Hi Everyone! I'm Tayla. I have vague ideas to cycle in China and would like some advice/ideas for 3week trip in December. I have recently just finished my first cycle tour through Finland, Sweden and Denmark and around Ireland. I like to do about 80-120km a day depending on the elevation gain. Im thinking perhaps near Yangshou area. But Any ideas or past experiences would be appreciated. I'm a solo female at 23 so any info in regards to safety would be appreciated too. Thanks warmshower friends!
advice for cycling China 3 weeks
水, 2017-09-27 15:30
#1
WS Member
advice for cycling China 3 weeks
I would look for WS members in that area - they will know what advice to give.
Alternatively, if you Post the same question at one of the "mainstream" bicycle touring sites, you will inundated with replies within moments.
Hi,
China is very big. We where there for 3 months and did 5000km so imagine. So for 3 weeks, we suggest the region of Guilin and the region Yunan. This places are not to far fron Hongkong.
Have a good trip
Hey, I lived for two years in Gansu province. I'm biased but you should go to the northwest. The country gets better the further west you go --Gansu province has Langmusi and Xiahe, which are Tibetan areas. I haven't biked in Kangding and points west (just took a bus) but it's absolutely incredible. Yangshou is pretty cool too -- that part of the country feels more like SE asia to me. Yangshuo is on the banana pancake trail, so for better or for worse you'll bump into a lot of backpackers. Definitely don't be afraid to go into local spots and make a big scene -- Chinese people like 雌犬 ("pretty ladies") and will be entertained by you (you can either be annoyed by it or just own it). If I was in a province where I wasn't familiar with the food, I would wander around and point to what looked good, or wander into the kitchen and chat about what ingredients they had.
I never felt unsafe in China. I never even got sick from the food. The trains are cheap, reliable, and useful -- definitely get a yinwo (hard sleeper car). I got scammed in Shanghai after living in China for a year because coming from where I lived in the west, I didn't need to have a guard up (look up "teahouse scam" it's one of the oldest tricks in the book). In my town, I once paid 7 RMB instead of 1 for a cabbage because I didn't understand the old famer lady's dialect, and the old lady yelled at me and gave me my money back. The same stuff applies in China as anywhere - don't get in a taxi without fixing a price first, don't show off valuables, crowded places will have pickpockets. Cars are accustomed to bikers, and often there is more bike/motorcycle/scooter traffic than actual cars. There are mom and pop shops everywhere to get water and snacks.
Wo shiwan ni warde hao/HAVE FUN