Guided Motorcycle Tours through China

On our Yunnan motorcycle tours you get insights into Buddhist monasteries and temples, deep gorges such as the Tiger Leaping Gorge, third deepest gorge in the world, and small villages where time seems to have stopped. Furthermore, snow-capped mountains and wide lakes and rivers like the Yangtze and the Mekong are not missing and will amaze you. In addition, many other breathtaking natural landscapes and adventurous mountain roads, which are perfect for exploring Yunnan on a motorcycle, make the area a very special experience for every Yunnan motorcycle rider.

Tibetmoto Tours has numerous Yunnan motorcycle tours in the program, which we offer for larger groups as well as for individual riders. In addition, we can customize all of our Yunnan motorcycle tours for private tours.

As the relaxing riding outside the major centers on highways and country roads is, as crowded are the roads in the cities themselves. The average Chinese spends 1.6 hours a day in traffic jams. You should definitely keep it in your mind on your way through cities. But even outside the major centers, detailed time and route planning is often impossible. China is a fast moving country. Where there was a clear road a few days ago, the next day there is already an insurmountable construction site. The road network is constantly being expanded, especially in the remote regions, because the Chinese government has always considered road construction to be an important part of infrastructure development. Mega road construction projects such as the new Silk Road, are promoted and quickly implemented by the Chinese government, because the expansion of the Chinese road network is one of the most important infrastructure projects of this vast empire. About 75 percent of all transportation in China is by road. With a length of over 4 million kilometers, China has the second-longest road network in the world – after the USA. By 2035, the Chinese Ministry of Transport plans to invest around 230 billion euros in further mega road construction projects.

Therefore, spontaneous road closures due to rapid infrastructure are not an isolated incident. Especially in the mountainous regions, multiple closures may occur due to landslides, snow or similar incidents and changing weather conditions. Therefore, every Rider should be prepared for all eventualities and route changes. This also includes the Chinese checkpoints (especially in the Tibetan areas).

China’s diverse landscapes through deserts, mountainous or valley areas, promise not only fantastic views, but also an unforgettable riding experience on the most winding roads in the world, through unique tunnel systems or on the longest bridges in the world.

China has, among other things, the world’s largest highway network, which extends over 130,000 kilometers and connects almost all regions with each other and also smaller villages by roads with the respective district cities. The road system is not always easy to understand, here we explain you how to distinguish the road types:

• “G” – like Guódào (Chinese 國 道 / 国 道 – “national road”) are China’s national highways. The G is followed by a number – “GX” – for highways starting in Beijing (G1 to G7), two numbers – “GXX” – for national highways (e.g. G30), three numbers – “GXXX” – for national roads (e.g. E.g. G318) and four digits – “GXXxx” – for regional and local motorways (e.g. G9411). The Guodao includes both the toll highways in China (English National Expressway) and the free highways, known in China as “National Highway”.

• “S” – like Shengdào (省道 – “provincial road”), the trunk roads are designated on the provincial level. The S is followed by one to four digits – “SX” to “SXXXX”. In each province a new start is made at S1, i. H. there are trunk roads at the provincial level with the same standard identifier but in different provinces, e.g. B. the Shandong G61 (魯 高速 / 鲁 高速), also called Qingdao – Liuting – Airport – Highway (青岛 流亭 机场 高速) and the Guangdong G61 (粵高速 / 粤高速), also called Maominghafen – Highway (茂名 港 高速) called. This includes both highways and provincial expressways or country roads which is based on the standard of the National Expressway in China.

• “X” – like Xiàndào (縣 道 / 县 道 – “district road”), the roads on the district level are designated. The X is usually followed by three digits – “XXXX” – for the county roads, but there are also deviations with more digits or letters (e.g. XF935, county road near Yuxi). These include streets at the level of the cities, the autonomous districts, the special areas, the banners and the like. This is only followed by the street networks of the two lowest municipal levels Xiāngdào – streets of the municipality level and Cūndào – streets of the village level, the standard identifier of which is rarely shown on road maps.

• “Y” – like Xiāngdào (鄉 道 / 乡 道 – “municipal road”), the roads at the municipal level of the municipalities are designated. The Y is usually followed by three digits – “YXXX” – for English Township Road. This representation of the “municipal roads” is seldom seen on maps; instead, only Chinese names are shown without a standard identifier. The standard identification of the “municipal roads” only exists on the actual kilometer stones. These include ordinary municipal streets and paths in large communities, municipalities, street districts, sums or the like.

• “C” – like Cūndào (村 道 – “village street”), the roads are marked on the village level. The C is usually followed by three digits – “CXXX” – for the village road. This representation of the “village streets” is seldom seen on maps, instead only Chinese names are shown without standard identification. The standard identification of the “village streets” only exists on the actual kilometer stones. This includes the simplest municipal roads or routes.

In general, many of the road signs and markings in China are similar to those in other countries. Major roads, such as motorways and national expressways, are always properly maintained and many signs are legibly translated into pinyin or even into English.

And what about the toll?
Tolls on motorways and express highways on national and sometimes also in provinces are often commonplace. The prices are roughly comparable to the motorway tolls in Italy, i.e. very expensive by Chinese standards. It can happen that tolls are also charged on normal main roads. Beijing is the only administrative unit in which no tolls are levied for the China National Highways.

But what about the road conditions itself?
The road conditions in the mainland are generally good to very good. In the province of Yunnan, for example, the road conditions and connections are very good, but in some remote areas they are also in a somewhat poorer condition. Due to the increasing tourism, however, more and more investments are made in the expansion of the infrastructure, so that even formerly remote areas can be opened up quickly. In 2020, for example, a complete motorway network was completed that could also connect all major cities with one another. All small towns and around half of the villages can now also be reached via paved roads.

In Sichuan, for example, traffic conditions on the Sichuan-Tibet Road have also gradually improved in recent years. This has brought profound changes for the small communities along the road that could finally be reached.

Well-paved roads and standard double lanes can also be expected in Tibet. The road conditions in Tibet are generally very good. Not only is the road flat and easy to drive on, but there are often safety barriers too. In addition, all roads in Tibet are subject to interval speed restrictions in order to avoid traffic accidents caused by driving too fast.

What Chinese road traffic does not differ from Western countries, however, are traffic lights, signs (for the most part) and right-hand traffic – well, if that doesn’t sound good!

Here are a few tips from us on how to behave in Chinese traffic:

• Be mindfulness! The most important tip we would like to give you is to always be careful and foresighted in Chinese traffic. We guess we don’t need to go into further detail.

• The middle of the street is actually your friend! Life takes place on the street – in the truest sense of the word. Often you come across pedestrians, parked or slow moving vehicles or vehicles coming from side streets without a safe gap in the traffic. Vehicles also regularly cross the center line to overtake or avoid potholes. So always be on your guard!

• Blaze of lights! Especially in the country you shouldn’t be out after dark. The danger of not seeing people or animals on the road is too great. Even unlit road users are not uncommon in China. Therefore, always drive with vehicle lights (ideally also in daylight) – so that you can see the others, but the others can also see you.

• Blow horn don’t get torn! If you are driving in the middle of a road and the vehicle honking behind you is a sign that it is about to overtake. So, according to the law, you should turn right as quickly as possible and let it pass. Even when cornering, you should always sound the horn to warn oncoming traffic.

• Don’t be fooled! Traffic can also often be congested, especially in large cities like Beijing. Therefore, minor accidents are often not taken as seriously as in Europe. Should you ever get involved in such a situation, most drivers accept money and just keep driving. Of course, major incidents must be reported to the local police. It can of course also happen that small accidents are made bigger than they really are. It can happen that a dead chicken is turned into a golden goose. In such a situation, don’t let yourself be unsettled or fooled.

• Watch out for cameras! Despite all the chaos, you should definitely not let yourself be tempted to act like the other traffic participant because there are surveillance cameras on every corner. Not only when the speed is exceeded is flashed but the cameras really record every traffic violation. We want to say: Don’t even do a U-turn.

But now we come to the most important traffic rules in China. These are comparable to the situation in Europe. The speed limit is 30 km / h in urban areas, 60-80 km / h outside of town and 100-120 km / h on motorways.

In addition, drivers are obliged to bring a fire extinguisher and spare light bulbs with them. The alcohol limit is 0.0. Seriously the Chinese traffic participant are not having problems with car accidents concerning to alcohol. Using phone while driving is also strictly forbidden – even this rule is not abide. All drivers must also have a statutory liability insurance.

It’s not easy as a road user in China, no question about it. However, practice makes perfect. Even if you initially felt overwhelmed and insecure, you put it aside in the next moment and found yourself in the middle of the insurmountable traffic chaos without problems anymore.