Xinjiang has some of the best cycling in Asia! Its a melting pot of cultures, where the “East” meets “West”, and has some stunning natural scenery which is fantastic to cycle through. I’ve taken a few cycle trips and tours to Xinjiang over the years, so here is some advice for those considering cycling there! 新疆拥有一些亚洲最好的骑行路线！这里是文化的大熔炉，“东方 ”与 “西方 ”在这里交汇，还有一些令人惊叹的自然风光，在其中穿行真是妙不可言。 多年来，我曾到新疆进行过几次骑行旅行，因此在此为那些计划到新疆骑行的人提供一些建议！
Time of year: June, July, August is high season, expensive and crazy tourist drivers make the roads busy and not the best time to ride on. Sept and early October are doable with warm clothes and much less busy.
时间： 六月、七月和八月是旅游旺季，路费昂贵，疯狂的旅游大巴让道路变得繁忙，不是骑行的最佳时间。9 月和 10 月初，穿上保暖的衣服就可以骑行，而且不那么繁忙。
North &/or South: North of Tianshan is green and lush, while the south is dry and harsh. Think twice about embarking on an unsupported trip in the south, unless it’s a small loop somewhere.
北部和/或南部：天山北部绿意盎然，南部则干燥寒冷。除非是在某个地方绕一个小圈，否则在南部进行无支援骑行要三思而行。
Some Crazy Traffic: The truck drivers and mining trucks can be terrifying in some areas. Tourist drivers think they know how to drive on minor roads, but they often don’t, and they don’t give you enough space while passing. Local drivers (sorry for the generalisations) spend more time looking at their phones than at the road 🙂 Anyway, try and just go on the quiet back roads, usually which also take the longest time. Also, try to avoid peak season. I start riding early in the morning before the traffic and avoid mega tourist routes. For example, I do NOT suggest you cycle the Duku G217 highway. Yes it’s stunning, and worth a drive, but not worth fighting all the traffic on a bike. Find some much less busy routes and cycle those instead!!!
疯狂的交通： 在某些地区，卡车司机和矿车会让人感到恐惧。旅游大巴司机认为他们知道如何在小路上开车，但他们往往不知道，而且他们在经过你时不会给你留出足够的空间。当地司机（抱歉以偏概全）看手机的时间比看路的时间要多。总之，尽量走安静的小路，通常这也是耗时最长的。另外，尽量避开旅游旺季。我一大早就开始骑行，避开交通高峰，避免走大型旅游路线。例如，我不建议骑行独库 G217 公路。是的，它很迷人，值得一游，但不值得骑车与车流搏斗。找一些不那么繁忙的路线骑行吧。
Possible Severe Weather: Be prepared for everything. In one day, from 40 °C burning sun to 5 °C cold rain and sleet in midsummer! Sunblock, a backup rain jacket and pants, and a thermal layer should be kept with you, even if you have a support car nearby. The wind can also be extreme!
恶劣天气： 提前做好一切准备。一天之内，从 40 °C 的烈日到 5 °C 的冷雨和盛夏的雨夹雪！防晒霜、备用雨衣和雨裤以及保暖衣应随身携带，即使附近有支援车也不例外。风也可能很大！
Long or short route: a subjective question! Xinjiang is massive, so various shorter loops are probably better than one long one! You can focus on one area and explore the more minor roads and less-visited places. That’s easier logistically, and it also means you don’t have to deal with the intercity, very long trucking highways.
长线还是短线：这是一个主观问题！新疆地大物博，因此多条较短的环线可能比一条长线更好！你可以专注于一个地区，探索更多的小路和人迹罕至的地方。这在后勤物流上更方便，也意味着你不必面对城际间很长的满载卡车的公路。
Supported or unsupported: because of the size and some of the traffic, I would say supported is better, but unsupported works. I want to try 4+2 MTB there later in the year. Rent a car, bring a bike rack with a mountain bike. That would be great for exploring and cutting out most of the hardship while keeping your independence.
有支援或无支援：由于面积和一些交通情况，我认为支援更好。我想今年晚些时候在那里尝试 4+2 山地自行车。租一辆车，带上自行车架和山地自行车。这将是探索的好办法，在自立更生的同时还能减少一些困难处境。
Costs: high season is not cheap. It’s 30% to 50% more than you’re used to in China. I feel its fair the locals charge this due to the season being so short. We are spoiled for cheap food and accommodation in the rest of China!
费用：旺季不便宜。比你在中国平时的价格高出 30% 到 50%。我觉得当地人这样收费很公平，因为旺季太短了。在中国其他地方，我们吃住都很便宜！
Gear: Check out my Redbook, JustinJ, for my gear suggestions and what I use for Cycle Touring in China. Also see posts on this website.
装备： 查看我的小红书，JustinJ，了解我的装备建议和我在中国骑行旅行时使用的装备。也可查看本网站上的帖子。
Food & Hydration: Xinjiang is full of great food, so don’t plan on losing weight 🙂 Dried fruit, watermelon, noodles, Chicken, lamb skewers, nan…. Buy some small snacks and plenty of water, around 3L, for remote areas, as you can cover sections of 50 to 80km without any shops.
食物和水：新疆有很多美食，所以不要打算减肥:) 干果、西瓜、面条、鸡肉、羊肉串、馕…. 准备一些小零食和充足的水（3 升左右），因为你可能在 50 到 80 公里的路段上没有任何商店。
Flights & Bike Shipping: There are lots of airports in Xinjiang. Flying with your bike is easy. Box it up; most bike shops can help pack and keep it under 20kg. They will almost always not charge you for oversized items. Or SF to and from your hotel, which is what I usually do these days. So convenient! For train transport take the wheels off and cover the bike with a simple bag (not officially supported but normally always allowed).
航班和自行车运输： 新疆有很多机场。携带自行车乘坐飞机很容易。将自行车装箱；大多数自行车店都可以帮助打包，并将重量控制在 20 公斤以内。对于超重物品，他们几乎都不会收费。或者顺丰往返酒店，这是我最近经常做的。非常方便！如果是乘坐火车，可以取下车轮，用一个简单的自行车袋（官方不支持，但通常总是允许的）。
推荐路线 Recommended Routes:
I still have lots to explore in Xinjiang but a few I have enjoyed;
我在新疆还有很多地方要去探索，但有几处我很喜欢；
- Yining Loop: not too hard and lush grasslands and mountains. Easy direct flights to various parts of China. Great intro to cycling in Xinjiang.
- Tashkurgan Loops: KKH or Pamir or Local. Some serious hills. We have yet to do the K2 loop there!
- Kanas Region: up in north Xinjiang, lots of mountain areas to explore.
- Hiking & BikeNHike: various trails one could probably BnH over on the Tianshan range, WuSun Ancient Trail and also the trails between Yining and Sayram Lake (伊赛牧道穿越). Also it looks like there are some very nice trails to explore in Tianshan area near Urumqi.
- 伊宁环线；不太难走，草原和山脉郁郁葱葱。直飞中国各地的航班很方便。是在新疆骑自行车的绝佳入门路线。
- 塔什库尔干环线；KKH 或帕米尔或当地。一些山路。我们还没有骑过那里的 K2 环线！
- 喀纳斯地区；位于新疆北部，有许多山区可供探索。
- 徒步和 骑行+徒步；可以在天山山脉、乌孙古道以及伊宁和赛里木湖之间的小道上骑行+徒步。此外，乌鲁木齐附近的天山地区似乎也有一些非常不错的徒步路线可以探索。
InterCountry: Cycling to and from Xinjiang to other countries and from East China. Try and map out some back roads as many of the G roads are now trucking roads in Xinjiang and not much fun at all for cycling on. There are amazing border crossing with Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Pakistan and Kazakhstan. Try the northern route heading west to Turpan (hot) and then basically follow the direction of the G312 on the old silk road through Gansu. Or stay south of the Taklamakan via Hotan and then do the back mountain roads through the Qilian Mountain range through Qinghai heading East onto Gansu. 跨国: 骑行往返于新疆与其他国家和华东地区。试着在地图上标出一些僻静的小路，因为在新疆，许多国道现在都成了卡车专用公路，骑行在卡车当中一点也不有趣。新疆与吉尔吉斯斯坦、塔吉克斯坦、巴基斯坦和哈萨克斯坦之间有许多令人惊叹的边境口岸。可以试试北线，向西到吐鲁番（很热），然后基本上沿着古丝绸之路 G312 的方向穿过甘肃。 或者在塔克拉玛干以南，经和田，然后穿过祁连山脉，再穿过青海，向东进入甘肃。
外国人Some Notes For Foreigners:
Some tips for foreign travellers: generally, things are getting much easier here, and it’s definitely worth a visit. A highlight on a inter-asia bike trip or wanting to better understand the area and China’s vast landscape and history. 给外国游客的一些建议：一般来说，这里的情况会好很多，绝对值得一游。如果您想更好地了解该地区以及中国广阔的地貌和历史，这里绝对是您跨亚洲自行车之旅的一个亮点。
Get a Chinese friend & WeChat: In the rare case you need some advice or suggestions on where to stay as a foreigner, you have someone to message who can help out. Also used for payments, see below.
Diversity: Have a very open mind! Read up from different sources about the history and cultures of the area. It’s all very complex and diverse! It’s a melting point of Chinese and “Stan” cultures and history! And lots of it! Xinjiang borders a bunch of countries, and it’s enormous.
Hotel booking and registration: use Trip.com! You will notice some areas and hotels on Trip say “Sold Out”. That shows you what is off-limits or not yet ready to register foreigners. You can also use Ctrip (Chinese Trip) or Gaode (Chinese language only). If it states “only for Chinese,” then phone them to check, as many will accept you. If they can register Chinese, then they should also register foreigners, unless in a restricted area. Things are improving significantly regarding the number of places that will register foreigners. China has officially eliminate any discrimination between where foreigners and locals can stay, however its understandably taking time to work its way through the system. Also, note that if you are staying in someone’s private home or camping, you have 24 hours to register yourself with the local police! Tip; I create a simple form in Chinese on my phone, which I ask the hotel / homestay to photograph on arrival which makes check-in very easy. It includes info such as the passport ID page, visa/resident card, arrival chop and travel details. See below for example. This speeds up the process and stops many repetitive questions. Always be very polite to the people checking you in and to the police! Remember, English is not their first language, and in many remote places, you might be the first foreigner they have ever seen and don’t speak any English. Also Chinese, I guess also most people find it very uncomfortable to be seen to be making a mistake, not knowing what to do or taking criticism, so don’t push people in corners there.
Checkpoints & Permits: You will be stopped at police checkpoints in Xinjiang. There is more security here than elsewhere in China. Relax, be polite, answer questions, take a selfie with the guards and chat! Border checkpoints: China has a seriously vast Western border to manage, and it is well-managed, from what I’ve seen. The NI (National Immigration) checks are conducted in border areas, and they will verify your ID. Its best you can get a border permit card, available at your local police station in Shanghai, Beijing, and most major cities. I’ve only had to produce it once, but it’s available to Chinese and foreigners in border areas, so get it just to be safe.
Tourist areas not open to foreigners: China is a vast and complex country with regulations tied to its history. Some “sensitive military” areas are also extremely popular Chinese tourist areas which are not open to foreigners unless you apply 30 or 60 days in advance! An example of this is the Duku Highway G217. I was turned back after two days of cycling up it, even though millions of other Chinese tourists were going through checkpoints without their IDs being checked. I guess strange-looking people like me are an easy target 🙂 Anyway, China is improving in this area, and hopefully, in the next few years, such discrimination won’t exist. In the meantime, please follow the law and what you are told to do. Xinjiang has 5 or 6 such areas and most, other than Duku highway are remote so don’t worry about it.
Maps/Routing: I could talk at length on this subject. Leave Google and Apple at home and download Coros, Gaode and Trip. Coros makes great GPS devices, and their China maps are based on Gaode. Their app is available in both English and Chinese, but ensure you have a Chinese account, which means the base maps and routing are based on Gaode. Gaode, China’s google maps, is excellent for checking whether roads are open or not and has a cycling routing function. It’s only in Chinese, but it’s easy enough to navigate by clicking around to create a route. Ask locals for quiet local roads or paths. Trip.com also features a good maps that shows attractions, tourist spots, hotels, and more, making it great for planning.
Payment: Please bring a few hundred RMB in cash to keep as a souvenir! Bring a very well-charged WeChat or Alipay account for reality. It could not be more convenient. Even in remote mountain-top shops with no coverage, I can pay using that!
Other Apps: AccuWeather uses Chinese data, and I’ve found it to be the most reliable. 2Bulu is a good off-road GPS /routing app with lots of enjoyable hiking routes. Redbook is China’s IG and great for researching an area. SF for logistics and bike shipping. Meituan delivers everything quickly to your door in record time. China could not be more convenient on this front.
