The Encounter
We have set out a route through a very interesting area in South China. You hardly come across tourists here. One of the highlights of this trips are the encounters with the friendly and helpful residents of South China.
Distance:
1150 km
Level:
2
Stages:
18
Travel time:
3,5 to 4 weeks
Best travel period
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
8 / 10
8 / 10
Highlights:
2 Guangzhou (Canton), a fascinating city
3 Guilin: here you can make a trip to Longsheng, with its world-famous rice terraces, and visit the Yao and Miao tribes
4 Xingping, for a trip on the Li-River with a bamboo boat
Explore the freedom!
The cycle route starts and ends in Canton (Guangzhou), a bustling and typical Chinese city of millions.
The first days you stay in a comfortable hotel on Shamian Island.
It is possible to visit various sights in Canton.
For example, the Qingping Market, a typical Chinese market with a wide range of colorful and fragrant herbs and spices; several beautiful historical museums in a temple setting; and extraordinary parks.
The first three stages of the bicycle route run through urban areas with heavy traffic. The cities where you end up are definitely worth it. After the third stage, you gradually reach the countryside. You cycle past villages with traditional mud houses and villages with new houses, but still in the traditional style. Not far from the road, villages of hill tribe peoples who are busy tending the fields with their water buffalos appear.
Subsequently, you will arrive in the province of Guanxi, where the nature around you is stunning. You will find yourself in the “Blue Mountains”, which are breathtaking landscapes of karst mountains. You cycle through valleys with quiet rivers, farmlands and rice fields and along many fruit plantages. The landscape of the karst mountains is at its best in Yangshuo and its surroundings. In Yangshuo, only now you will see the first tourists, you can take a trip on the Li River; sitting on a bamboo boat, floating right through the karst mountains. It’s even better to do this in nearby Xingping. In Yangshuo, you can book various excursions and also cycle wonderful roads through the picturesque countryside.
The stage from Yangshuo to Guilin is adventurous and quite tough. You will cycle straight through the karst mountains on a dirt road. You will encounter many beekeepers here, but nothing else except for mountains, forests, and a few lakes. Then the route takes you to Longsheng, an environment with huge rice terraces, where the Yao and Miao tribes meet in their colorful costumes.
From Guilin you cycle back to Yangshuo along a slightly more western-type road, with the possibility of a trip along the way, which will lead you through karst mountains once again. Then you cycle from Yangshuo, through quiet and rural roads to Mengshan. From Mengshan you cycle, with two possible stops, to Wuzhou, where you return by bus to Canton (about 450 km). If you want to meet China and its friendly residents – who are all very interested in you and your bike – then you shouldn’t miss this tour. Every now and then count on hilarious communication problems, because little or no English is spoken in China.