"Explore the changing landscapes, tea horse trading towns and unique cultures along southern China's ancient trading route to South East Asia."
Our newest tour covers the region between Yunnan's capital, Kunming, and Jinghong, the regional centre of Xishuangbanna on the Laos and Burma borders. Our route takes us through several autonomous regions that are home to many ethnic minorities including the Hani, Dai and Yi among others. These mountain people are traditional growers of rice, tea and tobacco and their ability to prosper in mountainside landscapes may be best represented by the vast Yuanyang rice terraces, the world’s largest. The region once prospered through trade with routes established from Honghe Yisa Old Town, a gateway route to South East Asia as well as routes up the Red River from Hanoi and overland to Kunming. We'll cycle sections of both these old trading lines and visit the ancient towns that prospered from them as well as the the minority villagers whose toil produced the goods that traversed them.
Blessed with a year long temperate climate, this region is a perfect destination for cycling across all seasons (save for the peak rainy periods) with winter, which is dry and pleasant, making it a perfect escape from the northern cold. Quiet backroads through a variety of terrain such as dense jungles, forests, mountains and tea and rice growing regions offer superb cycling. There are some long climbs on this tour, as is to be expected in such mountainous terrain, but these are balanced by equally long downhills! Plenty of time has been allocated to complete each days ride at a reasonable pace whilst still being able to stop and to take in the experience and surroundings along the way. A support vehicle is also available for those that wish to take a ride whenever they wish. This tour is designed to be accessible to those with a reasonable level of cycling fitness and an interest in exploring beyond the usual tourist offerings.
This trip starts in Kunming and finishes in Jinhong, Yunnan Province, China. Kunming airport (Code KMG) is an international airport with connections across Asia as well as most cities in China. Jinhong (Code JHG) is a small airport with connections across China. Kunming and Jinhong are also connected by a high speed train line.
To check flight details, times and costs we can recommend the following website: Trip.com. It has all language options, is reliable, and you can pay for these flights by credit card.
Airport/ train station pick ups and drop offs are included in the tour price. Please make sure you give us details of your arrival and departure, including flight details, date and time, so we can arrange your transfers.
Once we have recieved your booking and deposit we'll send you a Tour INFO PACK that will include tour notes, training tips, preparation info and joining point instructions. If you have any questions about the tour at all please don't hesitate to contact us.
Arriving early or want to stay on after the tour ends? No problem! Just let us know if you'd like to book extra accommodation in the tour hotel at either the start or finish of the tour and we will arrange it for you. Just include your request on the booking form.
For additional information regarding guides, accommodation and sleeping arrangements, cycling grades, food, bikes, etc you can head over to our About section to see more about how we run our tours.
