Travelling by bicycle throughout Yunnan

Jinghong - Shangri-la

The journey from Jinghong to Shangri-la was hard, but unexpected beautiful. Starting in Jinghong at an altitude of 500 m and arriving in Shangri-la at more than 3000 m, made it one of the most exhausting cycling tours I ever made. But it was worth it!
First I cycled throughout the tea-fields of the famous Pu'er tea. In the small town I met some nice students who guided me through the tea-plantations and let me taste several tea's.
Between Pu'er and Dali I cycled over a well paved road, following a fertile valley where the tea had been replaced by tobacco. There were several small villages with colorfull markets and women in traditional clothes, most of them Yi-people.
Weishan was an unexpected small pearl , not yet invaded by tourists. But in Dali it was the opposite: dozens of coaches bringing thousands of tourists to the walled ancient city or to the Three Pagodas of Chongsheng Temple.
Two days later, I arrived in famous Lijiang. At the altitude of 2400 m it is one of the most authentic Chinese towns. Even when it was raining the streets along the small canals were coverd with tourists, fortunately most of them Chinese people.
It was a beautiful ride from Lijiang to the Tiger Leaping Gorge. After paying the entrance fee, I cycled till Tina 's Guesthouse. It was hard, over a mostly unpaved road, on the left the high mountain, on the right the deep gorge. But it was unforgettable!
During two days I cycled over the high Haba mountains. I overnighted in Baishutai, a Chinese Pamukkale. The next day I climbed over three mountains, the last one till an altitude of nearly 4000 m. I saw Yi, Naxi and Bai people, and at the highest altitude I saw for the first time yaks.
After a long descend, I arrived in Shangri-la. I enjoyed the old city with the local people dancing every evening their typical Tibetan dances end the Songzanlin monastery, also called the Little Potala.
It was one of my best tours, convincing me to cycle in China again, and again and ....