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  1. #1 Camping and overnight stops... 
    C-Moto Regular Chinggis101's Avatar
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    Seeing some of the fully laden bikes in the pics here it's got me wondering about camping options. Back in my old 4x4 days, in another time and another place, we would head off to the bush and there would be camping grounds, caravan parks, etc. The only danger in some places was marauding lions.

    Supersignet, you talked about staying in a Bingguan on your trip to Guangxi. I liked those photos, by the way. Is this the only realistic low cost option other than hotels? Are there any camping grounds or camping facilities anywhere? What about camping in the grounds of the local police station?
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  2. #2  
    Administrator-tron CrazyCarl's Avatar
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    Camping in China greatly depends on where you are. Often, there are so many towns around that you could stay every night in a bingguar and not notice anything.

    If you want to do camping then head further west. Camp out of sight and don't pitch tent near the sides of a hill or mountain. When in the grasslands, you may be able to pitch tent with nomadic yak herders. You're almost always safe and they usually choose perfect spots to maximize water run-off. Don't be surprised if you wake up to women singing or yaks licking dew off your tent. They're a great time and live in a world like going back 500 years.

    I would suggest not camping in local police stations.

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  3. #3  
    C-Moto Guru Brice's Avatar
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    Camping in the south China is not so easy because the land is mostly rice fields. Try the beaches. Beware of the snakes.

    We've done camping in NW Sichuan in the mountains and it was fantastic. Can be pretty cold during the night even in Summer.


    Once we were not far a Tibetan farm and they invite us in the morning for a local breakfast.
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  4. #4  
    Administrator-tron CrazyCarl's Avatar
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    Brice,

    I've been meaning to ask you where exactly did you go in NW Sichuan?

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  5. #5  
    C-Moto Guru Brice's Avatar
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    The camp site was around Gansi, the farm in the Aba country.

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  6. #6  
    Administrator-tron CrazyCarl's Avatar
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    The map doesn't have names on the placemarks so it's hard for me to tell which exact roads you took but it looks like you came up from Yunnan and skirted the eastern border of Tibet then cut into the tip of Qinghai. Nice choice of route!

    That is some unbelievable people and scenery out there. Landscapes from those places are burned into my mind..

    - On the way up to Litang from Zhongdian -



    - Near Ganzi -


    - The Road to Aba -


    Nice thing about Western China is the further West you go, the crazier it gets! So when are you and your wife going to hop on some bikes and head out here? :thumbup:

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  7. #7  
    C-Moto Guru Brice's Avatar
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    we've done it counterclockwise. I don't have a precise track log. We took mostly dirt roads and the tarmac only for liaison or to reach a city. The GPS often doesn't have those roads and we got lost quite a few times.

    We are going in July with the 4WD and perhaps I'll load a bike on it but not sure. We'll be 4 people this time...
    Because of the earthquake, we'll avoid most of the Sichuan. Don't know yet if we go Yunnan/Guizhou or QingHai. I'm tempted by QingHai but got only one month and this is far from Guangdong.
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  8. #8  
    Administrator-tron CrazyCarl's Avatar
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    Could you train it to somewhere like Xian and go from there?

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  9. #9  
    C-Moto Guru Brice's Avatar
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    Yes that's an idea or perhaps I'll go few days in advance then the family could join me in Xining or Xian.

    What do you think crossing east part of Tibet from Qinghai to Yunnan without a visa? I wanted to see kekexili (remember the nice movie?).
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  10. #10  
    Administrator-tron CrazyCarl's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Brice View Post
    What do you think crossing east part of Tibet from Qinghai to Yunnan without a visa? I wanted to see kekexili (remember the nice movie?).
    Kekexili... NOW YOU'RE TALKIN! Not a bad movie either. Gets me excited just thinking about it! Qinghai = :rockon:

    Chances of making it through before the Olympics is not to good but you can always try anyway. After the Olympics might be better but who really knows?

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