North west China to the Tibet border

[KTMphil]

It's cold here,the coldest i've ever ridden in, so cold that my hands and feet were numb while riding today,would not have been able to use the front brake at some moments.I'm still in China,currently in Shangri-La, about 240km south of the 1st Tibet border checkpoint.

 

[KTMphil]

Managed to get the giant loop bag in he case, 80% of the contents are tools and spare tire tubes. I took a hammock and neo air airbed just in case, he could stop in any small village for the night





Got to kunming, China, checked into the Camillia Hotel 1,900 Bht equiv., great value for its central location.

 

[KTMphil]

Next morning got the bike and headed out of the city, trying to find the right exit off the ring road looking for signs for Anning, took a while

 

[KTMphil]

Finally get off the ring road & westwards towards Dali, its a disaster, raining and a pot holed mud slurry with big trucks




Further west things start to get better, less trucks and more scenery

 

[KTMphil]

Ideally, it would be good to be able to head west from Kunming to Dali in one day but unless you leave real early its too far because of the broken mountain road sections and 100's of trucks. So the alternative is to make the first nights stop in Chu Xion, about 170km west of Kunming. Thinking it would be a 1yak town, i was surprised at what a big, modern city it was.






In he center of town i found the Gyanuyi Hotel 200 RMB/ 1000 Bht






Decent sized rooms and not worn-looking

 

[KTMphil]

Then off exploring arond Chu Xion


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Eating in cities not used to foreign tourists can be tricky, after a bit of strolling around i stumbled upon the Sunny Restaurant




Location;

Latitude : 25.04139 (25°02′29.020″N)
Longitude : 101.54521 (101°32′42.747″E)
Accuracy of signal : 10.0 m
show on google maps


Risked a steak always risky in unusual places and i was excellent, washed down with a Dali beer

 

[KTMphil]

If yo want o go fancy in Chu Xion,try the ChuXion Hotel, around 350-400 RMB / 2,000Bht low season, its a beauty.

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Not sure what these 2 young ladies were up to but it looked like there might be money involved







Chinese checkers






Chu Xion

 

[KTMphil]

Some ladies dancing in traditional dress in Chu Xion

 

[KTMphil]

Next morning an easy 100km ride westwards on route 320 to Dali.....The road markers were intriguing, showing 3,000km distances from somewhere, will have to ask Frankie & Jah what the refer too.

 

[KTMphil]

Its gets more beautiful the further you go, it was the case on all of this trip

 

[KTMphil]

A Chinese bus east of Dali




Further west a major, open mine, granite works, right on R 320 making Chinese tomb stones





Lifting a huge rock ready for cutting









A fully loaded horse

 

[KTMphil]

Dali is a huge city, made uo of a new and old city, the old city is to the north of he new city. Dali was the capital of he Bai Kingdom, Nazhao,which flourished during the 8th & 9th centuries, it's one of Yunnan's top Chinese tourist destinations.

Approaching the Dali new city from the SE

 

[KTMphil]

Looking NW in the new city of Dali where the river meets the lake








Found he Golden Dali Hotel in the new city 240 RMB/ 1,200 Bht a night with secure parking for the bike

 

[KTMphil]

Flame cooking a fish on the Dali streets





Hanging out having a smoke

 

[KTMphil]

This is what new Chines-shop-house hell looks like in Dali




The big, new 5 star hotel in Dali 640 RMB/ 3,200 Bht a night for he cheapest room.





I has a kick - ass view though

 

[KTMphil]

Havn't checked what the population of Dali is but a lot of people live there






It rains so much here, being up in the clouds, hat people bring motorcycle rain covers when hey park





Eating in Dali - This was the restaurant with all the Porches and Range Rovers out side if you want to treat yourself in Dali




If you want good pizza in Dali, try Stella's Pizzeria




location:

Latitude : 25.59957 (25°35′58.461″N) Longitude : 100.2271 (100°13′37.550″E) Accuracy of signal : 5.0 m show on google maps





Show a taxi driver the below name to find it

 

[KTMphil]

Heading north out of Dali new city you get to the old city, which is knd of a fake new city, therefore didn't hold any interest for me, so i by-passed it




I had a plan to head west over a mountain to get to the historic town of Shaxi. I don't know of anyone that had done this on a motorcycle before, so couldn't findout the condition of the track. It was raining hard so might not be such a good idea. .... The GPS map didn't match the turn off too well to get on the trail, this trail must have been part of the ancient Tea Horse caravan route that stretched from India, Myanmar through to China.





Eventually found the trail west to Shaxi over the mountain, raining, cold wet, maybe this isn't such a good idea - no tracks from other vehicles , no idea how bad this trail would be in the rain.





It was like ice once the tires has clogged up with mud




2 falls, this one slid down the switch-back, with no control at all

 

[KTMphil]

NOTHING around, 28km to go, i was wondering if i should turn back, the rain was getting heavier, i had no idea what the trail through the mountain was like ahead. There were no tracks from other traffic, maybe this meant it was bad or even washed out ahead

View attachment 6643



After about 20km things got better and the trail became cobbled stone, you could picture the horse caravans going along this route to get east to Dali

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View attachment 6645

 

[KTMphil]

Shaxi is off the direct route between Dali & Lijian, so doesn't get as much tourist traffic as they do. The reason Shaxi is interesting, is that it's one of the ancient tea horse caravan trading towns dating back to 600 AD and part of the ancient town has been preserved.


Approaching the outskirts of Shaxi, not in the old city yet

 

[KTMphil]

Entering Shaxi old town

View attachment 6653



The old town square is beautiful, it looked like a movie set from an old kung fu movie

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You could have taken 10,000 photo's walking around Shaxi's old city, really nice to see an authentic old city

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The Shaxi locals say if you look hard enough you can see the horses hoof prints in the ancient stone streets

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Shaxi old city

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View attachment 6663

 

[KTMphil]

Walking around Shaxi





Old brick building





Stayed at the Tea Horse & Caravan Inn, in Shaxi 80 RMB, excellent value & professionally run








The owner speaks English and is a great guy, he even chained my bike up at night without asking






Its a little hard to find, go down the main old street towards the old square and turn left here to find it

 

[rhiekel]

Great photos !!! Am sorry I missed Shaxi. The mileage markers with the high numbers represent the distance from that marker to Bejing. It is sort of a way to let the far flung provinces know who is in charge. :-) It is a bit illogical since a person traveling would rather know the distance to the next town instead of Bejing.....

 

[KTMphil]

Shaxi

 

[KTMphil]

Mushroom seller on the streets of Shaxi




Rice fields with water irrigation pipe above




Didnt want to say Good bye to Shaxi, a very special town

 

[KTMphil]

Next day, NE to Lijain. This route north you are going up and up all the time into the mountains, it gets colder and colder.


Looks like a tough life in the rural districts





Roof tile manufactures




South of Lijian on R G 214, came across these ladies in traditional tribal dress. I thought this might be a celebratory day, but they were turning off onto the dirt roads to go work in the fields

 

[KTMphil]

Some great views SW of Lijain before the ride up the mountain

 

[KTMphil]

Then up the mountain hat was ahead to the left with spectacular views

 

[KTMphil]

Approaching Lijian from the west





Found this new hotel near the old town in Lijian, 200 RMB/ 1,000 Bht

 

[KTMphil]

Lijian like Shaxi dates back to 600 AD, the Bashia old town was the center of silk embroidery in SW China & the most important place on the ancient southern silk road.




Lijian's old town is HUGE,a maze off local blue stone slabbed streets, where you sure to get lost. It's a little too touristy, crammed with 1,000's of Chinese tourists buying nick nacks












There were several photo shoots going on in this beautiful old city

 

[KTMphil]

One of the fancier hotels in Lijian's old town with staff in line at the entrance






Laundry being done in the old town's natural springs, like it's been done for 1,000 years




Old city market in Lijian

 

[KTMphil]

Smelting silver in the old streets of Lijian



The local blue stone that was used to pave the Lijian streets

 

[KTMphil]

Early evening when the the next lot of Chinese tourists arrive the old town is mobbed




All the Chinese were taking photo's of this, i'll find out from Frankie & Jah it's significance







Lots of Chinese cyclists on this route, most headed as far north as Lhasa in Tibet

 

[2wheels]

Absolutely wonderful.
You're a brave man Phil; this looks daunting to any newcomer, especially at this time of year.

 

[KTMphil]

Paddle wheel in lijian's old city




This bar everyone left their name on a piece of paper





Great place to eat on the south side of Lijian's old town is Bon Appetita




All their dishes have lean meat, no fat and bone

 

[KTMphil]

Next day northbound, plan was to go to the tiger leapng gorge mid way between Lijian and Shangri La. There were rumors that the road had been blocked by landslides.


There was a nasty accident on the way north, the blue truck behind had rolled, hard to say what had happened to the bus, but looks like the driver came flying out through the windscreen

 

[Lone Rider]

Lucky guy to be able to see and experience all this. I will need at least one more but probably more viewings as there are so many "new" things and views to take in. Shaxi seems to be very special while Lijang does not look like it has changed much (was there for "work" around 1998 or so). Still remember the dancing in big circles at open places around the wood fires in the evening by the local population with singing going on for hours well into the night.

 

[KTMphil]

It was getting more and more beautiful the further north you got




You can actually see the very western end of the tiger leaping gorge from route G 214, but itsonly 10km east to see the real thing




Heading east into the gorge road











I wonder how ancient that upper level stone road is

 

[KTMphil]

Then into he final part of the accessible gorge by road, this is the 3rd deepest gorge in the world




The photo's don't do the power of the water justice



Due to the heavy rains and therefore flood of water, the tiger leaping rocks were covered and gave great disturbances in the river

 

[KTMphil]

So the TLG road wasnt closed after all, can you imagine this road being built by hand - carving it out of this rock!





Looks like we still have time to make Shangri La. What do we have here?




Looks like something broke the railing and went in there, must have been a nasty situation




Now being in an area with a high Tibetan population, interesting to see the ethnic dress changing

 

[KTMphil]

Onward northbound





Interesting to see the irrigation in action







Sure wasn't this guys day





Getting colder and colder as i get higher into the mountains




Things are starting to change now. The people look different, the villages look different, they are talking a different language, starting to get a taste of the Tibet way of life