that works in orphanages all over China. I’d like to raise USD$1 for every kilometer I travel, and the total will go to the Infant Nurture Program at the Urumuqi centre in Xinjiang.

No doubt I’ll be back to see the more scenic places when I get the chance (hopefully before the concrete tiles get there), but I’m sure that the ride will raise more money if it is longer and covers more regions. There are a lot of articles around about people doing charity motorcycle trips through Africa to raise funds for charities that work there, so it would be great to do the same in the world's 2nd largest developing country.

I'm sure I can get some epic photos on the way too. I took Motokai’s advice and got the latest from the Nikon P range (the P7000) and I'm still learning how to drive it. I’d like to put the helmet-cam to some use too and upload some videos to MCM at some stage as well. I’m still figuring that one out.

Cheers

---

Possibly you might use some of your contacts you make through your charity work to help you get into Tebet?Perhaps a ride into there to donate some money?

Xinjiang is Huge.With alot of the attractions spread through out not close by.It would be a shame to rush through it.

when you want to be in Tibet ?

Although, I usually enjoy arguing with BigD, he's on the money this time. :mwink:

Xinjiang is huge and offers some very dramatic terrain. The very northern tip of XJ is unlilke any other part of China and for some stupid reason people just love to ride by the Trans-Taklamakan highway whic runs north-south RIGHT THOUGH the wwrolds second largest sandy desert. TAKE THIS ROAD DAMNIT! It is a marvel of engineering and friggin' beautiful. Plus you end up on the south side of the desert which has MUCH LESS TRAFFIC and much cooler town like Hotan.

Hotan has a Sunday morning animal market and bazaar you do not want to miss. Some good blades (knives) for sale in that region too if you don't get what's on display.

:riding:
C

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bigdamo

Possibly you might use some of your contacts you make through your charity work to help you get into Tebet?Perhaps a ride into there to donate some money?

Xinjiang is Huge.With alot of the attractions spread through out not close by.It would be a shame to rush through it.

---

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bigdamo

Possibly you might use some of your contacts you make through your charity work to help you get into Tebet?Perhaps a ride into there to donate some money?

Xinjiang is Huge.With alot of the attractions spread through out not close by.It would be a shame to rush through it.

---

It’s good to hear so many reports on how incredible Xinjiang is and I am definitely looking forward to it. Xinjiang is the province that will receive the most attention for sure. I’m going along the top of the Taklamakan on the G312 from Dunhuang, around Urumuqi to Kuytun to get on to the G217 down to Kuqa, onto the G314 to Kashgar. After a couple of days in Kashgar I’ll hop on the G315 all the way around to the Qinghai border. It’s a big oval route somewhere over 3000 kms and should take the best part of a month to do. Some people might say that’s not nearly enough to see the region properly, but I’ll do what I can with what I’ve got.



Unfortunately, HTS isn't currently working in T*bed. As far as I can guess, the foundation is on the good side of the big guys but I'm quite sure it doesn't have enough clout to exempt me from the restrictions on foreigners. I also haven't done anything of note, so I lack any real legitimacy that might help me squeeze my way in there legitimately.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Yangtsepete

when you want to be in Tibet ?

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I was aiming at being in Karghilik ready to cross the border from Xinjiang into T*bed in early May, so I wanted to head east from there from about the 5th until the 25th of May.

Your sidecar rally looks like it will be awesome. Are solo Changs easy to find? I looked around for a legal one briefly last year but only managed to find some purdy pictures.

Attachment 3172

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CrazyCarl

Although, I usually enjoy arguing with BigD, he's on the money this time. :mwink:

Xinjiang is huge and offers some very dramatic terrain. The very northern tip of XJ is unlilke any other part of China and for some stupid reason people just love to ride by the Trans-Taklamakan highway whic runs north-south RIGHT THOUGH the wwrolds second largest sandy desert. TAKE THIS ROAD DAMNIT! It is a marvel of engineering and friggin' beautiful. Plus you end up on the south side of the desert which has MUCH LESS TRAFFIC and much cooler town like Hotan.

Hotan has a Sunday morning animal market and bazaar you do not want to miss. Some good blades (knives) for sale in that region too if you don't get what's on display.

:riding:
C

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I read about the Trans-Taklamakan highway a couple of times and, even though I really want to do it, it would cut Xinjiang in half for me (unless I could do a big figure 8 infinity style, not really possible though). I’m definitely heading to Hotan on the way back east. That is one of the parts I’m most looking forward to on the ride :riding:

I’m always partial to a good Sunday bazaar. I’ll have to whet my bargaining skills though. They’re a bit rusty.

Hi Guys
Is it possible to go from Shenzhen or Hong Kong to Nepal??
I am looking thru forums here and seems............................I am confused!

Not sure. But you can't ride a bike out of Hong Kong, unless it has Hong Kong and Chinese plates which you can only get if you are a resident in Hong Kong. Shenzhen bikes are banned in the city center. So you could probably go from somewhere on the edge of Shenzhen to friendship bridge on the border, but whether you'd be able to leave, hmm not sure, also you be travelling through T*bet, tricky.

Many of the cities listed as bikes being banned previously are in reality only a few streets banned to bikes. We had a 3 wheeler ban in our city a few years ago, as it was annoying to enforce and petty so it was axed. :thumbsup: