Redesigned

China: Sichuan Heritage by Bicycle

DestinationsChina
Tour MeetsChengdu
Tour EndsChengdu
Fly in toChengdu Shuangliu International Airport (CTU)
Fly out ofChengdu Shuangliu International Airport (CTU)
Group Size2-16 riders
Minimum Age18 (on scheduled departures)
276kmTotal cycling distance
55kmAvg distance / day
593mAvg climbing / day

Trip Profile

We start the tour in Chengdu and from here we visit the first tour highlight, the Dujiangyan Panda Valley. This new centre offers refuge for these magnificent, rare animals with rearing and breeding programmes. These giant pandas are the symbol of China, and the research centre provides education and raises awareness of the plight of these great creatures and their environment. Our tour then moves on to discover the two ancient towns. Then it’s on to Mengding Mountain, famous for its tea culture where we take a walk in the Mengdingshan Royal Tea Gardens: a delight with its atmospheric pavilions and walking paths. China’s tea growing history can be traced back to the Western Han Dynasty over 2,000 years ago. Reputed to be the birthplace of Chinese tea cultivation, tea trees planted at Mengding by a herdsman were believed to be the very beginning of China's tea history. We next visit UNESCO Heritage listed Mount Emei, one of China's Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains and traditionally regarded as a place of enlightenment. The unsurpassed views are one of the great spectacles of Mount Emei and is yet another high point of the tour in every sense of the word! The ride then follows the river to the town of many temples, Leshan. Our last day takes us on a walk through bamboo forests and to Huang Long Xi, a picturesque town where many Chinese movies have been filmed.

Suitability: There are climbs and downhill runs, but they are all on paved roads so a smooth steady effort is possible. Being physically fit will of course be a huge asset. This tour is partially supported in that a vehicle will follow but will only have room for a few cyclists at a time.

Biking Conditions: This bike tour is all on smooth, paved roads. There are some climbs, and these could be a challenge for those without a moderate level of cycling experience and a basic level of good physical condition.

What's Included

  • SpiceRoads jersey
  • Water bottle
  • Support vehicle
  • Guide(s)
  • Meals (as indicated)
  • Airport drop off
  • Accommodation
  • Snacks and drinks

What's Excluded

  • International flights
  • Domestic flights
  • Airport pick up
  • Visa fees
  • Alcohol
  • Tips

Nuts & Bolts

Bikes

Included in this tour are well-known makes of mountain bikes

If you bring your own bike, please make sure it is a mountain bike, preferably with front suspension, in good mechanical order.

We also have E-Bikes available for hire. but they are limited in number & size - please send an email to us to check on availability.

Bike Repairs

Basic spares and tools are carried by the guide and on the support vehicle, though we cannot guarantee having spares for every conceivable problem. Carrying a basic tool kit, a spare tube and a pump while riding is recommended.

Safety

Wearing a helmet is required on all our biking adventures and is non negotiable. If you do not wear a helmet you will not be allowed to cycle. Your tour leader is trained in first aid and emergency rescue, but to a large degree you must be responsible for your own safety while riding. It is therefore compulsory that you take out travel insurance that will cover you for a mountain biking tour.

Guides

You will be led by a local English-speaking guide and if the group is 9 people or more we will add another guide to the tour. All our guides are well informed in the history, culture and religions of the area where you are biking and are skilled at passing that knowledge on to you. Your guide is also medically trained and an experienced cyclist, able to handle most minor repairs en route.

The Nitty Gritty

Passports and Visas

All nationalities are required to possess a valid passport.

Citizens of some countries are now eligible for 15- or 30-day visa-exempt periods when visiting China. Please see this article for more details. If in doubt about your requirements, we strongly advise checking with your local Chinese embassy or consulate before your departure.

For other countries, an entry visa is required to enter the PRC. Most travelers will seek a type L visa, stemming from the Chinese word: luxing (travel). This letter is stamped directly onto the visa. Visas are easily obtainable from most Chinese embassies or consulates abroad and issued within 3 to 5 days from application. Express visas are available for an additional fee. If you are applying for a visa by mail, it can take 3 to 4 weeks for approval. Most nationalities qualify for a 30 day visa which is activated on your first day in China, and must be used within 3 months of its issuance. There are also 60 and 90 day visas available. The 90 day visas where once difficult to get but are now more easily obtainable. A Chinese visa covers virtually the entire country with the exception of some restricted areas and Tibet.

Health

Recommended vaccinations include: Adult diphtheria and tetanus, Hepatitis A and B, Measles, mumps and rubella, Typhoid, Varicella, Influenza, Japanese B encephalitis, Pneumonia, Rabies, and Tuberculosis. If you are arriving from a country infected with Yellow Fever, a certificate is required within six days. Please speak to your doctor for the most up to date information.

Weather

China is a big country with a massive land and the climates is extremely diverse that varies from region to region. The climate of China at the north is mostly subtropical during summer and very cold in winter. Only a few months have an intense raining and often cause flooding at the central and southern part of China. The overall temperature can range from 6°C to 31°C which in some parts of China is freezing as low as -4°C and some region with high temperature that can rise up to 35°C. Therefore it is hard to summarize the climate in general but it is possible to divide into different regions where we tour.

Chengdu, Sichuan This area has a subtropical monsoon climate. It is fairly warm in the winter, dry in the spring, hot in the summer, and rainy in the autumn. The average temperature in January is 5-8 degrees Celsius (41-46 degree Fahrenheit). The average temperature in July is 25-29 degrees Celsius (77-84 degrees Fahrenheit). There are 250 to 300 cloudy and rainy days a year in the plain. The rainy season extends from May through September, and the dry season extends from October through April.

Kham Tibet

The Western Sichuan plateau areas are quite cool and have an average annual temperature of less than 8 degrees Celsius. The climate can be summarized as a late spring, a short summer, a short autumn and a cold winter. The average temperature is 5 degrees below zero in January, 5 to 10 degrees in April, 10 to 15 degrees in June and 5 degrees in October. Spring is from May to June when normally the snow will melt up on the mountain tops. July and August are the rainy season, with the average temperature range from 20 °C (65 °F) and 28 °C (83 °F) during daytime. Autumn comes in early September and winter can come by November.

Yunnan

Weather in Yunnan is considered the warmest part of China compared to other regions where we cycle from Kunming to Shangri-La in this region. An average daily high temperature is only 24°C. The climate is almost moderate but there is still some months with high humidity. Hot season temperature's range is only 22°C to 25°C from March to September, making May and June the hottest. Cold season occurs for the whole year with temperature ranging from only 3°C to highest at only 17°C making January and December the freezing month. Rainy season starts in May and ends in October with an intense raining for June, July and August.

Food

Meals are included as per the itinerary where B = breakfast, L = lunch, D = dinner. Most meals are some variety of traditional Chinese dishes. The staple of any meal in China is either rice or noodles, and most meals will include these. Chinese cuisine is world famous and we make sure our meals allow you to sample as much variety as possible including local specilaties. Any special dietary requirements can also be catered for as well. Please let us know at the time of booking.

Drink

Keeping you completely hydrated is a job we take very seriously. Cold water, some energy-restoring local fruit and soft drinks are included in the tour price. Beer is freely available everywhere in China, but is NOT included in the price.

Solo Travelers

SpiceRoads does not require you to pay a surcharge for travelling alone. We will arrange for you to share accommodation with another traveller of the same gender and if we can not match you up we will provide a single room at no extra charge. If you prefer not to share a single supplement is payable to guarantee your own room. The cost of the single supplement is listed above.

Extra Expenses

We recommend that you tuck away a few extra dollars, perhaps US$10, for incidentals.

Money

Renminbi can be exchanged for foreign currency or travelers checks at border crossings, international airports, branches of the Bank of China, tourist hotels and some large department stores. The official rate is given almost everywhere and the exchange charge is standardized, so there is little need to shop around for the best deal. ATMs are common in all sizable towns and cities and you can use Visa, Master Card, Cirrus, Maestro, Plus and American Express (AmEx) to withdraw cash but there is a maximum daily withdrawal amount.

General booking info

If this is the tour for you here's what you need to do to confirm your place:

FLEXIBLE BOOKING CONDITIONS

Booking a SpiceRoads cycling adventure is easy and we try to do everything possible to make sure you have full flexibility and peace of mind. We do not require a deposit to hold your place on a tour and once full payment has been made your money is protected in our client account and you have the flexibility to cancel or change your booking if needed.

CONFIRMING YOUR BOOKING

Just complete our online booking form or send your booking details offline (email or post), and we will confirm your participation. No deposit is needed to confirm your place on a SpiceRoads tour.

You are advised to read our Booking Conditions in full before you make your payment and should you require further clarifications of any of the conditions below, please email us or call our office.

TRIP STATUS

There is a minimum number of participants (usually 2) required to enable the trip to go ahead. Once the minimum number is reached, the trip status will change from 'Available' to 'Guaranteed to Depart'. Once a trip is guaranteed to depart you are free to book your flights and make other travel arrangements. If the trip status is ‘Limited’ will mean we have only a small number of spaces available for booking. If you are unsure about the trip status, please email us or call our office.

BOOKING ONLINE

From the tour page, click the 'Book Now' link. All departures for this tour will appear, just select the date you'd like to travel. For the next steps, you'll need to know the names of the people travelling. If you wish you can also provide extra details such as passport numbers, height (for bike hire), or you can add that later by logging into Manage My Trip (we'll set up an account for you automatically if you don't already have one). Our system will contact you from time to time to fill in the missing information, as it will be required before departure. However, if the trip that you are booking offers a child discount, you will have to fill out the date of birth of each rider (so we can calculate the appropriate discount).

If you are having any problems please send us an email, or give us a call (+66 026 3295) and one of our travel specialists will assist you with your booking.

BOOKING OFFLINE

Just call us or send an email indicating which trip you want to join and we will happily send you a list of questions and process your booking for you.

DEPOSITS AND PAYMENTS

We do not require a deposit or full payment to book a place for you on a tour.

The balance of the tour’s cost (final invoice) will need to be paid 60 days before the departure date with fees for any bicycle rental(s), single supplement(s) and extra hotel nights.

In the case where a booking is made when there are less than 60 days until the tour departure date, the tour’s cost should be paid in full within 72 hours of receiving an invoice from SpiceRoads. Payment can be made by credit card using our online payment gateway or by bank transfer. When making payment online you will need to confirm that you have read these booking conditions during the "checkout" process, which equates to agreeing to the terms of services and stipulations as indicated in this document.

In all cases, tour fees need to be paid “in full” before participation in a tour. No person(s) will be allowed to join a tour without fully settling their invoice and receiving a confirmation number from SpiceRoads.

The exception can be made for last-minute miscellaneous fees that can be paid locally (visas, additional local hotel bookings, etc.) can be settled on the day of arrival.

FULL FLEXIBILITY FOR TOUR CANCELATIONS

If the tour is cancelled or postponed by SpiceRoads because we didn't make the trip numbers and the tour can’t run, we will make a full cash refund (by bank transfer or on your credit card).

If the tour is cancelled for any other reason, including due to Covid related travel restrictions, we will give you a full credit (with no deductions for admin or any other small-print item) to use on any SpiceRoads tour with no time limit. (Exceptions being flights, special permits and other non-refundable items and these will be advised when booking the trip).

Before paying for your tour, you can cancel your booking with no charge and up until 40 days before departure, you can change your booking to another travel date or move your booking onto another SpiceRoads tour with no charges.

If you need to cancel after you have made full payment, please see our cancellation policy.

Loyalty Riders Club

For those who have been on several long tours with us, we reward customer loyalty by offering repeat customers a special discount off the tour price (excludes single supplement and bike rental). If this is your fourth scheduled tour or more you will receive a 5% discount. If this is your eighth scheduled tour or more we will extend a 10% discount. The discount will be reflected in your online booking, but please contact us if any questions. Loyalty discounts cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer. Note: Only tours of 7 days or more will be applicable for a loyalty discount.

International Flights

International flights, to and from the start and finish points are not included in the tour price. Once your tour is Guaranteed to Depart you can book your flight. Please contact us for advice before arranging flights for the best arrival and departure times. We would only cancel a trip for an extreme circumstance, but in that case, where we cancel your trip, we cannot be liable for losses incurred relating to any flight booking you have made. Please claim any losses from your travel insurance that you acquired when you booked your holiday.

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