Sichuan → Yunnan · On-road · Rental or own bike
The ride that goes looking for the Lost Horizon - from the pandas of Wolong across Kham to the three holy peaks of Yading, then down into Yunnan for Tiger Leaping Gorge, Lijiang and the matriarchal shore of Lugu Lake.
The ride
James Hilton never came to China. He wrote Lost Horizon in 1933 from Joseph Rock’s articles and photographs in National Geographic, and invented a valley that half of Asia has been claiming ever since. This ride crosses the country he was reading about.
It starts with pandas at Wolong and the Four Sisters mountain, climbs through Danba and Tagong into Kham, and reaches Yading - Chenresig, Jambeyang and Chanadorje, the three peaks Rock photographed. Then it drops south across the Jinsha into Yunnan: the first bend of the river at Benzilan, Sumzanlin Monastery above Shangri-La town, the White Water Terraces where Dongba religion began, and Tiger Leaping Gorge under a four-thousand-meter wall.
A full day in Lijiang, then Lugu Lake and the Mosuo, who have kept a matrilineal society intact, and finally Xichang in the Yi country of Liangshan, where the bikes go back and you fly home. Four minority cultures, two provinces, one legend.
Where it goes, and how high you sleep
The blue line is the road as actually ridden. Click a stop to open its day.
Arrive Chengdu
Arrive in Chengdu. The Wide and Narrow Alleys in the afternoon, then tea in the People’s Park - bamboo chair, covered bowl, no hurry.
Medical · motorcycle license
Physical examination and temporary Chinese driving license.
Chengdu → Dujiangyan → Wolong → Siguniang Shan
Into the Wolong National Nature Reserve - 200,000 hectares, a UNESCO biosphere, and the Shenshuping base with around fifty giant pandas. Through the Balang Shan tunnel, and the Four Sisters at sunset from Maobiliang.
Siguniang Shan → Shuangqiao → Wori Tusi → Danba
Sunrise over Siguniang, then a soft hike in the Shuangqiao valley. Past the Wori Tusi Manor to Danba and the Gyarong village of Jiaju, a hundred houses of the same red, white and black scattered up the slope.
Danba → Bamei → Tagong → Yajiang
Huiyuan Temple seen from the road at Bamei, then Lhagang Monastery at Tagong, ringed by three hills. Gyergo Nunnery and the great mani wall of Hepingfahui, with Zhara Lhatse (5,820 m) above. On over the ridges to Yajiang.
Yajiang → Litang → Mt Haizi → Daocheng → Shangri-La Town
Litang Monastery - Bön until the Third Dalai Lama converted it to Gelug in 1580. Then over Mt Haizi and past Daocheng to the Yading gateway, under Chenresig (6,032 m), Jambeyang and Chanadorje (5,958 m). Scenery that stands comparison with Yellowstone.
Yading → Chonggu → Luorong pasture
A full day on foot in the reserve. Chonggu Monastery, Xiannairi with Dumu Lake below it, and the Luorong pasture held between all three holy mountains.
Shangri-La Town → Qingde → Xiangcheng → Derong
South through Qingde and Xiangcheng, where the traditional Tibetan houses are painted white and stand square against the hillsides. On to Derong.
Derong → Benzilan → first bend of the Jinsha → Shangri-La
Through the Hengduan range along the Jinsha, the upper Yangtze, and into Yunnan. A stop at Benzilan for the first great bend of the river. Then Shangri-La - formerly Zhongdian, 3,280 m - and Sumzanlin Monastery, founded by the Fifth Dalai Lama in 1679, modelled on the Potala and home to some eight hundred monks.
Shangri-La → Baishuitai → Tiger Leaping Gorge → Lijiang
The White Water Terraces at the foot of Haba Snow Mountain, birthplace of Dongba culture. Then Tiger Leaping Gorge - fifteen kilometers long under a wall four thousand meters high, one of the deepest canyons anywhere - and a walk in it. Into Lijiang at 2,416 m beneath Jade Dragon Mountain.
Old town · Black Dragon Pool · Baisha · Yuhu
A full day. The old town, UNESCO-listed in 1997, and the view over its roofs from the Wangu Pavilion on Lion Hill. Black Dragon Pool, with Jade Dragon Mountain reflected in it, and the Dongba Culture Museum. In the afternoon ride out to the Ming murals at Baisha - Buddhist, Taoist and Lamaist figures in a single image - and to Joseph Rock’s house at Yuhu.
Lijiang → Lugu Lake
An early start for Lugu Lake, home of the Mosuo, who have kept a matrilineal society intact through everything. In the afternoon out on the water, and a visit to a family house.
Lugu Lake → Xichang
Down to Xichang, capital of the Liangshan Yi prefecture and China’s satellite launch base. The Slave Society Museum is the only one of its kind in the country. Then the lacquerware street - Yi lacquer is national intangible heritage - and a walk by Qionghai Lake. The bikes go back this evening.
The fine print, in plain words
See it to believe it
Photography by Liu Bin · Greatway field archive
Dates & enquiry
Private departures on your dates, roughly April to October. Tell us when you're free and how many are riding - our motorbike travel consultant will get back to you within 24 hours.
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