Hi !

I'll be on a trip on my own in Yunnan in july and I've already read much on this website. It is really helpful !

I'm trying to prepare a cycle tour in the countryside, mainly on flat road, cycling for max 90 km a day to have time to enjoy some breaks.

I'm thinking of a round tour from Kunming through :
- the stone forest in Shilin
- Luxi
- Luoping
- Gaoliangxiang
- Puzhehei
- Pingyuanzhen
- Kaiyuan
- Jianshui (+1 day visiting)
- Jiangchuan
- and back to Kunming

I planed it with Google maps and I don't know Yunnan and China at all, so it may not be such a good idea ?

Does any of you have some advice about it ?
Especially about :
- where to find the best bike rental in Kunming ? do you know if it's possible to rent some kind of trailer sinc I'll only have my big backpack.
- where to buy a map ?
- the itinerary : do you you think it's a reasonnable one ? any advice about safety or security ?
- what about the weather in july ? is it ok enough for cycling in this area ?
- in some places, such as Gaoliangxiang and Pingyuanzhen, I wonder if I'll find any accomodation ?
- any suggestion on what to visit along the route ?
- is it possible to take the train with a bicycle if I feel lazy (or hurt) ?

Thanks a lot !

François

Ive seen some guys taking the bikes on the train. They just took of front wheel, tide up bikes together in one side of end of vagon ( I guess not in every train can do that ). I would like to do some trip outside KM as well, but I have MTB with thick soft tires so not for 90km on tarmac road but for dirth road . I think for you is better to buy some bike for 1000kuai then rent one. Check here buy&sell stuff, on wechat KM groups or net km.ganji.com/ .

If you are on the county roads allow for a lot of dust at times, and soot from truck exhausts. Bring masks with you, as it may save you time and effort tracking them down when you arrive. You are also travelling during rainy season, expect spray from passing vehicles. It is worth keeping a spare set of dry clothes for the evening and being prepared to put on the wet again in the morning.

If you are travelling on back roads, you will still get trucks and also potholes. Some sections of road will be badly torn up and this will bring your speed/daily mileage right down. Not all back roads are that bad, but some are.

There are some sections of flat road, but Yunnan is quite mountainous. When you are on google earth surveying the roads, have a look at the photos, this will give you an idea of the topography in an area, even if it does not show the road.

July is rainy season. Expect mud.

I arrived in Kunming last week and I am relying on online maps during my exploration in the city.

One thing to note down, here in China, there are some websites or apps wont be available. I tried to access Google map on my iphone and on my laptop (maps.google.com), but it wont work. As well as others such as: facebook, youtube, Line etc

However for google map Chinese version (www.google.cn/maps), seems like working properly. Or you can use this : map.baidu.com/

NB If you just want to know where you are on a map, try using the 'find my iphone' tool. It works on my ipad.

Thanks everyone !

I'll try to have a VPN connection for Google map and I've already downloaded Baidu map app but I can't read Chinese...

I'd like to find a paper map too. Which is quite difficult here (in France). Do you know where I can find one in Kunming ?

Tigertiger : what you say sound quite discouraging. Thanks for the warning but do you think I should abandon this idea ?

Btw I'll try to make up my own opinion when I'll be there.

And of course, if anyone is interested in sharing some stages, it would be nice.

There is an article on here, somewhere, about such a cycle ride from Kunming to Jianshui and surrounds. It will give you a good idea about what to expect, and what timing to allow for for that particular leg. You can then adjust your timing, for other legs of the journey, if you need to.

If you are an all weather adventurer, no problem. If you are a fair weather biker, or if you have a creature comforts companion, you may with to reconsider.

Maps in book form and as sheets are widly available in bookshops all over Yunnan. They are however all in Chinese and full of mistakes and even the ones that claim to be updated by having names like map 2015 are at least 7 years outdated. Best is to stick to on line maps also they are full of mistakes as well.

Salut Francois_M,

U've got an ambitious c-plan seriously. I'd like to do some cycling but yours is too big. 2-week at least? Considering your Chinese skill, try to find at least one companion. U will not get lost but just in case.

bon courage LOL