Weekend Trip From Shanghai -- QianDaoHu

Motokai and I made a trip to QianDaoHu千岛湖over the weekend, including a Friday night ride to HuZhou 湖州 to test out the workability of un-trapping ourselves from the pits of Shanghai by riding at night. This weekend trip logged around 1000km in distance and was totally satisfying, including even a run-in with ZheZiang police on the expressway.
We took off on Friday night from Motokai’s apartment:

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The original plan calls for a team of 3 JH600 riders. Then the 3rd guy wrote us a thousand-word email explaining the problem with his shoulder, the “non-reunion” of certain bone, non-performing battery, faltering ignition, bad tires, etc. So we took off sadly without him but our no show friend was constantly in our minds, as you can tell from below picture:

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We will extend this RR and furnish more pictures later. Stay tuned.

The fact that you did it over the weekend sounds fantastic. Reminds me exactly of the Wuhan - Shanghai run I did last summer during a weekend, with about the same total mileage

I'm curious about the G318 run to Huzhou at night for two reasons. One, which kind of hotels are available once you get to Huzhou? Second, do you have any problems with the checkpoints coming out of Shanghai province?

Lately, the first checkpoint on the 318 has been re-activated with police actively patrolling and stopping bikes. This checkpoint is basically adjacent to the EXPO checkpoint -- not the one that is actually on the provincial border. Although I'd expect both to be active at this point.

The first part of the trip, from Shanghai to HuZhou, was uneventful. Night riding on G318 wasn't bad at all. We were amazed to see flocks of other Chinese motorcycle comrades having the same idea about escaping Shanghai by taking advantage of the excellent lighting condition on G318 traveling at night.
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One of the motorcycle groups swishing by us:
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Stopping at a rest spot and socializing with a bunch of young Shanghai riders. Motokai patiently answered numerous times the obligatory question on how much our JH600 costs. There were many more identical questions put to us throughout the trip. We both regret to have taken the price tag off our bikes.
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Just about the section where the G318 street lights end, we found this hotel at about 120km from Shanghai and 5km before reaching BaLiDian bridge 八里店桥. Motokai calls it a castle. It is a huge hotel with several hundred rooms, which are reasonably clean and inexpensive (118rmb a night with 2 beds). You won’t miss it from G318. It is right by the roadside with easy access. It even has a huge underground car park so we were not given the honor of parking in the front lobby. The picture was taken the next morning:
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Sorry that I don’t have much to say about the checkpoints for getting in/out of Shanghai, as both Motokai and I are perfectly legal with all the documents, which actually was proven critical as we were stopped on the expressway by cops.

Motokai and Milton, glad to have had you donw this way playing in my backyard and one of my MANY favourite rides down these parts. I've ridden & driven from Ningbo-QianDaoHu (JianDe) more than 100 times over the years, some of which have included the return portioin being done the same day/night arriving back in the early hours. Pity I didn't know you were heading down this way, I'd have given you some "must sees" while down that way... e.g. a genuine 1000 year old working village (where people still live) that's free to enter and walk about if one doesn't take a guide, or DaCiYanSi which include a collection mountain cave temples southeast of Jiande. - a great place to spend hours, walking the various mountain paths, suspended bridges, and viewing the hidden mountain top dam.

There are also a number of ways to get down there from Shengzhou, bypassing the main highways as much as possible which include numerous & multiple mountain routes. If I'd known a day in advance I would have joined you, as a group comprising a few cruisers and collection of BMW's headed down south west of LiShui, while myself and another friend ferried over to TaoHuaDao for the weekend.

Very much interested to read about your ZheJiang Expressway police skirmish!?

Left the castle around 8am, we started out the second day pretty much set on getting to ChunAn淳安，the city of QianDaoHu, as quickly as we can. The lake QingShan Lake青山湖 in below picture is right by S102, just about the only spot we pulled over for a break. Of course we had to stop at some convenient store so Motokai can get his caffeine fix.

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This is how we get to ChunAn淳安:
http://ditu.google.cn/maps?f=d&sourc...01,2.69989&z=9
There wasn’t much to write home about until we went passed YuQian于潜, after which we got on S208 and S302, both newly paved with immaculate tarmac surface and barely any traffic on them. Scenery is also quite pleasant. Great motorcycle route:

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Passed YuQian于潜 and high on caffeine, Motokai became more motivated in picture taking:
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Oh, by the way, at YuQian, we met a www.motorfans.com.cn group from Shanghai, a member of which knew Motokai from their Shanghai motorcycle training class (for motorcycle driving license) a few years back. It is indeed a small world. We were asked to join them for a group picture. Look for us in the Chinese motorcycle forum at http://www.motorfans.com.cn/bbs/t_16984927_2.htm Somehow we were described as "lost" in 于潜. Well, what do laowai know.
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Quote:

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Originally Posted by bikerdoc

.... Pity I didn't know you were heading down this way, I'd have given you some "must sees" while down that way...

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Thanks for the info. This trip Motokai and I took was mainly to test out our "Getting out of Shanghai: Attack Plan I". Well, at least it was for me. However, we did come away with huge amount of pleasure with the ride itself. Actually we were lost big time in QianDaoHu area and ended up staying overnight at LiShang 里商, which turns out to be the highlight of the trip. One can't really go wrong in any parts of QianDaoHu area.
Next time we will definitely contact you beforehand to map out the route. I am pretty sure we will go there again in the near future.
As far as the encounter with the cops went, I hope Motokai chimes in, along with his picture of cops bullying us. He did all the dealing with the cops, and I just stayed on the sidelines with my full-face helmet and sun glasses pretty much having my Chinese face fully covered up. It's a sad thing in China to have a Chinese face.
Cheers.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by milton

Thanks for the info. This trip Motokai and I took was mainly to test out our "Getting out of Shanghai: Attack Plan I". Well, at least it was for me. However, we did come away with huge amount of pleasure with the ride itself. Actually we were lost big time in QianDaoHu area and end up staying overnight at LiShang 里商, which turns out to be the highlight of the trip. One can't really go wrong in any parts of QianDaoHu area.
Next time we will definitely contact you beforehand to map out the route. I am pretty sure we will go there again in the near future.
Cheers.

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No worries, I also see that you guys didn't leave from Shanghai, hence the more westerly route you took. I'm always up for impromptu rides etc, so if you find yourself without a buddy rider and you're into exploring down this way, or want to hit QianDaoHu again, give me a holler anytime.

Same goes for any of you other peeps, stuck up there in the big smoke *cough *cough looking to get out of the grit and grime of the city.:gun_bandana: I'm happy to share some of the great riding down this way. Even my local pick-me-up ride that I do almost daily, takes in three (yes, 3) separate mountain ranges, dams, old villages, lakes etc., with the first mountain within 5km - infact I can see it out my window as I type this... time for a ride!
:riding:

We finally arrived at ChunAn at about 1pm (I think). ChunAn, or QianDaoHu 市，is very touristy with lots of tour buses and restaurant owners on the road side hollering for business.
We stopped at downtown ChunAn for lunch. When in QianDaoHu one must have fish. I took a picture of a big QianDaoHu fish weighing over 30 pounds, with a kid (see, in the reflection) next to me watching. We settled for a fish of about 4 pounds. It was quite fresh and tasty, even Motokai, who ordinarily is not a fish eater and considers all China waters polluted, mumbled some nice things about the fish dish.

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The part of QiaoDaoHu that one sees from ChunAn is not all that interesting. So after lunch we quickly head out for the ferry with the ambitious plan of circling QianDaoHu in one afternoon.
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Motokai, the ferry, and the high-speed boat circling the water the 20th time:
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On the ferry, Motokai continued his mission of educating the Chinese populace about the price of our China made JH600. His 3 fingers, indicating the cost, were extended in the air for a long time as all the passengers in the ferry wanted to know. After learning the price, they were all duly impressed by the extravagance only a foreigner can afford.
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We got on the ferry right off the SanTanDao sight三潭岛景区. Right by the ferry route there is a big construction going on for a bridge crossing this part of the water. We were told the completion of the bridge is imminent. So perhaps next time, there may not be a ferry ride any more.
After getting off the ferry, we were welcomed by a vast display of greenness with old small villages blended in so naturally. Of course there are waters everywhere.
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And gigantic trees:
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And I made sure Motokai saw those gigantic trees:
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Great reading, especially the part about the 'castle' and the price of the bike. I'm waiting with baited breath for the next installment about the expressway cops!

Thanks for posting milton! Qinadaohu is one of my favorite weekend rides too. Can't believe they're building a bridge across there, it must be quite an undertaking. I thought the lake was hundreds of meters deep!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by milton

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Euphonius is looking pretty short in this pic. Doesn't seem like you miss him that much...

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Originally Posted by felix

Euphonius is looking pretty short in this pic. Doesn't seem like you miss him that much...

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Since Mr. E has a bad shoulder and a non-reunion bone, we made him sit. Believe me that it was a real effort to squeeze out that smile. We did indeed miss him. His many text messages helped us do that as well.

Mr. E, please get better soon.

When we got off the ferry, we intended to go to FenKou 汾口， the west most town of the QianDaoHu loop. The sign was clear and unambiguously pointing to the left, so we did the left and follow the small village road all the way, again with breadthtaking scenery (pictures in last post). Then after about 1 and half hour, we reached a dead end and saw no Fenkou. I made a map for this wrong but fantastically beautiful bike route at: http://ditu.google.cn/maps?f=d&sourc...,0.307274&z=12

It turned out that the first sign we saw right off the ferry pointing to FenKou was unambiguous but totally wrong. It was 180 degree wrong.
It was getting dark when we reached that dead end, so we quickly turned around and traced back where we came from, not knowing where we were going to go next. We couldn’t get back to ChunAn as we took the last ferry in and there was no going back that day. Fenkou was still quite a bit away. Riding in the total darkness on country road was probably not wise.
So we decided to settle at the first town that offered lodging, LiShang 里商。
LiShang is the mini-center of local tea trade with 2 facilities to accommodate visiting tea traders. The rooms are small and old with concrete floor and walls. It actually was quite clean if one ignores the water stains on the walls. For 15rmb a night, we also got the following views right out of our window:
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After super, we walked around the village.
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For some reason Motokai always attracts people even without his JH600.
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Motokai applies his charm.
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The visiting LaoWai Motokai made quite an impression on villagers and became an instant celebrity. Our landlady works in a grocery store and her husband wanted to take a picture of Motokai holding their son. I don’t know why and how but the picture ended up looking like this:
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Well, we are all families, aren't we? Needless to say, I received no request for pictures taking with me in it.

For safety, we were told to park our bikes in the local tea market:
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Didn’t know what this banner meant at first. Then it dawned on me, it says: LiShang market of machine-made tea by “immigrants (移民)”. Why did they immigrate? Well, QianDaoHu is actually a huge dam created originally by flooding a large number of villages covering a vast area which obviously displaced many villagers and forced them to migrate. LiShang is one of the new villages built for relocating those displaced people.
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Looking out of the tea market:
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We had an awesome time at LiShang, the accidental destination of our trip. One can truly enjoy the day only after one releases oneself from the strain of aiming for a target and the pressure of time.

Excellent RR so far, keep it going !
Nice trip you did there...

:gerg:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by milton

One can truly enjoy the day only after one releases oneself from the strain of aiming for a target and the pressure of time.

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:gerg:

Very true Milton, no reason to get wrapped up in the mileage and destination if you're not enjoying the moment. Great ride report, guess you guys decided to show me that there's good riding just outside the walls of Shanghai.

Motokai and I share the same views on fish :lol8:. I never touch the stuff. I'm sure there are times he enjoys the extra perks of being "the lowai", but sometimes it would be awful nice to just blend in and avoid the attention.

Keep it coming. :popcorn:

Cheers!
ChinaV

After a great night at LiShang, we decided to skip the QianDaoHu loop and go straight to WeiPing 威坪 to make sure we can get back to Shanghai before the day is out. We left LiShang early in the morning so we can catch the first ferry back to ChunAn at 7:30am.
The plan is to go to SanYang三阳 in AnHui from WeiPing through a route recommended by some friend. The ZheJiang side is again marvelous, but the AnHui side is bumpy and in disrepair like always. I will only show you the Zhejiang side.

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Motokai coming around the bend:
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The reason that I started posting before Motokai is due to the realization that my artistic bent is a lot less developed than his. If I didn’t jump the gun, nobody would look at my pictures after viewing Motokai’s.
Now I will slow down a bit as my presentable pictures are about exhausted. I need to give Motokai a chance. He took many marvelous pictures along the way. Motokai is capable of taking photos while on the saddle, which is beyond my grasp. Besides, I look great in many of his pictures.
I am also as anxious as you all are waiting for his rendition of our expressway run-in with the cops.

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This is the photo you leave off at and give me "a chance" to jump in on this thread?? Pretty tricky Milton!

Okay I'll play along. Moments before this photo was taken, we pulled up to this mountain ridge to take a breather. As Milton was dismounting his JH600 I thought I saw his wheels turn a small bit and asked if he had his bike in gear. Milton asked, "Do you think I left it in neutral?" We both laughed.

Milton took his camera out to shoot the Anhui mountains which were vastly different from the Zhejiang rolling hills we left behind just an hour before. I decided to use my camera to see what Milton's cool carbon fiber helmet would look like on Motokai's head:

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Then it was time to move on. Getting back on my bike, I fired up and was about to pullout when I noticed the twisties below that we would soon decend upon. Cool Photo I thought. I threw the kickstand down and jumped up on the roadside wall to shoot. With eye in viewfinder I heard a loud !CRASH! behind me....WTF? I turned around to find my bike on the road with a third of the clutch lever broken off. The guy so concerned about not leaving a bike in neutral did exactly that moments later (rather than killing the engine and putting it back in gear).

I was busy yelling #%^&&!#@, and Milton put his PR helmet on and placed a positive spin on this incident. "Look how lucky you are to have a partial clutch lever to ride back to Shanghai with. It would be terrible to be stuck on this mountain ridge, right?" Motokai could smile again and ride on - ride on to the expressway. But that story comes towards the end of our journey. So let me first rewind to Saturday morning....

As Milton mentioned, the Friday night ride got us out of Shanghai enabling the start to a more scenic ride on Saturday morning.
But weekend traffic (even in the country) can still be a bitch, as this photo depicts:

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Was quite the challenge to find the right timing to pass this guy~

We finally hit a bit of open road - Milton tearing it up....
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Then it was time for a pit-stop (they weren't all for my caffeine fixes!).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by milton

Besides, I look great in many of [Motokai's] pictures.

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The suspense continues .... what about the expressway cops :naughty:

this is awesome mate, so much of the world to see. thank you for taking us along

Saturday Continued....
Moving on towards Qiandaohu on the 208 & 302.

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[Patiently] Waiting for the Qiandaohu Ferry from Santandao.
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Interesting to note here that our 2 JH600s have the same born-date. Milton and I first met when taking delivery of our bikes from Chongqing. While being brothers of the same litter this marks their first ride together.

After waiting for the ferry for over 40mins (caffeine has no patience), I suggested to Milton that we take the unfinished bridge. I still think the JH600 could have made it, but if Milton hadn't talked me out of it perhaps I would have been able to provide Felix with more details on how deep the piles are.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by felix

Thanks for posting milton! Qinadaohu is one of my favorite weekend rides too. Can't believe they're building a bridge across there, it must be quite an undertaking. I thought the lake was hundreds of meters deep!

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After disembarking from the ferry we followed the sign to Fenkou.
We somehow never got very close to Fenkou - but this "can't get there from here road" made for fun riding.

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We continued along in a westernly direction (Fenkou was to the West) as the late-day mountain mist began to fall and the sky began to darken. The road winded into the woods, offering up some picturesque scenery - complete with waterfalls (see photo above) and "big trees" (previously posted by Milton). One thing we should have noticed was that as the road twisted it also NARROWED. It was getting smaller by the kilometer. This should have been the sign of a probable dead-end, but wasn't Fenkou to the west? "Keep right" Milton would say...but the road indeed ended.

It ended on this guy's front porch. We may have been their first visitors in 2011. At least the chicken and dog seemed to convey this feeling.
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Here Milton started to negotiate sleeping arrangements for the night. But the dog wasn't interested in this idea, so we turned back and ended up in Lishang by the time the mist turned to rain and the day was over.

Thanks for continuing motokai. Nice pics indeed, but is there any reason you post them so small?

Death is no funny matter but you jumping that bridge would have made a great pic!

@milton: bahahaha

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by felix

Death is no funny matter but you jumping that bridge would have made a great pic!

@milton: bahahaha

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Death is no funny matter.
@felix: bahahaha

BTW, I do look great in Motokai's pictures, don't I. Thanks, Motokai.

<<Is there any reason you post them so small?>>
Thanks - Just bumped to 640x480.
There is one photo coming soon of Milton that I will post in large format. (nervous Milton?)

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Originally Posted by MotoKai

There is one photo coming soon of Milton that I will post in large format. (nervous Milton?)

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I know what that is and I won't spoil the suspense. Just make sure I look good in large format as well.

excellent, now i can see them!

Into Lishang...

Checking out accomodations.
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Milton into the Tea Market to park the bikes for the night.
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Tea Market
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Around town.
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Thanks of the report and good pics.