Last year I did some enduro riding in Xingjiang itself. But when coming about 50km close to the Mongolian border there is a restricted border area where foreigners could not go and local authorities could not even point us to some permit procedure to ride in this area. I didnt expect to be the Mongolian border to be so sensitive.
For that matter it didnt even play a role that we were on bikes. Even on bicycles or as a passenger in a car, foreigners were restricted from the border area. Even though I hold a working visa and should be able to get in and out of china as I like. But Xingjiang is a bit special (as Tibet).

Anyway, this year the idea is to ride from Xingjiang to Kazakstan and back. It should be a two week trip and we want to be riding. Not looking forward to last minute border procedure adventures.

So does anybody have information on that topic? Is there a restricted area on the China side to consider? What would be the procedure to ride/bring the bike out of China and a week later back in? Obviously assuming my standard China licenses are in place. If anybody could point out what authorities to contact or knows anything about the procedure, this would be highly appreciated. Not just for the bikes, but also for me as a foreigner.

Also any info on the Kazakstan side if there is any.