Cycling from Xian to Chengdu
by Peter
The Buddhist caves of Guangyuan
Bicycling in China is for most people as unimaginable as traveling with children in this "hostile" country. After all, "China is a country full of people who speak only Chinese, are only interested in ripping you off and making your life in the country as hard as possible". I was now at the northern border of Sichuan province and the roads from here all went down until I would arrive at the flatlands. I followed the quiet main road to Ningqiang and Guangyuan, Jiange, Zitong anf Guanghang to Chengdu. It would have mostly been a forgettable journey, maybe with the exception of the journey to Foping, if not something happened in that journey that stunned me. I was on the way to a city called: Guangyuan. Just before entering the city I found myself stunned gazing at the rock walls on the east side of the road. Without any previous knowledge I had found a buddhist temple rock formation similar like the one in Luoyang. It might be this one was not as big or beautiful as Luoyang and therefore was not mentioned in any of the books I read before but it nevertheless stunning. There was not even an entrance fee. Locals later told me the caves are regularly visited by pilgrims but foreigners are seldom seen here. North Sichuan is considered not to be interesting for tourist so no one bothered telling. Later I discovered the caves were quite well described in other literature but the travel literature had skipped it, for some reasons unknown to me. Another funny thing in this journey to mention is that I was almost going too deep into the northeast Micang Shan mountain range, which covers a large part of north Sichuan. It happened when I arrived at the town center of Baolu. There was a road sign to follow for Chengdu. Unfortunately I missed the next direction so I was on the way, following the river south east to Hutiao. It would not have been a problem to follow this road if it had been a good road. However, after about 10 km the road became a dirtroad so I checked my compass which showed I was going south east instead of south west. That together with the maps (I always use a Chinese map in combination with a Nelles map because the Chinese maps are usually much better) convinced me I was on the wrong road. Back in Baolu I found quickly the main road back. In fact, had the road been good enough to cycle, I would have continued. I might have missed Chengdu that way, and therefore many other adventures, but I certainly would have had many experiences too. Maybe a next time when I am in Sichuan. This area is virtually unspoiled by tourism but I am sure there's plenty to see anyway, whatever guidebooks tell me. Moral of the story, don't let the guidebooks show you the only way to travel. Have the courage to skip the tourist areas and visit the off the beaten paths areas. You never know what you will find but expect the unexpected, whatever that might be. China is big, and most of China is seldom visited by tourists. Peter van der Lans www.bicycle-adventures.com www.pulau-pangkor.com www.yangshuo-travel-guide.com
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