Cycling Tour in China

Guangxi province, Southern China

Dates: 12 - 20 October 2012 Price: € 1 200

- See the region that inspired the “Hallelujah Mountains” of Avatar
- Enjoy the unique karst mountains, pagodas and rice fields
- Get a “hands on” experience on Chinese cooking and specialties
- Cycle through the rural roads, quiet riverside and gentle slopes
- Get “up close and personal” with the colourful minority tribes


Cycling and getting inspired
The landscape here has inspired many poets and painters for centuries. A more modern art form – cinema has taken its toll in Guangxi. The karst-mountains and danxia landscape are said to have inspired James Cameron’s Hallelujah Mountains in the movie “Avatar”. The scenery is breath taking – come and get your share of this inspiration for a photo or movie of your own.

Visiting UNESCO world heritage sites
The sublime scenery on our biking route has not been left unnoticed. Part of it - Bajiaozhai National Forest Park  - has been declared as a UNESCO World Heritage site. This is an area where unique danxia landform can be found. This bizarre landform is unique only to China and is characterized by steep cliffs of red sandstone, some covered by lush vegetation, some bare and bold. We will be cycling through this landscape but not on top of these mighty rocks although we will have a chance to explore these landforms on foot.

Laid back traditional China
China might seem to be the epitome of overpopulation and rapid development but this is only a small part of the story. Guangxi also has its million-plus cities but it often only an hours’ drive to escape it and fall back a century in time. This is where we a heading for on our cycling tour! It is the China where 70% of people’s livelihood is still about farming: rice, water buffalos, chicken, pigs, their charming villages are still made up from traditional wooden houses or mud bricks and people are friendly, curious and welcoming. We get up close and personal with the villagers as we spend many nights in the local small hotels and guest houses (you’ll get up close and personal with water buffalos, chicken and pigs too!).

Rural landscape and ethnic minorities
Rice paddies, rice paddies and more rice paddies! Seeing is believing - no picture can ever convey the scenery that your own eye will witness in this rural area of China. This area is a home for various ethnic minorities: the Miao, Yao, Dong and Zhuang. Each one of them having their own distinctive culture: colourful folk costumes (still worn daily), language, traditions. Part of this tribal heritage is their ancient wooden architecture – stilt houses dotting the hillsides and village roads along our route. With a bit of luck on our cycling tour we can perhaps witness people practicing their ancient customs in the form of a wedding party or religious ceremony.

Karst landscape
Have you ever seen the movies “The Man with the Golden Gun”, “The Beach” or “The Painted Veil”? The amazing rock formations seen in these movies are typical karst formations and nowhere in the world are they more plentiful than on our bike tour. We will be cruising through diverse karst landscapes on bikes and take a boat ride on the river Li to capture this sublime beauty at its best. Keep your camera close by and be ready for action.

Chinese food – Do It yourself
The rural “backyard” of China is a perfect place to get a “hands on” experience on how real Chinese food is prepared. After a day’s ride we will have a chance to observe how a meal is prepared for us by our lovely hosts at our guest house. You are more than welcome to actively take part in this process or you can just relax, enjoy a glass of sake (rice wine) and let the professionals do their job. Later on at our final destination – Yangshuo, you can join one of the numerous cooking classes found there.

Comfort level
The comfort level on this bike tour is characterized by the variety of areas we are visiting. In urban areas we will be staying in comfortable, centrally located, three star standard hotels with en-suite bathrooms, hot water and air-conditioning. In rural villages and towns the hotels are more basic, but clean, with private bathrooms, hot water and air-conditioning. We will spend two nights in clean, traditional-style guesthouses with bathrooms and hot water. These guesthouses have been chosen for their amazing locations and cultural appeal.
The support vehicle will be following the group throughout the journey and is available for luggage, water supply, in case you feel like putting your feet up for a while. We do not have porters so we carry our luggage and bikes to support vehicle and back. We also expect you to carry out the daily basic maintenance of your bike (basically washing and oiling). Technical help and basic spare parts are available for breakdowns and for more serious maintenance on hire bikes.

Fitness level
If you are healthy and practice an active life-style, you are welcome to this bike tour in China! Previous experience in mountain biking is not required, although it is advisable. We will be typically riding 40-80 km a day, depending on the terrain. This means 6-8 hours riding per day including lunch-, drinking and power-bar stops and heaps of sightseeing pauses to take photos. There will be some physically demanding ascents and some technically demanding descents.  We will be cycling mainly on sealed roads but on several days we will be off road on unsealed roads or trails.  On some of the trails there may be some sections we may have to push or carry our bikes.
You won’t have to carry your luggage (except for the day-pack) and major spare parts with you. In case anything happens, there is always a place for you in the car. We typically split the group into a couple of smaller groups depending on the riding skills of the cyclists.