Pete's Trip Reports
Pete's Trip Reports
Some assorted notes on the route. No guarantees of accuracy for these, but they should be reasonably OK. Elevations are from my Suunto Vector watch, and if an elevation is marked on top of a pass I usually recalibrate (unless the figure on the sign seems suspect). There are a lot of dogs, most are fine, but a few are really vicious. Tie a piece of chunky metal to a length of rope and leave it looped over your handlebars. Swinging this while calmly walking your bike past them will keep them at bay until they lose interest. I have noted places with obvious accommodation, but there are sometimes places to stay in the smaller tibetan villages (which I have left out for obvious reasons), always worth checking. I had good results with Schwalbe Marathon XR, no punctures in 4400km, impressive given the amount of broken glass on the roads. Make sure you bring a Tibetan phrasebook, don't assume that most Tibetans will also speak Chinese, because away from the towns most people don't.
Interesting route, quite wild and bleak at times, lots of wildlife (antelopes, eagles, wolves etc). Towns visibly more Tibetan as you get further south.
| Elevation | Distance | Milepost | |
| Xining | 0 | ||
| Pass | |||
| Daotanghe (倒淌河). Shops, cafes | 102 | 102 | |
| Small pass | 3578 | 109 | 109 |
| Village. V. Basic shop | 3090 | 133 | 133 |
| Gonghe. Plenty hotels, shops. Internet | 2900 | 109 | 109 |
| Santala. Basic shops, cafes. Small monastery. | 3105 | 198 | |
| Daheba (大河坝). Shops, cafes, fruit | 3245 | 210 | 210 |
| Small pass. Camping better on far side | 3900 | 234 | 234 |
| Turn W at junction | 3600 | 241 | |
| Drop down & cross river | 3740 | 263 | 263 |
| Very basic shop | 3705 | 279 | 279 |
| Pass | 4489 | 318 | 318 |
| Wenquan (温泉). Few shops, cafes | 3975 | 334 | 334 |
| Pass | 4460 | 351 | 351 |
| Pass R turnoff to ?? | 4275 | 392 | 392 |
| Pass L turnoff to ?? | 4180 | 397 | 397 |
| Huashixia (花石峽). Shops, cafes. Small monastery | 4205 | 407 | 407 |
| Pass | 4515 | 428 | 428 |
| Small town. Basic shops. Pass turnoff to Madoi (3km) | 4245 | 485 | 485 |
| Cross Yellow River | 489 | 489 | |
| Small community, no facilities | |||
| High point | 4365 | 505 | 505 |
| Pass signposted (although not much higher than surroundings) | 4302 | 532 | 532 |
| Small town. Shops. Small temple | 4325 | 543 | 543 |
| Bayan Har Pass (巴颜喀拉山) | 4824 | 602 | 602 |
| Small temple and community, no facilities | 4500 | 644 | |
| Small temple and community, no facilities | 4465 | 657 | |
| Qingshuihe (清水河). Colourful place. Plenty shops and cafes | 4430 | 668 | |
| Pass R turnoff to Highway 308 | 4435 | 677 | 677 |
| Small temple and community. Basic shop | 4320 | 721 | |
| Pass R turnoff to ?? | 4300 | 725 | |
| Pass | 4470 | 755 | |
| Xiwu. Few shops, cafes. Pass turnoff to Serxu (see route below from Xiwu to Ganze) | 3905 | 771 | |
| Cross big river | 3610 | 789 | 789 |
| Large and impressive Domkar Lhundrub Dechen Sadon Chokhorling monastery on hillside | 3650 | 805 | |
| New looking monastery/retreat on far side of river | 3675 | 810 | |
| Gyanak Mani. Basic shop | 3740 | 814 | |
| Yushu centre (玉树). Plenty shops, cafes, hotels. Internet | 3760 | 819 |
Even better! Crosses more high passes, nomad encampments, small tibetan villages, and monasteries. Road varies from rough tarmac to rocky dirt road. From Yushu, backtrack 48km to Xiwu, then head west at the main junction at the centre of town.
| Elevation | Distance | Milepost | |
| Xiwu. Plenty small shops, cafes | 3900 | 0 | 0 |
| Pass. After pass, mileposts restart at 0 | 4700 | 21 | 21/0 |
| Sershul monastery | 4255 | 68 | 44 |
| Cross river | 4325 | 77 | 52 |
| Pass | 4570 | 67 | 72 |
| Serxu (石渠). Plenty shops, cafes, hotels, Internet | 4305 | 98 | 73 |
| Bunyming monastery | 4190 | 106 | 81 |
| Cross river, monastery up valley on R | 4120 | 127 | |
| Pass man made lake, monastery on far side on hillside | 4130 | 128 | |
| Junyung monastery | 4115 | 135 | 107 |
| Small pass | 4365 | 165 | 137 |
| Tsatcha. Small shops | 4160 | 176 | 147 |
| Small town. basic shops. monastery on L | 4260 | 164 | |
| Pass | 4570 | 210 | 179 |
| Trugu monastery on R | 4190 | 197 | |
| Small village with large shrine. tiny shop | 3990 | 217 | |
| Pass turn to Axu | 3885 | 233 | |
| Dzogchen monastery on R | 3960 | 243 | |
| Muri la pass. Superb mountain views | 4645 | 299 | 264 |
| Manigango. Hotels, shops, cafes. Join Hwy 317 at Milepost 834 | 4000 | 329 | 293 |
| Monastery on L on far side of river | 3840 | 822 | |
| Small village in lovely valley, no facilities, monastery on hillside | 3815 | 810 | |
| Small monastery high up on hillside to L | 3740 | 804 | |
| Pass. Good views of mountains | 4150 | 371 | 794 |
| Rongbhatsa. small shops | 3645 | 390 | 776 |
| Dargye monastery on L | 3640 | 772 | |
| Small monastery on hillside to L | 3570 | 766 | |
| Small pass. Kablung monastery in walled town | 3565 | 410 | 756 |
| Cross large river just before Ganze | 3515 | 747 | |
| Ganze. Plenty shops, cafes, hotels, internet | 3525 | 422 |
The route back up to Lanzhou, interesting progression, through quiet steep river valleys with houses and temples clinging to the hillside, then on to long plains and grasslands, separated by higher passes. As you go further north, you can see that this area is starting to get more visitors, with occasional 'tourist reception' tents on the grasslands and new hotels springing up in places. And on to the superb monastery towns of Langmusi and Xiahe.
| Elevation | Distance | Milepost | |
| Ganze. Plenty shops, cafes, hotels, internet | 3525 | 0 | 741 |
| Pass | 4055 | 26 | 718 |
| Small place, few small shops | 3515 | 46 | 700 |
| Damdo Xiang. small place, couple tiny shops | 3470 | 63 | 673 |
| Small place, couple small shops | 3420 | 84 | |
| Luhuo. Plenty shops, good cafes, hotel. Large monastery on hillside | 3370 | 100 | |
| Cross river, signed Seda 153km | 3280 | 101 | |
| Small village, tiny shops | 3320 | 117 | |
| Pass | 4350 | 156 | 595 |
| Weng Da Zeng. small shop | 3475 | 173 | 577 |
| Small village, tall temple, tiny shop | 3335 | 188 | 564 |
| Jia xue Xiang. Couple small shops | 3305 | 191 | 558 |
| Small village. Couple small shops, prayer wheel circuit | 3220 | 204 | 546 |
| Switch to newer mileposts! | 3185 | 211 | 512 |
| Pass L turn to Rangtang | 3145 | 214 | 509 |
| Shi Li, tiny shops (village sign is 7km earlier) | 3065 | 237 | 485 |
| Shang Zhai, few shops, decent looking cafes | 3040 | 246 | 478 |
| Er ga Li. Small shops, cafes | 2775 | 288 | 437 |
| Guan Yin Qiao. Plenty shops, cafes, colourful clothes shops. fruit | 2725 | 300 | 424 |
| Small village. shop. Cross bridge, go L signposted Maer Kang | 2455 | 338 | 391 |
| Song Gang. Prayer wheel temple | 2725 | 365 | 364 |
| Maer Kang. Big chinese town. Plenty shops, cafes, couple of hotels | 2850 | 380 | 391 |
| Zhuo Ke Ji. Few small shops, cafes | 2805 | 391 | 340 |
| Shuo Mo. Small shops, cafes | 3060 | 413 | 318 |
| San jia Zhai. Couple of tiny shops. Pass R turn to Cheng Du | 3325 | 436 | |
| Now on hwy 209. Mileposts change | |||
| Shua ma lu Kon. Tiny shops, cafes. Pass another R turn to Cheng Du | 3420 | 448 | |
| Shuajingsi (刷经寺). Small village but decent shops, cafes | 3500 | 457 | 248 |
| Pass monastery on L | 3560 | 470 | 235 |
| Pass R turn to Hei Shui. Small shop and 'Tourist reception' tents! | 3685 | 484 | 222 |
| Pass. Signposted as watershed of Yellow/Changiang rivers, 4125m | 3935 | 503 | 203 |
| Small town, couple shops, cafes | 3690 | 519 | 188 |
| Take R at fork, signposted Hong Yuan 48km (and Lanzhou 698km!) | 3685 | 524 | 183 |
| Small village, couple of shops, prayer wheel circuit | 3675 | 544 | 165 |
| Hong Yuan. Plenty shops, cafes, hotels | 3645 | 575 | 134 |
| Small village, temple, shrines, mani stones. No facilities | 3575 | 613 | 98 |
| Wa Qie Xiang. Tiny shops, few restaurants | 3575 | 618 | 93 |
| Turn R signposted Ruoer Gai (straight on to Tonghe, 2km) | 3595 | 654 | 58 |
| Small pass | 3770 | 662 | 50 |
| Pass R turn for Ruoer Gai (Xoige) (若尔盖), few km | 3565 | 713 | 0 |
| Small pass | 3750 | 782 | |
| Pass R turn across river to town and large monastery | 3320 | 790 | |
| Turn off L to Langmusi | 3430 | 799 | |
| Langmusi (郎木寺). Shops, cafes, hotels. Monastery | 3485 | 802 | |
| Back at Langmusi turnoff. Go L back on to highway. Milestones appear | 3430 | 806 | 432 |
| Pass | 3720 | 814 | 423 |
| Goinba. Couple of decent shops. fruit. | 3615 | 819 | 419 |
| Qacaong. Tiny shops | 3610 | 830 | 408 |
| Gaxu. Tiny shops, restaurant, prayer wheels | 3590 | 864 | 377 |
| Small pass. Signposted as watershed of yellow/yangtse rivers | 3750 | 869 | 371 |
| Pass R turn to Luqu | 3310 | 888 | 353 |
| Succession of small colourful tibetan villages | 3380 | 916 | 325 |
| Turn L to Amqog for good dirt road to Xia He | 3215 | 928 | 313 |
| Amqog. small shops, cafes. fruit. Monastery on hillside | 3215 | 933 | |
| Mileposts appear | 3350 | 946 | 49 |
| Pass | 3730 | 963 | 35 |
| Dirt road hits Sanke road. Turn R | 3230 | 984 | 16 |
| Xia He. Plenty shops, cafes, huge monastery. Popular tourist stop | 3090 | 997 | |
| More to follow........ |