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popular tourist destination in China, even surpass-
ing Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden Palace. A
real party atmosphere permeates Lijiang and it is a
great place to meet and mix with the local popula-
tion.
Day 22 Rest day in Lijiang
Lijiang, the UNESCO World Heritage site.
Lijiang’s charming Old Town is a maze of cobbled
streets, canals, and stone bridges that date from
the Ming Dynasty. You are free to explore this an-
cient city at your leisure. Lijiang is a shop till you
drop type place and all sorts of interesting items
are for sale.
Day 18 Ranwo to Zuogong (310kms)
We ride to Zuogong for overnight.
Day 19 Zuogong to Yanjing (275kms)
Heading to Yanjing on route following
the Mekong River and mountain. It is
very wonderful view. Lunch at local
restaurant. Arrived at Yanjing, we
will visit the salt flats and enjoy a hot
spring bath.
Day 20 Yanjing to Shangri_la (312KM)
Have a great view of the sun rise on
Mt. Kawa Karpo Mountain, we then
ride along the Mekong River to Weixi.
Another scenic riding day as we
travel south on the east bank of the
Mekong river, also named Lan Cang Day 23 Lijiang to Dali (180KM)
Jiang in Chinese. We will make a stop We wend our way southwards over the modern version of the
at Cizhong Church and ride to Weixi. Ancient Tea-Horse Road to Dali, Yunnan Province’s 2nd-most
important city and also one of China’s most historic.
Day 21 Shangri_la to Lijiang via Tiger The Bai Kingdom and the Kingdom of Dali were both cen-
Leaping Gorge (275KM) tered here between the 8th and 12th centuries. In the mid
We will ride on probably the most 1800’s there was a major Muslim rebellion that shook the
memorable road of all, the one that entire region all the way down to Thailand. Repercussions
takes us through Tiger Leaping of this conflict were felt well into the early 1900’s. More than
Gorge. This fantastic road follows a a million people were killed in Yunnan Province alone. But
contour line along the third-deepest today Dali is peaceful and this historic walled city is well pre-
gorge in the world. Tiger Leaping served. We lodge in the Old Quarter tonight. An early arrival
Gorge is formed by the fierce and means there is ample time to wander around the streets and
young (at this point) Yangtze River, explore this atmospheric town.
which slices a path through tower-
ing, snow-clad mountains.Impossible Day 24 Dali to Different borders
not to jump off of your bike every You may choose to exit China through three borders to Laos
few minutes to snap a few pics. This and Myanmar
could be the #1 road in Asia for sure. 1. Mohan/Boten to Laos (800KM)
Lijiang, our destination tonight, is 2. Ruili/Muse to Myanmar (580KM)
the third and final UNESCO World
Heritage Site we visit. It is the most
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