14-Day Cycle Chengdu To Guiyang: Pandas, Dinosaurs, High-Qua

We will welcome you at the airport and take you to your hotel. You are free to refresh and relax before we hold a briefing about the trip, later in the afternoon. With your guides, you will run through the itinerary and learn about local road safety and cultural considerations, as well as having the opportunity to ask us any questions you may have. In the evening we will hold a welcome dinner to celebrate the beginning of your journey. We will feast on some of the best food Chengdu has to offer and eagerly anticipate the coming days ahead. Meals: Dinner Overnight: Chengdu 

No visit to Chengdu is complete without a visit to the Giant Panda Breeding Research Base. In the morning we will greet you at your hotel and take you to this relaxed park and visit China’s most famous animal. Being possible to see all ages of pandas in nice enclosures, season depending, it is the baby cubs that steal the show. After an early lunch we will drive you to Xinglong Lake, far in the south of Chengdu. As we begin to approach the lake, the skyscrapers begin to thin out and we leave the city behind us. The lake is large with plenty of greenery and mountains providing a backdrop in the distance. We will use a cycle lane to go around the circumference of the lake, before taking some country roads towards Tongzhi Dragon Kiln. A beautiful 150-year-old kiln which is still in use today, we will have a chance to see traditional pottery methods in action. A labour-intensive operation, the kiln can fire 10,000 pots at a time and is set within quaint environs. Close by, we will visit Ming Qing Street. With 100 years of history, this single narrow ancient street is not for tourists, providing an authentic look at historical life. Continuing on a greenway through fruit orchards and countryside it is hard to imagine that you woke up in the city and after 39km we will reach ‘Big Buddha Temple’. It is named after the large carved marble Buddhas found within the main temple and an even larger Buddha sitting behind on the hilltop, looking out over the Luxi River. It is just a few kilometers more until we reach the day’s destination, Huanglongxi Ancient town. With over 1700 years of history, Huanglongxi was once one of the most prosperous towns along the ancient trade route – the South China Silk Road. Set beside the river, with three temples and winding alleyways, it provides a particularly quintessential example of an old town and is the perfect place to relax after your first day’s riding. Riding Distance: 45km Elevation: +84m / -102m Meals: All Overnight: Huanglongxi Ancient Town Road Quality: Cycle tracks, country roads and greenways in excellent condition.

We begin the day with up to an hour’s drive towards Yongshou township. Our ride is immediately beautiful today, taking you along a road which follows a river with wide low-lying banks and often flanked by bamboo trees. These views continue until we reach Zhongyan Temple, which is inside a large park holding Buddhist carvings with over 1,500 years of history. It is renowned for being a place of beauty and tranquillity and over the centuries scholars, Buddhists and poets would pay homage to the site, leaving the inscriptions and carvings that we can still see to this day. After taking a small hike through the gardens to a natural spring inside, we will continue our ride with some gentle ascents and descents, continuing to follow the river and making our way through some beautiful farmlands to Guanmiao Village – from here we will drive the remaining distance to reach Leshan, home of the largest and tallest carved stone Buddha in the world. Built over 1,200 years ago to watch over the quick rapids of the river below, the best way to see the Giant Buddha is from the river itself. We will take a short cruise to visit the site and appreciate the 71m carving calmly and majestically towering and watching out over above us. Besides the Giant Buddha, Leshan is also famous for its food. Before retiring for the evening, we will sample some of its best, including such dishes as Sweet Skin Roast Duck and tasty Bo Bo Chicken. Riding Distance: 60km Elevation: +302m / -270m Meals: All Overnight: Leshan Road Quality: Predominantly small tarmacked country roads.