The Journeys ... The Current Trip

...and we have left the flat parts of China behind us. We are now in Qinhai Province and on the way to the Tibetan Plateau.

Since my last diary update in Hong Kong, we have taken the train to the central Chinese city of Zhengzhou. This was necessary, because China is simply to big to fit it all into the three months visa restriction.
From Zhengzhou we started to pedal west through the provinces of Henan, Shanxi and Shaanxi. This was mostly flat and we used the excess energy to climb Hua Shan (Mount Hua), one of Taoism's five sacred mountains. But that was not all with the tourist excursions, we also visited the famous Terracotta Warrior Army near Xian. Impressive enough, but to us who are not used to seeing white faces at all, the site felt like a tourist trap.

Then we eventually left the flat parts of China and started climbing up towards the Tibetan Plateau. First we had to cross through Gansu Province, a beautifully rural and semi-arid farming state in the center of China. Then we crossed into Qinhai Province. This is where we will gain some real altitude.
Xining where we are now is on approximately 2'200 meters (7,218 ft) above sea level and is still considered rather low. In the next few days, we'll climb up to Qinhai Lake, situated on over 3'000 meters (9,843 ft). We will seldom go below that altitude over the next couple of months.

Before we attempt to cross the Tibetan Plateau, I'm really looking forward to riding through the vast grassland of Qinhai Province. I hope that we will see some free-roaming camels up there. I also looking forward to ride through the 300-400 kilometers of desert just before Golmud (Geermu). That will be a first.

There are plenty of new photos in the China gallery for your viewing pleasure. We have also created a new video for the China section recently, which you can watch on the video page. And don't forget, we have a Facebook Page as well. Become a fan today!

Until the next news from somewhere high up. Take care.

Adrian