Songpan to Jiu Zhai Gou:
If you don’t have the time to ride then the bus to Jiu Zhai Gou takes bikes in bags on the roof at no charge. The ride by road is pleasant surfaced although there are many buses.

Once in the park there are several roads that take you to the main tourist spots. There are small dirt trails that can be followed but in a conservation effort this is discouraged. Keep bike access open by not using the dirt trails here. There are no restrictions in the area around Songpan so get that single-track buzz before you get to Jiu Zhai Gou Park.

200 kilometre wildereness trail: Jiu Zhai Gou to Zoige:
There is an old logging road that is reportedly in bad condition, it crosses some very high passes and there may be little in the way of shops on route. The track joins the main Songpan to Zoige road 15km from Zoige. The total route is 200km from Jiu Zhai Gou to Zoige, it is an overall climb of 1500m in altitude and on a poor surfaced road, we were warned of wolves on route.
We didn’t attempt it as we decided to do it coming from Zoige back down but due to ever changing plans missed out this time. This I should think by the surrounding scenery I did see would be a stunning ride, you will need full camp gear cooking and water filter, it gets wet and cold, expect snow as late as June.

Starting at Jiu Zhai Gou climb20km to the turnoff, this road passes through Mei Huo Kou, Dadi, Tou Dao Cheng, Wang Wa Chiao, climbing for 66km before turning off the river towards Ba Xi and eventually Zoige. It climbs to a high pass at almost 4000m 30km from the river turnoff. It’s a 45kim decent then 12km over a small pass to the main road 17km from Zoige.

As you can see the overall route is uphill to Zoige so it would be wise to do this trip in reverse. From Jiu Zhai Gou it is possible to head down to Pingwu and Jaingyou where the road meets the Xian / Lanzhou to Chengdu line. A 260km mostly downhill run, along quiet unsurfaced roads, there are a few passes to cross so don’t expect to freewheel all the way down.

Songpan to Zoige on road.155km
The road to Zoige is a bumpy dirt track that climbs up to a high pass 3700m and passes through several high grass plain plateaus. Along the way are some mystical Tibetan villages. In one such village each of the hundred or more mud houses is surrounded by huge prayer flags violently fluttering in the howling gale force winds up there creating an impressive visual and aural image. Colorful Tibetan Shepherds mounted on Yaks or horseback proudly trot around while the women look out from their doorways as you pass through.

There is a bus which take bikes in a bike bag for free that runs the distance in 9 hours for 31 RMB. There are plenty of places to stay on route if you ride, it will take at least 3 days.

The road is not busy after the turnoff to jiu zhai gou and the scenery is mostly grass plains with high mountain peaks in the distance.