Bike trip 2007, Shanghai - Kashgar - Shanghai, 16,000km, 120 days!

My name is Peter. I am a motorcycle hobbyist from Germany. I spent US $200 on a URAL from Soviet Union like ten years ago, and drove it back to Germany. In the recent ten years, I've been working and living in China. It's a pity that I didn't have an opportunity to drive a motorcycle until my friend and I found Mr. Shao in April 2007 on their website. [Linked above.] And they have a shop in Shanghai! My friend and I, each of us bought a bike from there. The one I bought is a gray tank motorcycle of Germany with 32HP OHV engine.

After I got my bike, I took a short trip from Shanghai to Nanjing in order to get more familiar with this Chinese 32HP WWII sidecar. After the testing, I drove it around Shanghai for about 1000km. After that, I got to know it better, and at that time, I made up my mind that I wanted to drive this bike to travel around China!

So, I quit my job, prepared a bit, then started my exciting trip.

Here is the line and time of the trip:

The whole travel line:

Shanghai - Chengdu - Leshan - Ermeishan - Xiahe - Lanzhou - Qinghai Lake South - Golmud - Hami - Turpan - Wulumuqi - Kashgar - Kunjerab, Pakistan Border - South Silk Road, Hotan - Qinghai Lake North - Lanzhou - Xian - Shanghai.

More details for line and time:

Shanghai to Chengdu, 14 days, 3100km

Starting 2.8.2007, leaving Shanghai on the 318 (Guodao), reaching AnhuiProvince on the second day. The landscape shows green hills and rice fields in between. Passing the great landscape of Huangshan. Further

travelling to JiangxiProvince with tea plantations in sight.

The 311 Guodao is perfect for biking, less cars and great views. The 306 leading to higher mountains, (Mu Fu Shan, 1596m) the bikes run hot and need a rest at 40km. Temperature is around 35 degrees. On the fifth day reaching HunanProvince and LakeDongting.

In HunanProvince, ride on the first dirt roads (303) which are the smaller roads on the map. No hotel in between the cities so sleep in the tent near a huge cave.

On the seventh day, arrive HubeiProvince. The Landscape is amazing with hills and gorges. Take the 209 and and again on the 318 to ChongqinProvince.

On the twelfth day, arriving in Wanzhou near the YangtseRiver.

On the thirteenth day, the wheels are on Sichuan Roads. On the fifteenth day, in the morning, the statue of Mao is greeting man and machine.

Chengdu to Lanzhou, 20 days, 2700km

After four days rest in Chengdu, together with the pandas and getting my gearbox repaired, heading to the Big Buddha in Leshan. On the 21st. day, eye to eye with the tallest Buddha ever seen.

Next day, already in Er Mei Shan to spend a couple of days walking the peaks and enjoy the monasteries.

Escaping the monkeys from Emei Shan on the 210, spotting rice terraces and getting on mountain dirt roads with landslides further on the 210. Passing peaks of 3500m near the FourSistersNational Park and WolongNational Park. Great battle with muddy road in rain on a hardcore level.

On the 30th. day, reaching the Qinghai Plateau driving to JiuzaigouNational Park. The bike still running great, just need to change some spokes from time to time.

A week later, arrive in magnificent XiaheGansuProvince, as well called Little Tibet, to chat with a monk, walk around the city to roll the prayer drums.

After 40 days travelling, arrive Lanzhou, need a new sidecar axle bcause I broke mine on a dirt road in Sichuan. I just stopped another CJ750 driver on the road to ask him where get spares.

Lanzhou to Wulumuqi, 13 days, 2600km

Lanzhou to Xining and then to the south bank of the QinghaiLake, great scenery and mystical skies.

Passing peaks higher then 3800m in QinghaiProvince and following the 109 to Golmud, the oil city in the desert.

On the 44th. day, arriving Golmud and getting the last gas out of plastic bottles. This road kicked my mind into the biker birvana finally with a road leading into a sun setting onto the road leading west.

Studied the situation and decided go up north to Xinjiang and skip Tibet for the time being. Desert, sand dunes and sand storms leading me further into Xinjiang following the Silk Route to Dunhuang, Hami, Turpan Urumqi.

Wulumuqi to Kasgar and Kunjerab Pass on the Pakistan Border, ten days, 1600km

The road from Wulumuqi to Kasgar is leading along the northern Silk Road and gives you room for your imagination of Marco Polo. When you're on this kind of bike you may fall asleep during the next Indiana Jones Movie. Kasghar is a world for its own and the road to Karakul Lake is leading to another planet with Mt. Gonga (7700m) and Mt. Muztag Ata (7500m) surrounding the lake.

The mighty bike arrives in Tashgurkan and the old fort hasen't seen this kind of bare metal on three wheels for quite a long time.

		After 79 days on the road and showing 11,312km on the watch, I stand on the KunjerabPass at 4700m, together with the combined forces of the Pakistani army and the Chinese border troops, for the greatest bike show this famous border post has seen. Kunjerab - Hotan South Silk Road - Xining- Qinghai Lake North Bank - Lanzhou - Xian - Shanghai, 45 days, 6000km

To get the bike out of China you need an export license, so spend a couple of days there without the bike. Then the northern Silk Road to Xining which was the toughest part of road during the trip. Gas supply is critical and the road under construction. This goes for a cool 800km. Cold night in the tent with minus degrees round up the final stage to be a real hard ass.

The rest is downhill to go back into the lower warmer areas of Lanzhou to get the bike maintained there. Stopover in Xian and finally arrive Shanghai after a 16,000km on tour in 120 days.

This is a very interesting and challenging and of course exciting trip. It brought me so much fun.

There were two big problems that I met during this trip: 1. Because I broke my sidecar axle on a dirt road in Sichuan, I had to change a new one. 2. I changed the tire six times (Mr. Shao suggested to use the Zheng Xin tire which is made in Taiwan because of its high quality, but I wanted my bike to look more like a WWII sidecar, so I chose a cross-country tire, but the quality was terrible since I need to change it so often. Next time I will install the one that Mr.Shao suggests.

The other things were all fine. The engine did not do anything wrong during the trip!!! It ran so perfectly!

Meanwhile, I want to thank Mr. Shao and his staff for restoring such a high quality sidecar for me. They are all respectable and we are now very good friends!

I am expeting to drive my bike back to Germany from China!!!