We arrived in Lijiang after a few tough days of cycling through the mountains, so we decided to have a rest day. We strolled through the small narrow streets of the ancient town and had some amazing dumplings. Leaving Lijiang meant more climbing on our bikes. You really start not liking those bridges over some silly little river that make you cycle all the way down and back up on the other side again. We found a spot to camp for the night further down in a valley as it was pretty cold up on the hill. Our climb the next day wasn't too bad, but the usually enjoyable downhill part wasn't enjoyable at all. They rebuilt the road, which meant lots of potholes in the beginning and a couple of construction sites to cross while the road was only covered in gravel. We were rather slow, but it was still better to cycle it down then up the hill. At the end of the road, we saw that from this side coming the road was even closed - makes sense. Anyway, we got through and enjoyed a noodle soup afterwards.
The next day we climbed back up on a hill, what a surprise. By the way, climbing means around 3-6 hours cycling up the hill, not extremely steep, just slow and steady. On our last day into Xichang we cycled through a beautiful and small valley and after a bit of an uphill part, we could roll down into the town. We enjoyed another day off to give our tired legs a rest.
Of course we had to climb another hill to leave town again, another 5h of creeping up that hill. But on the other side of the hill we entered a stunning, unexpected gorge. High walls on either side, waterfalls coming down and the river next to the road. That's why you climb those hills :).
After another night in the tent we needed water and stopped to ask at a house along the road. We got some water, but also got invited for a big second breakfast, it was amazing. It's crazy what a good time you can have with people you can't really communicate with. It was rather early, but we also got some beers and went into the orange orchard on the other side of the road to get some fresh fruit. Selfies and pictures with everybody would take a lot of time as well. They showed us some local dances afterwards and we watched them play cards while it was raining outside - what a timing. In the early afternoon we decided to keep going. The plan was to keep following the river until we get to Yibin, but we had to realize that a part of the road was closed for cyclists. Instead, we had to change the route and go back through the mountains. After a 600m climb we reached Leibo and as it was pretty late already, without having that many kilometers done, we decided to look for a hotel. It's sometimes hard to find a hotel spontaneously as a foreign person. We supposedly found a hotel and we checked in, had a shower and settled down when they told us that we can't stay and have to leave as they cannot accommodate foreigners there. They recommended a hotel, but of course it was more expensive than this one. After some discussions we got super lucky. One guy of the hotel said that they are going to pay for the night in a different hotel. Great! He showed us the way, helped us check in and carry our bags and then, he also invited us for dinner in his restaurant. We had a really fun evening together with him and his family, lots of food and many drinks. In the end, it all turned out better than we could have imagined.
Looking forward to more of China :).
Jonas, Droni and Vroni
