Aventures Bicyclétales ...

country overview, map and followed itinerary, the journal with the best pictures,     [chap 5] the highlight, what I liked / didn't like, useful information.
.

China overview (as of June 2008)

• Capital city : Beijing.
• Area : ~ 9,596,960 km2 (= 14 x France).
• Population : ~ 1,322 million inhabitants (= 20 x France).
• Density : 138 inhabitants / km2. 

• Language : Mandarin, Cantonese and Tibetan.
• Religion : Mahayana Buddhism.
• Human Development Index (HDI) : 0.768, the 81th country out of 177. What is HDI ?

• Government : Socialist Republic.
• President : Hu Jintao (since 2003).
• General secretary of the communist party : Hu Jintao (since 2002).

• Growth rate in 2006 : 10.5%.
• Currency : Yuan Ren-Min-Bi (CNY), 1 Euro = ~ 10.7 Yuan.
• Main imports : electrical /mechanical machines, oil and plastic.
• Main exports : electrical /mechanical machines, garment and related accessories. 

China map and followed itinerary (in green). Yunnan is located south of the Yunnan / Tibet border.



The travel journal from Yunnan with the best pictures :

• Border crossing in Hekou and first km in China,
• On my way to Kunming via Mengzhi et Jianshui,
• Kunming,
• Towards Dali,
• First steps in Tibet.

Monday the 11th of August, 2.00 PM : I cross the bridge leading to China, and I am promptly welcomed by several border officers. There is no other foreigner in sight, it seems the visa restrictions in place during the Olympics have discouraged quite a lot of tourists. One border officer speaks fluent English, which eases a lot the process. I fill in the documents, show my passport and get my stamp. This is quick and straight forward … but I have also to unload my bike and get all the luggage checked through the X-ray scanner ! Soon after, I notice that several bicycles go back and forth across the border with amazing loads, it looks like the Chinese have pushed the over-loading concept even further than the Vietnamese !! Unbelievable !!

CHINA is a really different country !! really, very different !! There is nothing around that would look just a tiny bit familiar, it’s just like landing on a different planet without a guidebook. Nobody speaks English, I don’t speak Chinese yet, everything written is unreadable … and I wander in the border town Hekou, desperately looking for a bank and a Hotel.

The further I go, the more I am surprised : this little town is just so … modern, clean, quiet and well designed. Most of the moppets are electric, some bus are also electric … sidewalks are wide, walkable and numerous trees give a nice shade. Vietnam was so noisy and dusty … the contrast is stunning.

During the evening, after my diner, and as I am starting to get accustomed with this new environment, I stop by what looks like the city night market. It is a big building with high ceiling and a second floor around overlooking the shops on the ground floor. Going in, I have no time to look up, all my senses immediately get saturated with too much contradictory information to deal with : there is the dried salty fish smell, horrendous, there are some fruits and vegetables shops, there are a lot of shoe shops and once in a while in the middle, several sex shops all in the open with different models of sex toys, for men and women, with or without batteries, with or without remote … then when I look up at what’s going on the second floor, pink lights and ladies giggling in front tell it all … well, quite an unusual mix !!


Tuesday the 12th of August : I start to ride across China.



The road follows the Red River, which could be called Brown River, at least during this season … the road is fairly good, but not great : in numerous places there are still a lot of mud from landslides and floods. Looking at the mud marks on the trees, the Red River covered the road by at least 2 meters in some places, which is about 10 meters higher than its current level. It’s lucky I did not get here a week earlier.



This was expected … and quickly I have to deal with Chinese ideograms for my orientation. More than ever, the compass is my ally.

 

Above on the right, a woman wearing the traditional outfit from one of the so many ethnic minority living around the small village called Xinjie / Liapuathan.


Wednesday the 13th of August : taking into account all the mud I have seen on the road yesterday, and the information I collected –or guessed- at the village this morning, I finally decide to modify my itinerary : I will go north on bigger roads, and away from the Red River.

However big the road looked on my map, the sealed surface quickly disappears, but it’s still rideable … a bit later I come across several huts from farmers, busy loading their horses … and I suddenly understand why they use horses, because the road is now such a mess, that wheels are just hopeless on it !!



Children on the road going up to Pingben ...



I have never seen something like it, even on the Bike Hash : big rocks randomly laid, more landslides, more mud, very steep slopes … and a river crossing. I got it all. After 4 hours on the bike, I’ve cycled 20 km. My top speed since this morning is 13.5 km/h : it’s appalling.



It’s noon, my energy is getting low and my food provisions are empty … this could quickly become a major problem, but no, soon I reach a parked truck on the side of the “road” and as yesterday, I am being offered to share the picnic with the guys. Chinese hospitality is truly outstanding.

Once my batteries are refilled, I’m being told that the road continues to go up … and so that I understand it’s still not sealed, somebody shows me a big rock. Arrghh … how long this is going to be like this ? Well, exactly 2 hours and 10 km more, with the same road conditions, but with some very nice views on the rice paddies and mountains around.





At 2.00 PM, I reach a village with a sealed road. I cycled 30 km in 6 hours since this morning and there is 70 km left before Mengzhi (pronounced Meungzheu), but only 4 hours of daylight. That seems unlikely to happen …

The road winds at the foot of high mountains and progressively, slowly goes up … allowing me to go much faster, around 25 to 30 km/h. Everything becomes possible again, the mountains are getting lower and lower and finally I reach a plateau, at an elevation of 1,500 meters. From there it’s a small downhill to Mengzhi where I get just before nightfall. Mission accomplished, I won’t camp tonight !!


Thursday the 14th of August : I take one day OFF in Mengzhi ... and I go around the town to see how it looks. First of all, despite a misleading very small dot on my map, this city is huge. The main roads leading to the center have 2x4 lanes + an extra 2 cycling lanes on the sides, both separated by palm trees and plants. It looks like Singapore ...

  

Obviously the city was built recently and several districts are still nearly completely empty, but things have been done well here : there are several pedestrian areas, large sidewalks, facilities for disabled persons, cycling lanes, streets with tree shade, electric vehicles, districts with mixed activities (housing and shops together to reduce transportation), waste separation bins, parks, lakes … everything seems to have been planned and built well. If you add to this the view on the mountains in the background and a nice temperate climate, you get a city where it is certainly nice to live.



A little bit further around the city center, some large and tall buildings are under construction, including what looks like a replica from the Colisée, with some extra roman statues on top …


Friday the 15th of August : I am leaving in the direction of Jianshui. The road is wide and nice with cycling lanes in both directions, it goes like this for about 20 km and I start to dream it may be all the way … when it stops abruptly in front of an Expressway toll gate !! I ask my way … and I am invited to continue straight on, on the expressway ! Traffic is light and slow, so I decide to carry on …

10 km later, I reach Jinjie toll gate, and there, I am re-directed on a secondary road. A very helpful policeman draws a map for me and I have no problem to find my way. Jinjie is a medium-size town, with several huge mosques and far too many smoking factories …



Cycling out of Jinjie, I soon realize that the road is in very bad condition. It seems there is nothing in between a perfect sealed highway and a dirt road full of pot-holes ...

Below is a market where I stopped for lunch. My bicycle, even covered of dust, still attracts a significant crowd …



Today’s specials : large noodles with peanut paste, some tofu cakes … and some potatoes. A real treat !!



On the market, there are the usual fruits and vegetables, some meat as well … but there is also the alternative drugstore, with lots of powders and bottles of different stuff, including what looks like a tiger leg (picture on the right).



Tiger in China is officially an endangered specie … but it’s more likely it has completely disappeared for a while now, because of hunting, pollution and destruction of its habitat. The same story goes on and on for most of the large mammals anywhere on this planet.

Below, just a few km away from Jianshui. Today's leg was 97 km.



Jianshui is a typical Chinese city of the XXI century, trying to cope with a demographic explosion. I had to cycle for about 4 km on a huge road with buildings under construction on both sides before reaching the old city, where there is the second largest temple in China consecrated to Confucius …

This temple, truly remarkable, was built during the XIII century under the Yuan dynasty. Below is what is called the sea of studies, and the small bridge leads to the pleasure of thinking pavilion.



After the temple of Literature in Hanoi, this is the second temple consecrated to Confucius on my way. A little reminder here, Confucius is considered as the person who has the most influenced the Chinese civilization … nothing less.

Below are two of the so many famous quotes of Confucius :

"When we see men of worth, we should think of equaling them; when we see men of a contrary character, we should turn inwards and examine ourselves."

"Faced with what is right, to leave it undone shows a lack of courage."


The Zhu family's residence (below) is the second main attraction of Jianshui. It’s a group of 30 pavilions spread over 2 ha, right in the heart of the old city. This residence was built at the end of the XIX century.




Saturday the 16th of August : I just realized today that China is one hour ahead of Vietnam … this took me 5 days ! I really get the feeling I am not going into the right direction, the time difference with France has sub-sequently increased from 5 to 6 hours …


Sunday the 17th of August : this morning, a heavy bunch of exploding firecrackers woke me up at 6.00 AM. It’s rather unpleasant …

But it's quickly forgotten as soon as I start riding, because this part is truly pleasant : I pass by many small villages with traditional houses, gardens filled with vegetables and many animals strolling around ... including some donkeys.



For my first lunch stop today, I pick a place where several kids have already their nose in their bowl (this is how you eat with chopsticks if you are really hungry). The easiest way to order is to point at a dish somebody else is eating. This is what I do, so I will have some noodles with what looks like goat meat : it’s really good, very tasty. As I finish my meal, I can see that the “cook” wants to tell me something, she keeps pointing at that little blue truck across the road as if it had something to do with my noodles. I quite don’t understand, so I stand up and go near her, where I finally see that she is not pointing at that little blue truck, but a little lower, at a dog underneath … Damned, this is about a week that I eat goat meat and it did not occur to me that I did not see any goat yet in China !!! Barking goats …

This said, and as unusual as it can feel for Westerners to eat dog meat, one can ask himself why is there such racial discrimination among animals in the West. This somehow is pure racism, and I really think there are more objective reasons to eat a dog rather than a cute rabbit for instance …


Early afternoon, clouds start to gather up and soon after it starts to rain. This is never really enjoyable, so I shorten my day and stop in Tonghai for the night. Tomorrow, this will be 130 to 140 km to get to Kunming …




Monday the 18th of August : long day ahead today, especially because I would like to arrive in Kunming before the bike shops are all closed. I am worried about the wear of my rims, and I need to get counsel from professionals before heading for the Himalaya …

I am up at 6.00 AM and I am riding at 07.00. It’s cold out there, no more than 16 degrees. On the way I am invited several times to stop and taste different flavors of lotus starch jelly. It’s not bad, it’s sweet … and it’s certainly good energy to keep going. At noon, I have already cycled 85 km, I am on schedule, so I can take my time for my lunch. But once more, I can’t pay for it, it’s on the house !! Chinese generosity is amazing.

Back on the road, happens what was meant to happen today : a pass to climb. When you leave from an elevation of 1,300 m and go to a city at 1,800 m, it must go up at some point, and it’s now. At the summit (2,090 m … new record since Bangkok), I am welcomed by a group of policemen obviously very interested in what is in all my bags. They ask me to open them all, on the side of the road : “Well, sorry, but I really have no intention to cooperate with such a request, simply to satisfy your curiosity, I just spend too much time packing everything properly every morning”. I think they got my point just by looking at my face, and then some police chief yelled behind the group and showed me the way to Kunming ...

It’s downhill now, but the nice sealed surface of the road has once more disappeared, and it’s only holes, bumps, rocks dust and mud … all the way to Kunming, a real nightmare !!

4.00 PM, I reach Kunming’s outskirts, I have cycled 140 km since this morning … but entering a city of 5 million inhabitants, by bicycle and only with the map of my guidebook, this is not going to be easy. Where to go ? Which way to follow ? Is this Kunming of just the suburbs ? Well, I got really lucky on this one because nearly immediately I identified a street which was on my map : Dongfeng Donglu !! 



I find a hotel, drop off my luggage and here I am already back on the bicycle, looking for this bike shop I found on the Internet. Kunming is much more bike-friendly than Bangkok, and far less dangerous, so I soon find the right street, then the right number … but all I see is a closed metallic door. F**ck !!

I understand from the shoe shop next door that the bike shop has moved a bit further, near the university. Great … I finally get the street name, but not the number, so it takes me a bit of time but I finally find it at 6.10 PM … just when it is closing, because it usually closes at 6.00 PM. I will have to come again tomorrow. What a day !!


Kunming enjoys a nice mild climate which is a really nice change compared to the tropical heat of South-East Asia. The city is at least as developed and modern as western cities, and the air quality is excellent, which is good news for the cyclists.

Below on the left is a picture of the eastern pagoda, facing the western pagoda, of a similar style, but 500 meters further on the west … of course …




First stop in a bike shop for my green bicycle. The rims are worn out and the wear marks have disappeared for a while. Potentially, the wheels could have break anytime along the last 1,000 km or so …

Below on the left : re-assembling the rear hub and spokes on the new rim. It’s a long and tedious job to get a perfectly round wheel, and it takes about 1 hour and a half per wheel !
Contact details of Fattire Fun Montain Bike Club : No 51 unit 5 of Beimen Rd, ~ 1 km north of Cuihu Park.



I will carefully look after the wear of those new rims, but one thing is certain, my old rims (Rigida Grizzly) did not do the job at all. Rims are supposed to last much more than 3,000 km, especially when this includes 2,000 km cycled on flat roads (i.e. no braking). Either those were just low grade rims, or they were affected by a production mishap.


Thursday the 21st of August : I am heading west towards Dali, about 400 km from Kunming. I hope to get there in just 3 days, but despite a good first day (130 km), I soon realize this is far too ambitious. What looked like a valley on my map is a succession of hills of more than 2,000 m (with a peak at 2,390 m), and the road 320 is in too bad condition : trenches every meter, bumps as well, holes everywhere, melted tar or no tar at all but big rocks instead … I keep rebounding on my saddle and I can’t properly push on the pedals. My average speed on flat surface is only 15 km/h, this is frustrating … but this is the way it is.

On a positive note, the weather is great with a nice sunshine and blue sky once the morning mist is gone … (pictures below : at 08.00 AM just after leaving from Yipinglang).



The road goes through many small traditional villages inhabited by ethnic minorities. Population in Yunnan, this Chinese province I am cycling in for about two weeks, is made of a majority of minorities. Out of the 56 ethnic minorities found in China, 25 are in Yunnan.



Road is bad, but the scenery around it is really nice. Hills are covered with pine trees and several lakes lie around.



A bit further, just after Xianghun town, several stone carvers work on the side of the road. It’s dusty, but nothing compared to this cement factory I passed by yesterday, and which covered all the surroundings of grey dust in a 20 km radius : it was suffocating riding there. Just a small remark here, cement factories, with all the dust they release in the atmosphere, contribute significantly to global warming.




Below a pagoda -still under construction- which I visited en route ...



... and the people around it ...

 


Sunday the 24th of August : after 4 days, 430 km and some nice climbings, I arrive in the middle of the afternoon in Dali. The city, with an elevation of 2,000 m , lies at the foot of the Cangshan mountains (4,000 m average elevation) and on the west of Erhai lake. Inhabitants are mainly Bai ethnics.



Dali is a small traditional town, with old fortifications, large medieval doors, paved streets and numerous low-rise elegant houses …



Below, on Fuxing Lu road ...




Tuesday the 26th of August : I leave this morning in the direction of Zhongdian (3,160 m), the town before the last on my way to Tibet, where I expect to arrive in 3 days (305 km). My first day is a day to forget, it rained all day ... I could not see anything around me except white clouds, it was cold ... and in the evening my hotel did not even have hot water !! Tomorrow will be a nicer day.


Wednesday the 27th of August : after one full day under the rain … I am quite happy to see this morning a tiny bit of blue sky up there.

The road goes around the mountains and soon reaches the edge of a valley where starts an amazing downhill, heading straight in the direction of the Yangtze Kiang river.



Just before the village of Qiaotou, my night stop on this second day, the Yangtze Kiang goes east towards the Tiger leaping gorge. This gorge, stuck in between two mountains of more than 5,000 m, is as narrow as 25 m at a particular point. It is said that one day a tiger escaped a hunter by leaping over the gorge right there, thus the name …

Qiaotou is a small village with a furious stream going through it ; the noise it makes is quite impressive. Next to it stands the market, very lively, where I see for the first time yet another ethnic minority, with a very specific and large hat (below on the right).



It’s on this market that I meet the young Yan Mei, 15 years old only, and fluent in English … an excellent opportunity for me to communicate with a local, at last ! Yan Mei tells me she lives in a village three hours walk from here, but will soon move to Zhongdian where she will continue her studies. Her goal ? going to university, maybe in Kunming. Her dream ? being able to fund the studies of other kids from her village. She’s 15 and amazingly mature … and I can’t help but wonder what a 15 year old western girl dream could be ?


Thursday the 28th of August : caution, today is a big and magnificent day ! When I arrived in Zhongdian, I even told myself this could be the most amazing day since I left Bangkok, more than two months ago ...

I leave Qiaotou early morning, low clouds are hanging around and temperatures are fresh … the usual … the road goes up the stream and the slope is quite significant, 5 or 6%. Slowly, the clouds are getting thinner and thinner, and finally the sun succeeds to send rays through. After 30 km, I stop to warm myself up a bit in the sunlight, and this is when I see the news on my mobile phone, this is when I learn that my Tibet Travel Permit has been approved by the Chinese authorities, which means that I am allowed to continue my trip all the way to Lhasa and the Nepalese border. This is such a relief. I must thank my friend Karine for her great help and for introducing me to the CITS team in Kunming, who did a great job in applying and following up the whole Permit process. I am truly grateful to all of them.

After such a news, the climbing until the plateau where is located Zhongdian is a real piece of cake … my bicycle never ever felt that light before …

 

Once on the plateau, the average elevation is about 3,100 m and everything has changed : there are grasslands, yaks, Tibetan houses, pine forests … and also Tibetan faces. This part of Yunnan used to be part of pre-1950 Tibet, before the Chinese army invaded it and before the Chinese government decided to reshape the borders to the west, to the north and to the east.



Grasslands colors are amazing ... welcome on the roof of the world !!




Friday the 29th of August : Karine, a very good friend of mine working in China for about two years now, joins me today in Zhongdian for a couple of days. We will visit the city together ...

Below on the right, the old city, and on the left, some yak cheese !!



When the evening comes, people gather on the old city square and dance together …




Below, the Songzanlin monastery, just a few km north of Zhongdian. It’s the biggest monastery of the region.




Sunday the 31st of August : it’s time to get back on the road, this time in the direction of Dequin city, located 200 km north at an elevation of 3,500 m.

I first ride by the Napa lake (hello K.Napa), then the road goes up to a first pass at 3,400 m … 






And below here is a last sight of the Yangtze Kiang river …




Monday 1st of September : after a nice night in a very local guesthouse, I embark this morning on my first > 4,000 m pass. It’s cloudy, humid and cold … but the worse has yet to come, after only 10 km, the sealed road gives way to a mix of rocks and mud. Needless to say, this is total agony to ride on this, I barely reach the average speed of 7 km/h ...

Below on the right, a yak !!



the rocky road never ends: 10 km, 20 km, 30 km … and I still can’t see the top of the pass. I am well above the 4,000 m benchmark, my breath is short, but I’m OK. It’s really cold up here, 8 celsius, and really humid … I have to give up my sandals and I put on closed shoes to keep my feet warm.

Finally I can see the top of the pass, it’s 4.00 PM. Clouds come and go quickly, sometimes the sun comes out but never for long. I don’t stay here too long because the rocky road is not over yet, and I expect in those conditions a downhill nearly as slow as the climb.



Well, a little bit later and lower, the sealed surface reappears at last : 43 km, I have cycled during 43 km on rocks … but it is soon forgotten when I see, far, far away, the Kawagabo holy mountain (6,740 m) and its glacier plunging down in the Mekong river gorge.



Facing the Kawagebo, here are some religious flags as we can see so often in Tibet. Dequin is only 8 km away, the hard section is over, and it’s not a few more landslides on the way that will slow me down, not now …




Wednesday the 3rd of September : it’s my last day in the Yunnan province, I am going this morning to the Felai Si temple from where we can get stunning views on the Kawagebo !

Let's ride in Tibet now ...




The highlight from Yunnan

There are two highlights in fact. The first is about the huge gap between the image of “the” Chinese in western media, not really friendly, and the reality I have experienced during my trip in Yunnan, where each day I have been taken aback by people’s kindness and generosity.

The second highlight is about the numerous new towns mushrooming all over the province, and where the design is obviously very eco-friendly. This said, once outside the city, the pollution is sometimes quite frightening.




What I liked / didn't like in Yunnan

I liked	I didn't like
generosity from the people	quality of the roads
multi-culturality	dust and exhaust fumes from trucks
amazing landscapes	public toilets ... without flush
eco-friendly urbanism in modern cities	unexpected encounters with the police
cuisine, potatoes are back on the menu !!	.

Useful information about Yunnan