Why China ?

"Race Across the World" 2025 (BBC iPlayer) opened our eyes. The scenery of Southern China looked spectacular!

Also: for the top banter from our baggage handler at Manchester Airport, re: "taking bikes to China?!" 🤣

Our Route

We're aiming to pedal from Xi'an (in the centre of China) to Shangri-La (in the southwest).

The Journey

Just as well we'd decided to spend a few days as regular tourists, as our bicycles were mysteriously impounded by Shanghai Airport Customs 🙈 Possibly due to confusion about import duty, although the reason was never clarified. Happily, they were delivered to our hotel in Xi'an a couple of days later, at no extra charge 😅

We started in Xi'an, for access to the Terracotta Army.

Then took a cheeky bullet train up to Beijing, to see the Great Wall. It was breathtaking.

Above: The Shuiguan section of the Great Wall was amazingly quiet - just a few km away from busy Badaling.

In Beijing city itself: Xiangshan Park (below) in late October was crazy busy. The long yomp up Xianglu Peak gave fair views, but not the autumnal kaleidoscope promised. The prettiest section was from the North Gate Entrance up to the Fragrant Hills Pagoda. Leave the rest of it to the crowds.

The Forbidden City (Beijing's imperial palace complex, below) was vast and impressive. We managed to get on-the-day tickets by arriving early and queuing. Passports were required as ID. 

The acrobatic show at Beijing Red Theatre (below) was mind-blowing. 

And finally, back to Xi'an to start pedalling !

Heading west out of the city: a couple of steady days with good (if chaotic) bike/moped lanes.

Then: with some trepidation, heading south out of Baoji to cross the Qinling Mountains ...

Food & Accommodation

Cycling China: Ups & Downs

🤗 Public transport was cheap, efficient and user-friendly. 
We used the subway, buses and intercity bullet trains to reach the big tourist spots before starting our cycle tour.

Taxis were also very cheap, accessing the Uber-equivalent "Didi" via the "Alipay" app. Be wary of unmetered taxi charges.

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🙈 Internet access to Western sites is blocked by China's "Great Firewall". Google (also Maps, Translate, Gmail), WhatsApp, app downloads and even some banking apps won't work reliably with a Chinese SIM card 🤯

Check our "Practical Pointers" (below) before you travel !

Practical Pointers

There's a LOT to get your head around in China.
A little preparation *ahem* will go a long way !

⭐️ Visa: not as painful as it sounds, but at the time of writing (Oct 2025) began with an online application including flight and hotel details (we just used OneWayFly and a refundable hotel booking for our arrival date only); then a visit to the Chinese Embassy (we used Manchester) for fingerprinting and payment (£130 each); then a return visit 3 days later to collect our passports. 
We weren't questioned about our itinerary or anything else.

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⭐️ Internet access to Western sites is a challenge.

We downloaded two different paid-for VPNs before travel (including the premium "Express VPN"), but neither worked well and we can't recommend this strategy.

Luckily, eSIM data seemed to bypass the firewall completely.
Check that your phone is eSIM-compatible, as some are not ! 

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⭐️ Don't rely on card or cash payments, as these are NOT widely used in China 🤯

Everyone (even on market stalls) uses payment apps instead.

Download "WeChat" and "Alipay" before you travel. You can then link your bank card to the app ("WeChat" activation needs approval from a friend in China, our hotel staff helped us with this). 

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⭐️ Download the excellent "Gaode Maps/Amap" (for navigation) and "Trip.com" (hotel bookings and much more) apps prior to travel.

Even with full internet access, Western equivalents just don't work well in China.

The "Baidu Translate" app is also useful.

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⭐️ Certain power banks are completely banned from Chinese flights, even in the cabin (ours were confiscated at Shanghai Airport, before we boarded our connecting flight to Xi'an).

Check yours are compliant, or leave them at home.

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⭐️ ID checks are standard when boarding trains and visiting tourist sites: always carry that passport !

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