China Day 16 – Hanzhong to Langzhong Ancient City

We all know the drill this time after being in China for nearly two weeks now. The plan of hitting the Highway for the first 100km then entering Sichuan Province though the national road was thrown out the window very fast as I reach the toll gate.

The guards and Toll attendant was waving at me from far away as I approached and I knew it was not going to happen. Joe our Guide with Ugo was actually at the toll gate and as I stopped beside them, Joe could not help me as the rules had change and as suspected, no motorcycle on highways anymore in Shaanxi province.

Going up - Into the Clouds 

Getting Higher into the Clouds 

I had been traveling entirely on national roads since Henan province and while it is actually nice routes to do road trips, the pace was punishing and every biker was feeling the fatigue building up. 

Some of the bikers that were major complainers of Highways being too boring in the early days of China are now converted worshipers. They all now had this mindset of playing hide and seek with the toll guard to try and sneak into the highway every chance they could get.

Riding above the Clouds 

That left me and my roommates Tsevtan & John that mostly do national roads and enjoying China tired and exhausted. So back to G108 route and this time we went through a smaller countryside route that took us up into the mountain ridge top, riding along the ridge passing village and small towns among the clouds.

It was spectacular and one of those kinda of moments that required weather to cooperate, and we rode through the spine of the mountain in mystic foggy dreamlike. As usual, I spend way too much time taking breaks and by now there was no doubt or even any more motivation to reach the destination city before nightfall.

I would sacrifice the last 50km to be ridden in the night just past sunset so I could enjoy the whole day more pacing out the ride instead of focusing so hard not to die due to speeding to make up a little time. We did manage to see a little of Langzhong Ancient City at least this time as it was a compact Ancient city and our hotel was just at the entrance.

Langzhong Ancient City

Langzhong Ancient City

Langzhong Ancient City

In China, after a while temples become numb and after even that, Ancient City become something just to find food to eat. The feeling of whoa, ancient city with scenic rooftops completely built in haphazard cobbled stone or wooden structure faded with the sheer number of similar Ancient City that we visit in China.

The minor nuance of the Han style or the Qing Style or the Ming Style Ancient City is lost to us who can’t tell the difference between one or another. 

Hence the repeated cycle with one extra step. Check in Hotel, snap a photo of the streets along the way to food and then back to the hotel to crash into bed setting the alarm for the next day’s ride.

Travelled on: Oct 2024