Yunnan-Tibet Line Cycling Travel Notes　Lijiang–Xiaozhongdian

In a previous article, I wrote, "I rode a long way that day. I was sweating profusely and exhausted, but I was so absorbed in it. When I looked up, I saw the blue sky and snowy mountains. Now, it feels like I have never I have never experienced any hardships during such a tortuous journey.”

This passage is written on the last day of riding on the Yunnan-Tibet line, crossing Mount Mira and arriving in Lhasa. This experience has become blurry now, and the loss of memory even makes me feel a little uneasy. I decided to record this journey.

The photo was taken from Samsung Galaxy S4. It seems that the photo is not clear enough. The photography technology at that time was very poor. As if this was not bad enough, the photos stored in the computer were lost due to hard drive damage. Most of the photos in the article came from the journal records recorded six years ago.

Day 1

Nanning→Lijiang→Shuhe Ancient Town→K2 Youth Hostel

Originally, a few friends expressed great interest in riding the Yunnan-Tibet Line, but in the end due to various reasons, I was the only one to set off. Contact airport security in advance to disassemble and pack the car.

The packed car also contained a lot of luggage, which was slightly overweight, but the airport cleared it smoothly. This trip was quite long. On this day, Kankan sent me to the airport.

I returned to Lijiang after three years. Due to flight delays and because the bicycle box was too big and got stuck on the conveyor belt, it was already very late when I got the bicycle. It was extremely difficult to wait for the airport bus, so I chartered a bus to Shuhe with a few passengers who arrived late.

The chartered car could only take me to the entrance of the ancient town. It was not feasible to find a booked youth hostel with so much luggage at that time. I dismantled the box where I got off the car and quickly assembled the bike so that I could ride to the youth hostel.

I remember that night when all the lights around me were out, I was loading a car in front of a store by Shuhe River. The boss was about to close, but he turned on the lights specially for me. In order not to waste the kind boss's time, I didn't even pack a flashlight on my backpack, just pumped up my energy and started riding.

Riding into Shuhe Ancient Town, it is not difficult to find youth hostels. It is estimated that you will stay in many youth hostels along the way, so you can register as a youth hostel member on site.

The youth hostel was quiet at the moment, and there was still singing and dancing outside the ancient town. The plan was to arrive in Shuhe before dark and walk around the ancient town at night, but unexpectedly, the flight was delayed for several hours, and the day turned into a tiring day of traveling and traveling. But overall it went smoothly, especially when we took the car to Lijiang and washed down and slept early.

Day 2

Shuhe→Baisha→Shuhe→Merida Store→K2

I slept until very late that day and didn't get up until very late. K2 has two courtyards, and everyone has gone to their own destinations, so it is very clean. The yard is not big, and there are three dogs, so one can clean it.

The public area is a common area in various youth hostels where you can pick up people or be picked up by your companions.

There is a cafe in the courtyard.

There is an area in the lobby that sells postcards. At that time, I didn’t have any idea about sending and receiving postcards. Now I have a lot of postcards at home, most of them from Kankan.

There are musical instruments and there is usually a band. In those years, whether the hostel had a guitar became an important factor in which youth hostel I chose. But this time I chose to stay here not because of these, but just because of the name of the youth hostel.

About K2

K2 is the general name of K2, with an altitude of 8611 meters, the second highest peak in the world. "K" refers to the Karakoram Mountains. K2 is the second peak to be surveyed in the Karakoram Mountains, so it is named K2. Hiking K2 is a dream that I have always wanted to do but have yet to realize.

The most indispensable thing in Lijiang is dogs.

There were several mountain bikes in the yard. I was a little excited when I saw them, thinking there were bikers here. But when I walked in, I saw that there were no equipment or traces of long journeys on the car. It should have been used by the store for tourists riding in Lijiang.

I saw Shuhe again. It was the spring season and the weather was very good. A man was walking aimlessly with a bottle of hot water.

Compared to Dayan, I prefer Shuhe. It is relatively quiet here, of course, only relatively.

It is suitable to spend a day in Lijiang to rest and recuperate. You can walk around, take your time, and replenish some cycling supplies.

The rapeseed flowers were in full bloom on the edge of the ancient city. We stopped in a remote place to eat a bowl of cross-bridge rice noodles from Meng Ran’s hometown.

Again, the most indispensable thing in Lijiang is dogs. It can be seen that Gu Mu couldn't help but take two pictures when he saw that he liked it.

Back at K2, the commune is holding a food competition, a variety of literary and fresh snacks, and a music party.

But all this seems to have nothing to do with me, because I have to revise the paper. In other words, since I stayed in the youth hostel, I have mostly just watched the excitement instead of participating in it (Xining Hengyu is an exception) .

After correcting the paper, I went back to my room to pack my car, put on my backpack and set off to Baisha Ancient Town. On the road, I saw many young couples riding to Baisha. The journey is not far, and there are patches of rapeseed flowers that are eye-catching along the way.

Baisha is very small, but it is basically populated by indigenous people, and it is not as commercialized as Dayan and Shuhe.

It is a good place to come to Baisha to feel the breath of life.

There are not many tourists, and I see more of the daily life of the people here.

I met an Italian biker in Baisha and rode together in the ancient town. This should be a traditional dyeing workshop.

After finding a shop to have a drink, we returned to Shuhe. On the way back, the rear wheel was playing with discs, and I planned to go to a specialty store to have some polished off. The Giant in Lijiang actually closed before seven o'clock, so I had to go to Merida. As expected, I received all kinds of cold looks, but I finally got it done. I packed my luggage in the evening, went to bed early, and was about to start my "Mountain Tour".

Day 3

Shuhe Ancient Town → Lashi → Tiger Leaping Gorge Town → Moon Villa

On this day, the Yunnan-Tibet cycling officially begins.

What you climb is just a mountain in your heart.

The weather is relatively sunny. Changshui Street leaves Lijiang in the west, and there are peach blossoms of various colors and newly sprouted trees all the way.

While riding along Lashihai, various rapeseed flowers and peach blossoms are in full bloom, but if they appear in the same field, you will be tempted to stop.

For lunch, I would find a shady spot and eat the flatbread I bought in the morning.

Looking at the peach blossoms on the wall of the adobe house and eating cakes, my physical fitness quickly recovered.

Before riding in Yunnan and Tibet, the furthest distance was on the third day after buying the car, when I rode back to Beihai from Nanning with Meng Ran. When riding in the city, the transmission system has never used a small plate, but it was used soon after leaving Lijiang.

Not far along the Jinsha River, you will see the first snow mountain on the Yunnan-Tibet line.

There were various local people buying strawberries on the roadside. They didn't weigh them. They sold them in buckets. I definitely wanted a bucket. I was asked to buy them for ten yuan, but I was given a big bag. Stop for a while and eat some strawberries to relieve the heat.

There were still 8.9 kilometers away from Tiger Leaping Gorge Town, and I began to feel obviously tired. After arriving at the town of Tiger Leaping Gorge, we did not stop. When I graduated from undergraduate school, I went to Shanghutiao in Tiger Leaping Gorge with my sister.

On the first day of riding, the plan is to at least reach Tiger Leaping Gorge Town, and if the physical strength allows, go directly to Baoshan Village of Chongjiang River Power Station. However, when there was still 13 kilometers to climb from Baoshan Village, I was really hungry and exhausted. There happened to be a shop on the roadside that had stir-fried vegetables and hot soup. After eating, I learned that there was accommodation available, so I decided to stay.

This is the room I stayed in that night. The door was unlocked, so I would be the only one staying here. The wooden structure was extremely noisy, the wind was rustling outside, the rain was pouring, the large trucks coming and going downstairs, and the sound of engines turning off and starting up all made this night feel insecure. Carry the car into the room, block the door, put away the wallet and passport, and fall asleep tiredly as soon as it gets dark. Looking back now, I feel really lucky to have this place to stay far away from the city.

Day 4
Moon Villa→Baoshan Village→Xiaozhongdian→Sihai Inn

We set off in a hurry as soon as it was dawn.

The 13km climb from Moon Villa to Baoshan Village took more than an hour. This is the Yunnan-Tibet Line. The climb is always waiting for you. I really doubt whether I can reach Shangri-La today.

There are many inns in Baoshan Village, which is still 74km away from Shangri-La. We stopped for breakfast when the toothache started to attack severely.

helmet lost

Continuing to head west, the sun cast the shadow of my bike on National Highway 214, and suddenly I saw my shadow without a helmet. Yes, I took off my helmet at the breakfast place, so I didn’t have a helmet all the way back, and I was extra careful when I got to the rocky section.

Fortunately, a rider who arrived in Baoshan Village helped to find it that day. I have never met him before, so I am very grateful. This rider is A Bin who arrived in Nepal together later. And this photo, which was taken at random, became an important clue for Abin to find my helmet.

On this 28km climb today, you will encounter children greeting you, and you will also encounter children asking you for pencil snacks. The feeling is not good. This is caused by some tourists who have entered Tibet over the years giving stationery snacks to local children. side effect.

Meet riding friends

Not long after, I saw a person pushing a cart in front of me, and vaguely saw a pannier bag on the car. The pannier bag signified a long ride. I finally met a fellow rider and was very excited. I increased my horsepower and shouted loudly to move forward.

He is a traveler in his sixties who rides the Yunnan-Tibet Line from Shanghai to Guizhou to Lijiang. We call him Gao Daxia. This senior has participated in 10 full-marathons and 8 half-marathon races in Shanghai. However, the riding speed is slow and he has to push when encountering hills, but the pushing speed is extremely fast.

The rest of the way is basically accompanied by snowy mountains.

The weather is very good today. You know, it snowed heavily in Shangri-La the day before, and it rained all night in Moon Villa. Today there is no sun, the wind is not light, the snow peaks are exposed, and there are snow mountains to accompany me on the road. For me, a snow mountain lover, this is A happy thing.

I arrived in Lijiang alone and set off in Lijiang alone. I didn’t expect to meet my riding companion so soon, and I was still a little excited. Along the way, you will meet hikers, self-drivers, and motorcycle riders who will greet you, take photos, and then say goodbye and wish each other well.

Haba Snow Mountain should be the snow mountain I want to summit in the future.

There are many such ingredients for sale next to the observation deck.

This day was not very tiring, with a 13km gentle slope to Baoshan Village, then a 28km steep climb, and a 7km gentle slope to Xiaozhongdian. The altitude rises about 1300m from the starting point, so I deflated the tires before setting off.

We originally planned to arrive at Shangri-La today, and our time and physical strength allowed it. However, Gao Daxia was worried that it would snow, and wanted to ride slowly tomorrow and take more photos, so he was reluctant to continue into the county. Anyway, I have to meet up with A Bin at Shangri-La tomorrow night to form a team and get a helmet, so I stayed with him.

Gao Daxia's equipment

Only then did I see the configuration of Gao Daxia's bike. With such a transmission system, it's no wonder why it has to be pushed on every slope. It would be impossible to ride up a steeper slope.

There was no special carry-on bag, but there were eight large and small bags in the car, as well as an old-fashioned insulated water bottle from the inpatient department. I brought a quilt with me, saying that if I couldn't find a place to stay on the way, I could find a big rock or something to lean on and cover myself with the quilt for the night.

There is no professional equipment in the car, but there is a lot of fruit. He bought the helmet when he was in Lijiang after another group of cyclists repeatedly told him the importance of the helmet. This is the magical Gao Daxia. Good equipment will improve riding efficiency, but the power from a firm heart is even more powerful.

Gao Daxia writes a cycling diary every day. He is very talkative, so chatting with him seems a little bit difficult. Tonight, we stayed at a Tibetan inn and used pine cones to stir-fry. The dinner was very satisfying.

After dinner, I took a satisfying hot bath, although the hot water was not available at first and I was half cold to death. Outside the window was a snow-capped mountain, and it was snowing lightly. Although it was lightly snowing, it was still a plus to have the snow-capped mountains in the background. In just two days of riding, I gained a deep sense of humanity, and this part will remain in my heart for the time being.

I remember that on this day, a friend in the circle of friends posted a photo of a chicken shit vine jackal.