Shaxi to Dali

This is the fifth and final part of a cycling and hiking tour around Yunnan in China. Click the links for part one, part two part three and part four.

I split this ride into two days, staying at the spa town of Eryuan on the way to Dali. The morning was the coldest weather of my entire trip, with temperatures around 5°C when I set off at 10:30am. I knew the day began with a long climb, so I wasn't too worried about the cold yet, but I was slightly concerned that my hands would freeze on the long descent from the top.



I had also come down with mild food poisoning in Shaxi and was struggling to digest much, so felt a bit low on energy. The day began by crossing the old bridge out of Shaxi and I was almost straight into the climb.





This would be the final climb of my trip in China and it was quite an easy one. It was long, but the gradients were rarely steeper than about 6%, and there were also some longer flat sections. There wasn't much traffic, just a few tourists driving up to enjoy views of the lake and snow capped mountains.

The views are mostly on the descent towards Eryuan - the climb itself passes through a couple of villages and then heads through sparse forest. The sun was hidden behind a thin layer of cloud, which made for cold conditions and, as I approached 3,000m altitude, snow was piled up at the side of the road. The surface itself though was fine.

As I reached the pass, I was relieved to see the sun come out and the temperature instantly increased by about 10°C. This made for a very enjoyable descent, with great views of Eryuan lake and high mountain peaks. It was a fast and fun descent without any technical difficulty.



In the valley I followed a very pleasant flat road alongside the canal. I was feeling low on energy so went at a pretty slow pace (hampered further by a modest head wind). I passed the town of Eryuan itself and rode a short section on the main road which was wide and very safe, before arriving at my hotel.

The hotel was in a part of Eryuan famous for its warm natural spas. The hotel I was in apparently had seven different swimming pools from the natural waters. I would have loved to relax in them but I wasn't feeling great so headed out for something to eat and then spent the remainder of the day resting in the hotel. Apart from the thermal spa, there wasn't a whole lot to see or do in Eryuan. If I had been feeling better, I would probably have tried to continue to Shuanglang, which looks like a more picturesque town, nestled on the north-eastern side of Erhai lake.



The following morning I left Eryuan and took backroads through fields of spring onions and garlic. I passed through a huge local market, where hundreds of locals were shopping with large bins attached to their back, which they were filling up with fresh fruit, vegetables and other local produce.

It took quite a long time to navigate through, but then I was out in the countryside, navigating back roads to avoid the main highway, until I reached the edge of Erhai Lake.

Erhai is a huge lake, stretching around 40km north to south. There is a cycle lane around much of the lake - I think the entire circuit is close to 120km. My plan was to just ride the western side of the lake down to Dali.



I was looking forward to riding the cycle lane along the lake - not having to worry about traffic and enjoying beautiful views. In reality though, I didn't enjoy it that much. It was super touristy the whole way, with shops, restaurants, bars and thousands of tourists riding electric scooters, which made for slightly slow going at times. I did see a few local roads cyclists trying to slalom through the crowds.

I certainly preferred the tranquility of the mountains and rural areas, but for families or people who just want to ride a few kilometres along the lake without cars it is a great facility. The town of Xizhou is one notable stop on the way, which is kind of like a smaller version of Dali.

I stopped for an overpriced coffee so I could admire the lake view, before heading into Dali old town.



Dali is the largest city in this region and is where most visitors arrive, as it has very regular train connections to big cities like Kunming, Chongqing and Chengdu.

It was noticeably more busy than Lijiang, and the pedestrianised center was smaller, making it feel even more crowded. Some people say Dali has been less reconstructed than other old towns in the area, but I saw some photos from the 1980s and it looks very, very different today.

That's not to say it was unpleasant though. I enjoyed exploring the streets and occasionally stumbling across hidden temples, as well as interestingly designed churches and a mosque.

I stayed in Dali for three nights and would really liked to have done some hiking in Cangshan mountain, which looms imperiously over the town. But I was still feeling a bit weak from food poisoning, so chose to take it easy instead.

I did make one trip out to the edge of the mountains and the Three Pagodas complex, which was the former capital of the Dali Kingdom, and a huge site filled with Daoist temples. Again, most of it was reconstructed, but it gave a feel for what the town would have been like 1200 years ago.



My tour ended with a short ride along the lake from Dali old town to Dali train station. Here I had booked to take the train to Kunming, where I would stay for a few days before flying to Bangkok to continue cycling in Thailand.

I knew that bicycles wouldn't be allowed on the train, but had read that I should be able to send them by consignment service, or through the company China Railway Express, which was located at the station. As it turned out, the train didn't offer a consignment service and China Railway Express said the bike could take up to a week to be delivered.

I then went to a different delivery office, belonging to the company SF Express. They confirmed that they could send the bike by next day delivery directly to my hotel in Kunming (cost around 120 RMB); however, the bicycle needed to be in a box.

So my next step was to go to a bike shop to get a box. I rode towards Xinsheng Road in Dali, where I could see a lot of bike shops were situated (close to the Olympic Sports Center). There I found a Trek shop who were incredibly helpful. They provided a box and packed the bike for me for a small fee and then they filled in the SF Express consignment bill on my behalf (which was helpful because it was all in Chinese).

At this point I was running late for my train, so the lady at the bike shop said not to worry - that she would pay for the SF Express bill when the courier arrived (which could take an hour or so), and she would confirm the cost later and I could pay her remotely via Wechat. So, I left for the station and made it onto the train. A short while later, the lady from the bike shop sent a message on Wechat confirming the bike had been picked up and sent me the tracking number - I refunded her the amount she had paid to SF Express. The next day, the bike arrived at my hotel in Kunming!

This kind of interaction was fairly typical of those I had in the Yunnan region, with people being extremely helpful and going out of their way to help. Here is the location of the bike shop, in case you are in Dali and need assistance! In future, I would get the box the night before and just arrange SF Express delivery myself from bike shop to hotel!



I stayed four nights in Kunming before flying to Thailand. Kunming is a big city by western standards (around 6 million people), but is considered relatively provincial for China. It was nice to explore and had some good hiking around the lake, I would recommend visiting for a few days. It is also home to a spectacular stone forest, around 100km from the city.

From my hotel in the central Wuhua district of the city, I used an app called Huolala to transfer to me to the airport. Huolala is like Uber, but with vans. You simply book one and about 15 minutes later it turned up. It was cheap and worked well, with my bike box fitting comfortably in the back (I was concerned it wouldn't fit even in a large six seater taxi).

I thoroughly enjoyed the tour around Yunnan and would certainly like to return to China one day. Maybe next time I will head to Sichuan - I think that a ride between Chengdu and Chongqing (via Leshan) would be enjoyable with a lot of cultural interest.


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Overview - Yunnan Tour Overview


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