I’ve just completed a two week bicycle tour from Shangri-La in Yunnan to Kangding in Sichuan. The last four days have been on the 318 highway that runs from Chengdu to Lhasa.
I just did the section eastward from where I joined the 318 at Litang. Each day involved crossing st least one pass over 4000m in altitude.
Amazing scenery but what also struck me was the huge number of Chinese cyclists doing the 318 in the east to west direction. I must have seen at least 50 a day, often more. I know because my hand got tired of waving at them all as they passed by.
Most were riding solo but there were a few groups. A real mix of ages, sexes and gear. Their setups varied from minimalist professional bike packers to everything-but-the-kitchen-sink overloaded types, and some seat-of-the-pants cyclists on crappy bikes who seemed dangerously underequipped for the extremes of weather and altitude.
The 318 highway is now lined with guesthouses and restaurants aimed at the huge volume of touring cyclists (and motorcyclists).
Just wondering if there is another road in the world that sees so much touring cyclist traffic?
(PS: I also did not see a single western cyclist throughout the whole trip).
by DevelopmentLow214
3 Comments
Parts of the European cycling routes along rivers, like [EV6](https://en.eurovelo.com/ev6) and [EV15](https://en.eurovelo.com/ev15), as well as the [Vennbahn](https://www.vennbahn.eu/), see hoards of bike tourists. Impossible to say whether it’s more or less than the 318 highway since no one has made reliable measurements.
Glad you enjoyed it! It seems the Highway 318 is always one of the most scenic and iconic drives going into Tibet. So, countless people are taking the route either in their cars or on their bikes. With the infrastructure getting better these years, I can only imagine it encourages more people to go.
Don’t know, I don’t know figures for other popular routes but based on the buzz about some other popular routes that are heavily marketed and organized tours I would not bet on it. That said, it is part of the modern recreation of the ancient tea and horse trail and very high profile within China. So yeah, I also wouldn’t bet against it.