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Hong Kong to Yangshuo

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Starting your Chinese journey in Hong Kong is a good choice. The city is easy accessible from anywhere in the world. The new airport has good bus connections to Kowloon and Hong Kong Island.

But it's not cheap! However, it's an excellent place to pick up a Chinese visa. There are, to my knowledge, no easier places to get a visa. If you decide to stay a long time in China, you can get without problems a 6 months multiple entry visa for about HK 600-800 in a few days. No invitation letters needed.

Hong Kong is famous for all kinds of things. It used to be a cheap shopping center but since long it's no longer dirt cheap. Still bargains can be found on the markets in Mongkok but beware, much is fake too. A good rule is that if it is too cheap to believe, it's most likely fake.

The food here is something else. You have to go out and check for yourself. There's anything available, from shark fin- or birdnest soup to turtle- or other exotic meat dishes. Cheap food can be found, again, in the Mongkok district.

Tourist Information

There is no place in the world, as far as I know where tourist information is as good as in Hong Kong. Here, in the heart of where time is money, service is top. The offices are located at clever locations, one you will find easy is next to the ferry in Kowloon. To my surprise they had answers to questions I hardly dared to ask. All comes with free maps, computer printed addresses and excellent information why you should go here and not there.

And even if you know Hong Kong well, it's still worth to pick up one of the free maps available.

Bicycle shop: The Flying Ball

Every cyclist knows there's only one shop in Asia where you get what you need. The Flying Ball bicycle shop is famous. If there's any doubt about your bicycle when you are in Hong Kong, do not hesitate and visit them. It's a little far from Kowloon and if you need them to do repairs, you are not allowed to take your bike in the MTR, so either cycle or take a taxi.

The nearest MTR station is Cheung Sha Wan (take exit C2)

Getting Out of Hong Kong

Around Kowloon you will be able to shop for flight tickets. Check some, you'll soon find out the prices do not differ much.

Going to China gives you two options: 1. Lo Wu, the border with Shenzhen and the ferries to Macau, Zhaoqing and other cities on the mainland. Even Shanghai is possible.

I have done both more then once. My recommendation is that if you want to skip Guangzhou, take the ferry out. I have never been enthusiastic about Guangzhou though I admit, it does have something if you take the time to sort it out. But to me, it was just a very big city. And cycling from Shenzhen to Guangzhou is cycling through mostly a all urban busy zone. It's the only road I did I thought it was closest to suicide. Bangkok, Athens, Istanbul or Lahore were much safer then this road. If Guangzhou is your destination, take the bus. In not even two hours you're from Shenzhen (at the border there's a bus station) in the heart of Guangzhou. But do yourself a favor, don't cycle.

Another, much nicer way out of Hong Kong is by ferry. There used to be a ferry to even Wuzhou but that is long way out. Nowadays a good choice is Zhaoqing, just on the other (west) side of the Pearl River Delta. The international ferry pier is right in the heart of Kowloon, at China Hong Kong City, 33 Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui. You can bring your bicycle, though you may have to pay half ticket price for bringing it on board.

Zhaoqing

Zhaoqing is a pleasant overnight stop, the Seven Stars Crag are arranged in the same way as the Big Dipper constellation. It's a pleasant National Park and a great way to spend an afternoon.

If you still want to visit Guangzhou, it's 110 km north east from Zhaoqing.

Much nicer is the road leading to Wuzhou, which takes about 2 to 4 days (about 180 km). The road is mostly quiet, flat and not very spectacular though pleasant. You will follow the River west. Although you follow the river, it doesn't mean you will always see the river. And anyway, the river is quite polluted by the industries here.

From Wuzhou and further on

The first time I came in Wuzhou I felt it was a nice little and very pleasant town to hang out for a few days. There's a few reasonable cheap hotels in the middle of the town, a nice market and the heart of the city is a pleasant stroll. You may want to have an extra day in Wuzhou after the journey from Hong Kong.

There's two ways out from here. One road goes north and will eventually bring you all the way to Chengdu. Way before Chengdu, you will see the beautiful limestone mountains of Yangshuo. It's a 4 to 5 days ride, about 200 km. I recommend staying Taiping, Mengshan and Lipu since they are on good distances from each other. Both towns have hotels and descent food.

Going west from Wuzhou leads all the way to Nanning, it takes 4 to 6 days through a nice landscape. Guiping is quite nice, as Litang and Bitang are. However, the road north to the karst mountains is much nicer.

Guangzhou to Yangshuo

Yup, I did that too. Was it nice? Cycling in Guangzhou is definitely not but nice but it's possible. The best way it to follow the direction to Wuzhou. About 40 km on that road, you can take the junction north to Guangning.

The main set back of this road to Yangshuo is that it is busy. The old road to Wuzhou for going to Guilin is hardly in use anymore. Instead, trucks and busses take this new road. In distance there's not much difference. The first 80 km out of Guangzhou are mostly through urban areas.

After Guangning (quite new and pleasant enough) the area becomes more scenic. Especially after Guangning the road goes more through hills and scenic spots. The little town of Xindu is friendly and has a very basic hotel in the town. on the main road you'll find some truck stop brothels.

Xindu is a junction, going south leads (107 km) to Wuzhou. Going north is bringing you through the first limestone scenic areas in Hezhou. Hezhou is a relatively new build town. It's small, the karst mountains are quite far away but you'll see them in the next days.

You can decide to stay an overnight in Zhongshan, about 40 km away. In between Zhongshan and Yangzhuo there's only Ertang where you may find a place to stay. Zhongshan is 120 km from Yangshuo. Roads are good, and flat.

Cycling from Hong Kong to Yangshuo: all the way by bicycle, through the urban areas north of Shenzhen, Guangzhou and further, takes about a week. Apart of Guangzhou there's little reason to stay longer in any of the towns in between.

The nicer road with the ferry to Zhaoqing also will take about a week. I prefer this road over the one through Guangzhou.

And in case you don't want to cycle to Yangshuo from Hong Kong, you can take the bus to Guilin and let you drop in Yangshuo. Or, take the bus from Guangzhou. If you take the overnight bus, you'll arrive in the early morning in Yangshuo.

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