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South Yunnan - Tonghai and Jianshui

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In South Yunnan Tonghai and Jianshui are two places easily forgotten by tourists. It's really a shame since there's quite something to visit. As a cyclist you can have a very nice and not too difficult week making a nice circle in this area.

It starts by leaving Kunming in the direction of the airport. From here you will follow the road parallel to the Dian Lake. It's a busy big road but the peace comes back after Chengjiang.

Chengjiang is just north of the Fuxian lake, the second lake of considerable size in Yunnan. It's a good place to stay for a night.

If you follow the quiet east road around the lake you have some beautiful views over the lakeside before reaching Jiangchuan. There is no need to stay here since Tonghai is nearby and the town is not really worth a longer visit then the time to have a good meal. 

That said, it's a bit of climb in the hills between both cities. The center of Tonghai is quite nice, partly traditional with a nice typical tower in the center.

But Jianshui is in fact much nicer. The city is located 220 km south of Kunming. The town center is more traditional and there is a beautifully restored Confucian temple with on the back of an artificial lake. In the afternoons there are traditional music performances. Indeed, a great place to spend some hours reading or enjoying the music.

Just outside Jianshui, there's a typical Seventeen Span Bridge to be seen. It's on a small road going south out of the city.

There are several options to cycle from here:

• Vietnam
• Guangxi
• Stone Forest
• Shiping, Luxi and back to Kunming
• Outside Jianshui, there's this bridge to be found.

Vietnam

From South Yunnan to Vietnam, take road number 323 going east to Gejiu. Vietnam is about 2 day rides away from Gejiu. Cycle out of Jianshui following Gejiu and from there straight to Vietnams' border at Lao Cai. I can not comment on this road as I have never cycled it myself

Guangxi

For going to Guangxi from here in south Yunnan, take the same road but do not go all the way to Gejiu but keep direction to Kaiyuan a forgettable town but the next place to find accommodation is Pingyuanjie although you may find something in the villages before this town. Most people prefer to save time and skip this road but it's a surprisingly nice (though not spectacular) road. If your goal is to experience some real rural and unspoiled China, this is one of your chances.

Find more information about this road here.

Stone Forest

The Stone Forest can be reached from Kaiyan. It's about 150 km on a good and rather busy road but it's not difficult.

More about the Stone Forest here

Shiping, Luxi and Kunming

This is an attractive road. It follows the 323 in western direction following the river to the beautiful Yitong lake. After Shiping it's a mountainous ride to Yangwu before moving north back to Kunming (or south to Jinghong (Xishuangbanna). From Jianshui back to Kunming this way is about 6 days cycling.

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