Sichuan → Yunnan · On-road · Rental or own bike
The ride that goes looking for the Lost Horizon - from the pandas of Wolong across Kham to the three holy peaks of Yading, then down into Yunnan for Tiger Leaping Gorge, Lijiang and the matriarchal shore of Lugu Lake.
*Day 11 mileage unavailable; complete journey distance unknown.
The ride
James Hilton never came to China. He wrote Lost Horizon in 1933 from Joseph Rock’s articles and photographs in National Geographic, and invented a valley that half of Asia has been claiming ever since. This ride crosses the country he was reading about.
It starts with pandas at Wolong and the Four Sisters mountain, climbs through Danba and Tagong into Kham, and reaches Yading - Chenresig, Jambeyang and Chanadorje, the three peaks Rock photographed. Then it drops south across the Jinsha into Yunnan: the first bend of the river at Benzilan, Sumzanlin Monastery above Shangri-La town, the White Water Terraces where Dongba religion began, and Tiger Leaping Gorge under a four-thousand-meter wall.
A full day in Lijiang, then Lugu Lake and the Mosuo, who have kept a matrilineal society intact, and finally Xichang in the Yi country of Liangshan, where the bikes go back and you fly home. Four minority cultures, two provinces, one legend.
Where it goes, and which altitude references are known
Approved China vector geography; tour connections are schematic. Road context © OpenStreetMap contributors via Geofabrik · ODbL · Road extract.
Destinations, featured visits and stated passes.
Points show day destinations, featured visits or a stated pass. Lines are schematic, not a terrain profile; gaps mark missing heights. Mountain summits are excluded. Select a day for destination, visit and pass elevations.
Surrounding geography: Natural Earth (public domain). Road context © OpenStreetMap contributors via Geofabrik · ODbL · Scoped context road extract.
Arrive Chengdu
Arrive in Chengdu. The Wide and Narrow Alleys in the afternoon, then tea in the People’s Park - bamboo chair, covered bowl, no hurry.
Destination: Chengdu · 500 m · approximate elevation
Medical · motorcycle license
Physical examination and temporary Chinese driving license.
Destination: Chengdu · 500 m · approximate elevation
Chengdu → Dujiangyan → Wolong → Siguniang Shan
Into the Wolong National Nature Reserve - 200,000 hectares, a UNESCO biosphere, and the Shenshuping base with around fifty giant pandas. Through the Balang Shan tunnel, and the Four Sisters at sunset from Maobiliang.
Destination: Siguniang Shan · 3,134 m · approximate elevation
Siguniang Shan → Shuangqiao → Wori Tusi → Danba
Sunrise over Siguniang, then a soft hike in the Shuangqiao valley. Past the Wori Tusi Manor to Danba and the Gyarong village of Jiaju, a hundred houses of the same red, white and black scattered up the slope.
Destination: Danba · 2,266 m · approximate elevation
Danba → Bamei → Tagong → Yajiang
Huiyuan Temple seen from the road at Bamei, then Lhagang Monastery at Tagong, ringed by three hills. Gyergo Nunnery and the great mani wall of Hepingfahui, with Zhara Lhatse (5,820 m) above. On over the ridges to Yajiang.
Featured visit: Tagong · 3,729 m · approximate elevation; Destination: Yajiang · Elevation unavailable
Yajiang → Litang → Mt Haizi → Daocheng → Shangri-La Town
Litang Monastery - Bön until the Third Dalai Lama converted it to Gelug in 1580. Then over Mt Haizi and past Daocheng to the Yading gateway, under Chenresig (6,032 m), Jambeyang and Chanadorje (5,958 m). Scenery that stands comparison with Yellowstone.
Featured visit: Litang · 4,014 m; Destination: Shangri-La Town (Riwa) · Elevation unavailable; Pass / traversal: Mt Haizi · Elevation unavailable
Riwa → Yading visits → Riwa
Vehicle transfer into Yading, then hiking to Chonggu, Dumu Lake and Luorong pasture. Return to Riwa. Hiking distance and time are unavailable. The listed 69 km / 1 h 45 is an unsplit travel allowance, not motorcycle mileage or a hiking total.
Featured visit: Yading hiking visits · Elevation unavailable; Destination: Shangri-La Town (Riwa) · Elevation unavailable
Shangri-La Town → Qingde → Xiangcheng → Derong
South through Qingde and Xiangcheng, where the traditional Tibetan houses are painted white and stand square against the hillsides. On to Derong.
Destination: Derong · Elevation unavailable
Derong → Benzilan → first bend of the Jinsha → Shangri-La
Through the Hengduan range along the Jinsha, the upper Yangtze, and into Yunnan. A stop at Benzilan for the first great bend of the river. Then Shangri-La - formerly Zhongdian, 3,280 m - and Sumzanlin Monastery, founded by the Fifth Dalai Lama in 1679, modelled on the Potala and home to some eight hundred monks.
Destination: Shangri-La city · 3,280 m; Featured visit: Sumzanlin Monastery · Elevation unavailable
Shangri-La → Baishuitai → Tiger Leaping Gorge → Lijiang
The White Water Terraces at the foot of Haba Snow Mountain, birthplace of Dongba culture. Then Tiger Leaping Gorge - fifteen kilometers long under a wall four thousand meters high, one of the deepest canyons anywhere - and a walk in it. Into Lijiang at 2,416 m beneath Jade Dragon Mountain.
Destination: Lijiang · 2,416 m; Featured visit: Baishuitai · Elevation unavailable; Featured visit: Tiger Leaping Gorge · Elevation unavailable
Lijiang city visits · motorcycle: Lijiang → Baisha → Yuhu → Lijiang
A full day. The old town, UNESCO-listed in 1997, and the view over its roofs from the Wangu Pavilion on Lion Hill. Black Dragon Pool, with Jade Dragon Mountain reflected in it, and the Dongba Culture Museum. In the afternoon ride out to the Ming murals at Baisha - Buddhist, Taoist and Lamaist figures in a single image - and to Joseph Rock’s house at Yuhu.
Destination: Lijiang · 2,416 m; Featured visits: Baisha / Yuhu · Elevation unavailable
Lijiang → Lugu Lake
An early start for Lugu Lake, home of the Mosuo, who have kept a matrilineal society intact through everything. In the afternoon out on the water, and a visit to a family house.
Destination: Lugu Lake · Elevation unavailable
Lugu Lake → Xichang
Down to Xichang, capital of the Liangshan Yi prefecture and China’s satellite launch base. The Slave Society Museum is the only one of its kind in the country. Then the lacquerware street - Yi lacquer is national intangible heritage - and a walk by Qionghai Lake. The bikes go back this evening.
Destination: Xichang · Elevation unavailable
Airport vehicle transfer · flight Xichang → Chengdu
Vehicle transfer to Xichang airport, then fly to Chengdu. Transfer distance and flight time are unavailable.
Arrival city: Chengdu · 500 m · approximate elevation
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