Welcome to a smorgasbord of rides from the Great Wall near Beijing down to the magnificent limestone karsts in Guangxi Province in Southern China.
You can join the ride in Beijing at the Great Wall on May 7th; in Hunan (at Zhang Jia Jie of Avatar fame) on May 11th. In Guilin on the 19th, Xing Ping on the 20th, Gongcheng on the 21st, or just come to Yangshuo on the 23rd for our famous disco de wheels and a fancy dinner in the middle of countryside with music and views.
This is a celebration of serviced cycling; curated rides designed and led by passionate China hands and knowledgeable local guides. The accommodation is cosy, the routes well researched to keep you far from the highways and peddling serenely through the most rustic, most scenic and most out-there countryside that china has to offer. And it has a lot to offer!
And of course we celebrate food. Every day is a feast of fantastic local food! Book now! spaces are limited!
Tour Dates for 2020
Beijing & The Great Wall of China (6 days) Thu 7th- Tue 12th May
Hunnan (Zhangjiajie) to Guilin (9 days) Tues – Tues 19th May
Guilin to Yangshuo river towns (6 days) Tues 19 – Sunday 24th May
Xing Ping to Yangshuo (5 days) Wed 20th – Sun 24th May
Gongcheng to Yangshuo (3N/ 4D) Thur 21st- Sun 24th May
Fuli to Yangshuo (2N/3 Days) Fri 22nd -Sun 24th May
Yangshuo Bike Feast (1N/ 2D) Sat 23rd – 24th May
Whats new in 2020?
Our pre ride in 2020 is starting all the way North in Beijing on the 6th May with our “Cycle along the Great Wall of China” ride to be powered by Peking duck, Jia Jiang (vegan friendly) noodles, Shaobing, dumplings and slippery cold chilli potatoes noodles.
We ride by the wall, hike the wall, and stay near the wall, appreciating this architectural wonder – and the culture that spawned it, with a depth that few tourists get a chance to do. All the other stuff in Beijing (the Forbidden City, Hutong’s, Temple of Heaven) are pretty easy to do yourself. This is a completely unique trip that would be near impossible to do yourself.
From Beijing we head to Zhang Jia Jie and the Tianmen Mountains where Avatar was filmed.
Click on the picture below for a breathtaking photo essay of this area.
We’ll do a little hiking through these mountains before biking up and riding the stunning new route through this land of hot and sour flavours traversing the Hunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi borderlands down to Feng Huang.
Zhang Jia Jie is trul
We will arrive in Guilin on the 20th May and begin our Rivertown ride to Yangshuo at Daxu.
Or join the ride the next day 21st May from Xing Ping – we’ll pick you up from Yangshuo Station.
Or at Gongcheng station on the 22nd.
Or just come to Yangshuo town itself on the 23rd for our easy and musical ride ( with headphones and DJ’d tunes) to the Yangshuo Bike Feast – a dinner in the karsts.
The Feast
The feast is a celebration of Yangshuo’s seasonal cuisine and the landscape it is produced in — the stunning karst mountains that are home to exotic mountain herbs; the jade coloured rivers that produce yangshuo famous beer and bearish; the emerald green rice paddies that locals create the delectable and al-dente Guilin Mifen rice noodles from, the pomelo orchards (pork or mushroom stuffed steamed pomelo pith), fields of cumquats and sesames, and bitter melon and duckpins and chilli pepper farms and so much yum yum yum.
The feast will be somewhere scenic – with view of the incredible karstscape. On the day off the feast we will have a short ride with our signature disco.
Highlights
- DJ’s mobile-DJing a silent ‘disco de wheels’ disco bike-ride transmitted through wireless headphones, shifting the group-mood to the rise, fall and feel of the landscape.
- Food with a view: fabulous local food including bottomless bowls of the most delicious Guilin mifen noodles in the world – as well as the aforementioned twilit feast with karst mountain backdrop.
- A Rivertowns pre-ride from Daxu to Xing Ping and Fuli – all the important Ports on the famed-for-its-exceptional-beauty Li River.
- A Changsha, Zhang Jia jie new and off the beaten track pre pre ride through Hunnan to Guangxi .
- A Great Wall of China and beijing five day pre pre pre ride in Chinas north.
Cost
The feast (23-24 May): (USD 300) includes pick up and drop off at at Guilin Airport or Yangshuo train station to your accommodation, bikes, festival activities, meals, THE FEAST, disco de wheels, and good times.
Fuli to Fenglou 22-24 May (USD 400) includes pick up from Gongcheng or Xing Ping station, return transfers, two nights accommodation (Fuli and Fenglou), bikes, festival activities, meals, transfers , guides and good times.
Gongcheng to Fuli to Fenglou 21-24 May (600 USD) includes pick up from Gongcheng station, return transfers, 3 nights accommodation (GongCheng, Fuli and Fenglou), bikes, festival activities, meals, transfers , guides and good times.
XingPing to Gongcheng to Fuli to Fenglou 20-24 May (USD 700) includes pick up from Gongcheng station, return transfers, 4 nights accommodation (Xing Ping, GongCheng, Fuli and Fenglou), bikes, festival activities, meals, transfers , guides and good times.
Daxu to XingPing to Gongcheng to Fuli to Fenglou 19-24 May (USD 800) includes pick up from Gongcheng station, return transfers, 4 nights accommodation (Xing Ping, GongCheng, Fuli and Fenglou), bikes, festival activities, meals, transfers , guides and good times.
Changsha to Guilin/ Daxu (8 days USD 2300)
Beijing and the Great Wall (6 days USD 1500)
Support
We have a number of guides accompanying the ride which means you can ride at your own pace and not fall behind or get lost.
To be in on the disco de wheels you have to be in range of our bike riding DJ who will be riding the average pace of the majority of the group — or hanging with those who get into it the most.
Itinerary
7th May – arrive Beijing and transfer to a Hotel near the Ming Tombs north of the Beijing and out toward the Great Wall.
8th May Cycle the wild wall
9th may Cycle the wild wall .
10th May Cycle the wild wall
11th May Cycle the wild wall.
12th may Hike the wall and depart trip or fly to Zhang Jia Jie
13th May Hike Zhang Jia Jie
14th May Hike Zhang Jia Jie
15th May cycle Hunan
16th May cycle Hunan
17th May cycle Hunan
18th cycle Hunan
19th Arrive Guilin ( Joining point for Guilin to Yangshuo) – transfer to Daxu.
20th Daxu to Xing Ping – (Join here by catching a train to Yangshuo Station 3 hours from HK)
21st Xing Ping to Gongcheng (join here by catching a train to Gongcheng station, 2 hours from HK)
Friday 22nd
Gongcheng to Fuli ( join here by catching a train to either Yangshuo or Gongcheng)
23rd lazy morning – afternoon disco de wheels ride – to countryside hotel – yangshuo Bike feast ( join here by catching a train to YS station, gongcheng station or Guilin Airport)
24th – optional countryside ride for those who aren’t too hung over – departure day.
Getting there and away
Trains
China now has an amazingly fast and efficient network of trains. This trip has a number of train stations that can be used to get yourself to one of our joining points. beijing, Changsha, Guilin, Yangshuo and Gongcheng.
get your tickets on trip.com under the Trains tab.
Planes
Beijing, Changsha, Zhangjia jie, and Guilin are all possibilities for those who want to swoop in on a plane
getting Home again
The trip finishes after lunch at 3pm on the Sunday, allowing time for transfers (1.5 hours) to Guilin airport / (40 mins) to Yangshuo train station — though the festival will continue with post-ride beers in the Pomelo Garden at Jiuxian for those who want to stay on.
Who are the Yangshuo Bike Festival?
The event is operated and designed by Bruce Foreman and Scott Spencer, owners and operators respectively, of Bike Aways and Bike Asia, who have spent years in the region designing and operating biking and cultural tours across Asia. The festival was conceived with the desire to create a travel experience that didn’t quite fit the usual traditional tour mode, but by taking the best elements of traditional tours and combining these with a festival approach, the aim is to offer an event that truly celebrates the destination.
How to Join
To book, or to find more information on the festival and the pre-ride email bruce@bikeaways.com scott@bikeasia.com
