From Siberian forests to Desert plains, Tibetan monastries to Shanghai department stores bike packing in China is as diverse as it gets. The good news is that with a bike in a binbag you can go on any train, bus or truck without hassles and the public tranport is amongst the best in the world.
The trains: With your bike packed in a bike bag you can get on any train without having to send the bike as freight. Fast and very comfortable hard sleeper trains speed you around the country. Travel agencies can help you purchase tickets or if you are prepared to queue for an hour you can save the commission and do it yourself from the train station.
The buses: Almost every road no matter how minor has a bus route and you can put anything on the bus although they will charge you, be sure to negotiate the cost of bike as freight and your ticket price before you board the bus. Cheap, crowded and slow the only reason to be on a local bus is convenience; travelling 70km through a boring flat section in an hour not 4 or climbing to a pass without a day long effort. Long distance sleeper buses ply the longer routes and are cheap. Squeezed onto a bunk jolting up and down all night don’t expect to much sleep. On sleeper buses you will be asked to pay for any luggage as freight, you are allowed a free 10kg then charged at 1yuan /2kg. Bikes are charged at full ticket price but as freight if packed in a bike bag.
The bike routes: When you get out of the industrial areas and into the coutry you should ride. Fantastic touring through ethnically diverse regions can be had all across the country. Off road is what most roads in the interior would be called, potholed dirt surfaced roads can make 50km a long day, but the mountains and regular villages for food stops make it fun.
Pony tracks link many mountain villages and make for exciting riding. We have listed some areas where pony trails can be found, but there are still many mountainous regions of China where tiny village communities exsist linked only by these trails, to find them you must ask the locals and ignor their protests that it would be impossible by bike.
Maps and Guides: Getting around is made easy by carrying the China drivers atlas (Zhong Guo qi che si ji di tu ce) which can be bought in any city or big town bookstore or department store. Although in Chinese it is easy to follow the very detailed maps when used with a more general map in English. Taking a lonely Planet guide book will help with major routes then refer to the atlas to go bike packing.
What to take:
Because of the vast differences in climate by area and season check the climate before you go.
Climate
Generally Winters are cold in the centre/north/west mild in the South.
Summers hot and wet in the South/East and Centre. Dry and hot in North and Far West.
Mountains in Tibet and Qinghai can get very cold in summer or winter.
When to go:
Anytime is a good time in China as it s so big but generally Autumn is the best time in the South West.
Summer the best in the North & far west.
Visas etc.
30 day extendable China tourist visas can be obtained in any Chinese embassy worldwide.
90 day extendable visas are available in:
Hong Kong from many travel agencies based on Nathan Rd. Tsim Tsa Tsui.
Chinese Embassy Vietaine Laos.
30 day Extensions are possible in any main PSB(police) station in China.
China General information
Capital: Beijing
Currency: US $1 = 8.26Yuan
Government type: Communist state
National holiday: National Day, 1 October (1949)
Background: Although China has 3500+ years of history you’ll find little evidence of it today. In the big coastal cities you’ll find gleaming glass skyscapers, department stores and shopping streets, with old China surviving in back alleys and in the daily markets, where one can taste the traditional food and culture. Most of the interior is industrial, supplying the cities with the goods to trade. Polluted grey communist square block architecture is the norm for most provincial towns. To really experience the charm of old China one must go to the far edges of the empire or to the countriside. Yunnan, Guangxi, Guizhou, Gansu, Sichuan and the far west small agricultural villages remain living the life of centuries past. Some are now tourist havens like Dali and Yangshuo, but many are just peaceful spots set in this mountanous and fascinating country.The only way to truely experience China is by bike, train and bus allowing ou to find the highlights of a city seldom marked on tourist maps, and to explore the countryside.
China’s economy is growing at 20% a year doubling every 3 years, as does the cost of visiting. The positive side is that city living well educated youth are open to new ideas, with a growing nightclub / cafe culture.
Foreigners can only stay in foreigner hotels which are often more expensive without any extra luxury, but locals will invite bike packers to stay at their houses.
Traffic
While public transport in cities is fast and cheap and bike lanes remain popular the problems of traffic congestion, pollution, road saftey and other car addiction follys are being repeated in China. Many cities discriminate against cyclists and the road death to car ownership ratio is the world’s highest. Unfortuanately having a car is seen as a status symbol, We need to educate them that a car deserves no respect, the bigger the car the less respect the owner deserves.
Shopping: Ethnic bags clothese and stuff is available from many stores in Yangshuo in Guangxi, Dali & Lijiang in Yunnan. Tibetan stuff is cheap in Xia he in Gansu. Bikes and outdoor gear are cheap in most major cities. Copy CD’s and overstock sports shoes, clothes etc. available in the cities.
Climate: extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north
Terrain: mostly mountains, high plateaus, deserts in west; plains, deltas, and hills in east
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Turpan Pendi -154 m
highest point: Mount Everest 8,848 m
Natural hazards: frequent typhoons (about five per year along southern and eastern coasts); damaging floods; tsunamis; earthquakes; droughts
Environment current issues: air pollution (greenhouse gases, sulfur dioxide particulates) from reliance on coal, produces acid rain; water shortages, particularly in the north; water pollution from untreated wastes; deforestation; estimated loss of one-fifth of agricultural land since 1949 to soil erosion and economic development; desertification; trade in endangered species.
Population: 1,246,871,951 (July 1999 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 69.92 years
male: 68.57 years
female: 71.48 years (1999 est.)
Ethnic groups: Han Chinese 91.9%, Zhuang, Uygur, Hui, Yi, Tibetan, Miao, Manchu, Mongol, Buyi, Korean, and other nationalities 8.1%
Religions: Daoism (Taoism), Buddhism, Muslim 2%-3%, Christian 1% (est.)
note: officially atheist, but traditionally pragmatic and eclectic
Languages: Standard Chinese or Mandarin (Putonghua, based on the Beijing dialect), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghaiese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, minority languages (see Ethnic divisions entry)
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 81.5%
male: 89.9%
female: 72.7% (1995 est.)
Illicit drugs: Marajuana grows naturally in the South West in Yunan from Dali to Deqin big bushes can be seen growing by the side of the road. Harvest time is from Sepetmber to November. Although not very strong compared with Indian herbs there seems to be no controls on drying and smoking. Hash is available in Kashgar. Opium can be found in the South West and Heroine can be found in most big cities. Although readily available from many dealers it is not advisable to buy these as the death penalty is given for drugs offenses.
