Hi everybody from a newbe. Whenever searching the web for information about Yunnan, I come to GoKunming. So this seems to be the right place. :-)

Does anybody got information about the road in the Lancang/Mekong valley?! Are there any public busses using this road?

My idea is going to Weixi and Cizhong and from there going south on the road in the Langcang valley to Yongping/Baoshan and further south to Pu'er, Simao....

I travel alone and unfortunately speak no Chinese, so I want to check some things before I go. Any information is welcome.

Just got back from work in the Cizhong area and the contiguous road down the valley from the Weixi area is still not complete. South of Cizhong in Weixi county the main road currently leaves the Lancang River and heads towards the town of Weixi, continuing past there to Shangri-La and Lijiang. Work is currently underway to build a new road that stays with the river when the main road leaves the Lancang in Weixi county but this is not complete yet. You will probably need to change your plans and re-route from Weixi to someplace like Lijiang or Dali and then reconnect with the Lancang from there...

Thank you for your fast answer!

I'm not amused to read this. In my map (China South, Gizi Maps) the road is completed.

It's not difficult to find other plans, I'm bubbling over of ideas, but my main target is the Mekong/Langcang river.

I'll be on a 3 month trip along the Mekong from North Yunnan to the delta in Vietnam starting in March next year. Cizhong would be a very nice place to start my trip, maybe the street will be completed in the next months. If not, I'll start in the Yongping/Baoshan area.

I second what b galipeau said.

Chinese maps have a tendency to show "complete" roads which haven't even begun to be built yet, but are planned for 5 years off in the future!

I tried to do exactly what you are talking about doing last year and got into big trouble, nearly died trying to cross a landslide on the old Mekong road caused by construction of the new road high up on the cliff.

From Weixi north you're fine, but from Weixi south (actually from Baijixun south) the road was still very much under construction when I was there last year, and judging by the state of the work at that time I'd guess it still is.

Further south, in Lanping County, there is also major construction still going on.

Your best bet, if you're trying to get from the far north to the Baoshan area, without taking the main route through Dali, is as follows:
Weixi - Lanping - Yunlong - Yongping

You could also hike over the mountain from Cizhong to Nujiang, then go down the Nujiang to Baoshan

Thank you, Matt!

I can see several big landslides at the Google Maps view of that area, especially north of Yongping.

So I have to adapt my plans. I'll hire a motorbike at Tibetmoto in Dali (anyone knows that company?) and go to Weixi and proceed to the Lancang Valley from there.