Tour Description

West China Bike Tour
Exploring Northern and Northwestern Sichuan 16-Day Bike Tour

Dates: September 7th to September 23rd, 2015
Contact us with the dates that work for you.

Nine Village Valley Sichuan China

West China Bike Tour
Exploring Northern and Northwestern Sichuan 16-Day Bike Tour

Dates: September 7th to September 23rd, 2015
Contact us with the dates that work for you.

This 16-day bicycle tour through southwest China begins and ends in Chengdu. Average daily cycling mileage will be about 50 miles (80 km). A support vehicle will transport luggage and may be used on occasion to supplement the cycling to get to the next destination. Riders will carry only their day packs on their bikes. This tour will visit both well-known and little-known sights and will appeal to those who have cultural, social and geological interests.

This tour begins with airport pickup from the Chengdu airport the day before the tour officially begins. When arranging travel, please schedule to arrive in Chengdu on Septmber 6th, 2015. On Day One, we'll begin with a tour orientation and bicycle fitting before loading in the vehicle to head into the foot hill near Tiantai Mtn. We'll cycle part way to Baoxing, where we'll enjoy a nice meal and spend our first night.

The second day the tour will begin our ascent up Jiajin mountain and stay in a quaint B&B before heading over the 13,500ft pass on the third day. Upon descending we'll see the 4 Sister Mountains in the distance as we ride into Rilong.

On day 4 we will enjoy a brisk decent in the morning before heading north on a rolling stretch around the base of Four Sister Mountains and along the Fubian River and Majia Valley, into Xianlongtan. After a few lighter cycling rest days were we take transport part way and cycling along the A-Ba north Sichuan plain and along the Suomo & Baihe (White) Rivers

Continuing along the White River and delta regions, we will enjoy picturesque panoramas of never-ending pastures, Buddhist stupas, pagodas, and temples. On Day 8 we will enjoy a long lunch and hike at Waqienongyeshe before continuing on for a big, relatively flat day ending with a 40km decent into Huanglong scenic region.

Day 9 will be spent hiking around the Huanglong nature park including the Huanglong valley, Songpan Ancient Town, and numerous colourful pools, waterfalls, and springs.

The route then turns east toward Jiuzhaigou through the amazing "Nine Village Valley." We will enjoy a few days of light cycling and hiking around this remote but breathtaking region. Hiking along we will have options to choose among a few 12+km long valleys to see what makes this region such a must-see place. Some 30,000 people are attracted to Jiuzhaigou each day during peak seasons.

Enjoy a net decent out of the mountains along the Jianjiang River. See some impressive rock formations as the road winds down. Notable sites along the way include the Wanglang Nature Reserve and Bailong Palace scenic area, and Sanxingdui Archeological Exhibit as we proceed into Zitong.

From Zitong we will begin cycling early towards Langzhong before taking the Changling Ferry across a narrow stretch of the Shengzhong Reservoir and finish cycling to Langzhong taking transport part way. There we can see the Ancient Town and Fengshui Museum and we rest for our final day of cycling through the countryside leading to Santai.

Below is the route summary with distance in kilometer/miles and note if alternative transportation may be used for part of the way (Trans) consisting of truck or bus.

Itinerary

Day	Location	Distance KM/Miles	SICHUAN PROVINCE
0	Chengdu/Chengdu	0/0	Pick up from the Chengdu airport and transfer to your hotel.
1	Chengdu/Baoxing	90/56	Meet in Chengdu in the morning for bicycle fitting and trip orientation. Take transport to Tiantai Mountain, cycle part or all the way to Baoxing.
2	Baoxing/Liangshuijing	83/52	Begin accent of Jiajin Mountain by bicycle to a small village called Wu Dao Guai where we will stay at a rustic B&B and have a nice home cooked meal.
3	Liangshuijing/Xiaojin Xian	65/41	Cycle over Jiajin Mountain pass at 4100m (13500ft) and enjoy a beautiful decent before another brief climb into Rilong at the base of Four Sister Mountains.
4	Xiaojin Xian/Xianlongtan	68/43	Enjoy a brisk decent in the morning before heading north on a rolling stretch around the base of Four Sister Mountains and along the Fubian River and Majia Valley.
5	Xianlongtan/Zhoukeji Town	70/44	Continue up Majia Valley through a scenic area and over a 3500m pass before descending into ABa.
6	Zhoukeji Town/Zhongrangkou	88/55	Take transport part way in the morning west along the Suomo River.
7	Zhongrangkou/Hongyuan	68/43	Light cycling rest day as we take transport part way and cycling along the ABa north Sichuan plain and along Baihe (White River).
8	Hongyuan/Chuanzhusi Town	140/88	Continue along the White River and delta regions of Waqienongyeshe before continuing on for a big, relatively flat day ending with a 40km decent into Huanglong scenic region.
9	Chuanzhusi Town/Chuanzhusi Town	22/14	Spend the day hiking around the Huanglong nature park including the Huanglong valley, Songpan Ancient Town, and numerous colourful pools, waterfalls, and springs.
10	Chuanzhusi Town/Jiuzhaigou	89/56	Cycle down the valley through Jiuzhaigou - Nine Village Valley - with hiking the small villages and valleys.
11	Jiuzhaigou/Jiuzhaigou	25/16	Exploring by foot and/or bicycle. Hike among numbers small villages along these amazing valleys.
12	Jiuzhaigou/Longan	130/81	Take transport part way as we head over a 3500m (11,000 ft. pass) heading into Pingwu County.
13	Longan/Beichuan	92/58	A mountain decent along the Jianjiang River, impressive rock formations and visits to the Wanglang Nature Reserve and Bailong Palace scenic area.
14	Beichuan/Zitong	55/34	Cycling to Mianzhu to see Sanxingdui, taking transport part way through Mianyang and begin cycling again on rolling country roads to Zitong visiting the Qinglong Temple.
15	Zitong/Langzhong	70/44	Cycle to Langzhong, take the Changling Ferry over the Shengzhong Reservoir. Finish cycling to Langzhong and take transport part way visiting an ancient town and Fengshui Museum.
16	Langzhong/Chengdu	82/51	Final day of cycling through the countryside leading to Santai. In the early afternoon we will return to Chengdu by vehicle get ready to return to the airport.
	Total Distance	1,237 km	773 miles

Tour Itinerary

Tour Details

Dates: September 7th to September 23rd, 2015
Contact us with the dates that work for you.

Start location: Chengdu, Sichuan Province

Finish location: Chengdu, Sichuan Province

Tour type: Vehicle supported - riders carry only their day packs on their bikes.

Geographical location: Southwest China, North and Northwest Sichuan Province; Elevation range: 2000 to 13,500 feet (600-4100 meters).

Climate: The best weather for touring is in the spring and fall. Summer will be hot and rainy. Click on the weather links below to obtain historical weather information.

Terrain: Rolling and mountainous

Cycling tour level:Challenging

Total cycling distance: Approximately 1,480 miles (2,430 km): Average distance per travel day: 50 miles (80 km) Cycling may be supplemented on occasion with vehicle transport when necessary to reach the next destination.

Days: 16

Nights: 16

Group size: 1 - 8

Rental bike: Premium touring bike and helmet.

Accommodations: The prices are for double occupancy rooms, and will vary depending on the number of people who participate.

Private room supplement: US$395

This tour is limited to no more than eight people. This will permit more flexibility in the program and allow more spontaneity for taking photos or exploring villages along the way.

Prices include the following:

1. Bilingual bicycle tour guide/mechanic.
2. All hotel accommodations for 16 nights.
3. Meals eaten as group (private meals, snacks and alcoholic beverages are not included).
4. All group transportation costs including a support vehicle to be used during the bike tour and airport pickup and dropoff.
5. All group entrance fees. 6. Rental bicycle and helmet.

This will be a vehicle-supported ride. This means that a support-vehicle will carry the luggage (and cyclists when desired). Each cyclist will carry only their day pack luggage while cycling.

If you decide to do something on your own, you will be responsible for those costs.

Cost: Prices depend on the total number of people going on the tour and the time of year. Below are the price per person (pp) and quoted in US dollars (US$) for non-holiday periods*:

Group size:
4 people US$4,340pp
5 people US$3,950pp
6-7 people US$3,780pp
8 people US$3,455pp

Current Registrations

There are three people registered as of

* Holiday Periods require a 30% surcharge to the basic price due to increased costs of hotels and transportation. Tours with overlapping dates will be prorated.

An announcement of the cost of the tour will be made to the group 60-days prior to the start based on the number of registered members.

A deposit of $500 is required. This is fully refundable up to 60 days prior to the start of the tour. Submission of a deposit will guarantee your place on the tour. Balance is due 60 days prior to the beginning of the tour and is payable by credit card (Paypal), money order, or direct bank transfer.

Click here to Register

Click here to send a note of interest or to request additional information

For general ride information that applies to all rides, please visit our FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) and the General Info page.

Read some

Testimonials from our Clients

Top of Page