MyChinaMotoTrip

[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.

Cheers!
ChinaV

[Supersignet]

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

[Roadrunner]

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.

Cheers!
ChinaV

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

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

[CrazyCarl]

Yes, listen to the V.

CC

[CrazyCarl]

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

[ChinaV]

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

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

+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

[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.

[CrazyCarl]

Isn't the BMW Roadster a car?

CC

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.

[CrazyCarl]

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


CC

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

+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

[bigdamo]

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

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.