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龙胜（Longsheng) to 贺州（Hezhou)

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Week 2: Reality sets in. This week was spent regrouping after a police scare that set me back a few days and forced me to take a bus through south Hunan. So far, mixed success. To get to Hong Kong before my visa expires, I have to pick up the pace to 60 km days (2 on, 1 off) through 90-degree weather and 95% humidity. When you leave a business establishment in China, you’re usually met with a 慢走！(man4zou3 lit. Go slowly! fig. Take care!) This past week, I can only think I wish.

Thus is travel, though. Unforgiving. It wouldn’t be so gratifying if it weren’t a fight.

The sun was already low when I stopped to ask for cooking water yesterday. A young mother called her 5-year-old from the field and we spent 3 minutes looking for her little pink indoor slipper so she could help me ladle water. A rolling EV (electric car) advertisement played pump-up music to drag me up a gnarly hill, then invited me back to the air-conditioned dealership for a storytelling session. And this was a sight for sore eyes:

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The bicycles are gone from China’s streets. In many places, they’ve been replaced with cars, and as incomes rise, couples are increasingly waiting until they can afford a home and a car before they tie the knot. The future could lie elsewhere, though. There are separate lanes for bicycles and electric scooters in Guilin. They’re sheltered from the main road by a tree-filled median, and are jam-packed during rush hour (pictured). Electric scooters are incredibly popular  in many cities because of their low cost, low emissions (Chinese are increasingly advocating personal action over the smog choking their cities), and the fact that they don’t require licensing.
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The city of Yangshuo from the couchsurfing apartment’s roof.
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I actually didn’t even know the famous Moon mountain was in this part of China. I thought I would be missing it entirely, but took a wrong turn on the way out of town and ended up at the base. Who knew?
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Rice fields and hills on a hot summer’s day
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The hills near 钟山 (zhongshan, bell mountain)

Touring Notes: This seems to be a commonly ridden stretch of road. The road climbs steeply out of Longsheng, but then it’s almost all downhill to Guilin. Roads are new and smooth for the most part, with various sections covered in dust and gravel spilled from overfilled trucks. Yangshuo to Hezhou was a little rougher, and I ended up taking some parallel country roads that were half unpaved but more pleasant traffic-wise. A dust mask wouldn’t be a bad idea, though it’s been too hot to wear one. I would recommend another season for this section of road.

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fqwatkins

Hi, I'm Forrest. I grew up in Eugene, OR and went to Whitman College, where I studied Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology and Spanish. I loved my time in school (and will probably love it again at some point), but right now it is time for something else. So I am embarking to realize my ever-expanding dream of biking around the world to document the effects of climate change and how everyday people are responding. For more on the project, check out: http://360bybike.com/the-plan-cycling/

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2 thoughts on “龙胜（Longsheng) to 贺州（Hezhou)”

  1. We’re enjoying the spectacular scenery as you go. Never seen such conical hills before.
    60KM translates to 36 miles, I think, which must be a stretch in 90 degree/95% hum. weather ( I hope the 95 temp is Fahrenheit, otherwise your goose is cooked!). Keep going, Forrest!

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