China
Route
06.10.95-04.12.95 Erlian-Beijing-Wuhan-Guilin-Macao 4000 Km 04.01.96-15.01.96 Macao-Nanning-Huu Nghii 1300 Km 02.04.96-25.06.96
Laos-Mengla
Mengla-Dali
Dali-Lhasa-Zhangmu
80 Km
900 Km by bus
3200 Km
17.05.97-02.06.97 Kunjerab-Kashgar-Torugart 500 Km Visa
Usually it's no problem. In Hongkong you get a 3 months visa, valid from the date of issue. Otherwise you get one or two month visas. In Mongolia during the Women's conference in Beijing they didn't issue any tourist visa. Later I got a 1 month visa. In Laos I got a 2 months visa and in Islamabad a 1 month visa. In Kathmandu you can't get a visa to cross by land. In general don't say you want to go to Tibet. Visa extensions are easy. Border crossings were never a problem either. Only over the Torugart pass I wasn' t allowed to cycle, it's a military zone. I had to take a bus. Coming from Kyrgystan the chinese might not let you in, that's what happened to another cyclist I met.
Money
Yuan 1$ = 8,3 Y The bank of china accepts creditcards and traveller cheques
Roads
Generally good. In Inner Mongolia it was mostly dirt tracks, but good ones. From Beijing to the vietnamese border it was all paved and often there was a cyclepath. Tibet: Dirt track, not too bad. The main problem ins't the road it's the police. The road from Dali to Lhasa is closed for foreigners. You have to camp, and pass the checkpoints at night. They were at: Yanjing (Border Tibet-Yunnan), Markam, Baxoi, Bayi. Other dangerous places: Rawu, Bomi and Nyingchi. If you try to go from Qamdo to Naqqu (I tried), there is a checkpoint in Riwoqe. In Qamdo there is no Checkpoint, but a lot of police, pass at night as well.
Traffic
Lots of trucks and busses, but lots of cyclists as well. So the chinese are used to cyclists and I always felt safe. But it's noisy and dirty. Cities are chaotic, but fun.
Accomodation
In Inner Mongolia I camped, in Tibet I had to camp. In the plain there is a small hotel in almost every village. The problem is that the cheap hotels are not allowed to accept you if there is a bigger hotel in town. Try to stop in small towns. In big cities like Beijing it's expensive.
Food
In the plain you find food everywhere. It's cheap, but you have to bargain. You wont find bread and Milkproducts, but lots of fruit. Most of the food is very oily but good. In Tibet it's more difficult. You have to cook yourself and carry food with you. But if you find a shop they'll have almost everything even there.
People
I like the chinese. When in Beijing I couldn't find a cheap place to stay, a young shopkeeper invited me to sleep in his shop until I found something. 3 days later one of his friends found me a double room with toilet and TV in a University Guesthouse for 80 Y, which is cheap for Beijing. The 2 big problems with the chinese were: the crowds (chinese are curious) and the bargaining. It's impossible to just buy something, you always have to ask the price first and then bargain.
Language
I had a phrasebook, but still didn't learn to much. The problems are the tones and the different dialects. But more people than I expected spoke english. Many students in big cities and in every village there is an englich teacher.
Price
Always ask for the price first. It could be very cheap if you always pay the right price. A small hotel should be 10 Y , the more expensive ones 60-80Y. Food not more than 10. With the time you begin to know the prices, but in the beginning I was ripped off every day.
Bicycle parts
Hong Kong is the place to repair your bike. It's not excellent but better than in China. You usually can't find anything useful. In Chang'sha I was looking for a 28 " tyre and finally found one, but I was lucky. It was a big bikeshop that had a new bike with 28" tyres for sale. The owner just gave me the tyre as a gift.
Dangers
In the south there is Malaria. And you can get diarrhoe anytime. Otherwise no problem.
27.2.98/chs - all pictures by Christoph Sauser
