The Alashan on a Chang Jiang 750

[Suqsuda]

I'd been wanting to visit the Alashan since reading an article about it the January 2002 issue of National Geographic: "China's Unknown Gobi: Heart of the Desert."

The magazine had this opening shot, of which I am making a little 'fair use':



And Nat Geo this opening blurb:

"Spring-fed lakes, thousand-foot-high sand dunes, and the ghosts of an ancient walled city lie at the heart of the remote Alashan Plateau."

Sign me up! Easier said than done, but in 2005 I was fortunate to attach myself to a German-Chinese group touring the Alashan.

[booger1]

keep it coming, stop the teasing

[Suqsuda]

The trip was led by Paolo -- a German, notwithstanding the Italian-sounding name. Interesting guy -- he had lived as an expatriate in China for 25 years, working in Chongqing for a major European multinational. For some years, he had been leading motorcycle trips for friends and family into different parts of China. He ended up with a small fleet of Chang Jiangs garaged in Yinchuan, the staging point for trips to the Alashan.

Paolo was on the verge of retirement and was in the process of forming a motorcycle tour company he called Extreme Motorcycle Tours China. I think I was his first real customer.

He was laying plans to ride the Taklamakan in 2006 and I was set to join him. Sadly, Paolo died just months after this trip while en-route to the Alashan a final time.

[China2wheels]

This should be good!

Going anywhere on a CJ750 is always an adventure!

[Abenteuerfahrer]

Keep telling the whole story....whole hog...wanna hear it all as I am a sidecarist myself. Always loved extreme adventures to far lands like China.

So sorry to see Paolo go....

[Suqsuda]

I'd never been to China before so I spent some time in Beijing before meeting up there with Paolo and his group and flying to Yinchuan, the staging point for our ride.

What intrigued me about Yinchuan is that it is a city of 1.65 million population (by the numbers it would be the 5th biggest U.S. city after Houston) but few people in the U.S. or the West would have reason to have ever heard of it. It feels like a wholly Chinese city. I didn't see a single other Westerner outside our own group, from the time I boarded the plane to Yinchuan, until I returned to Beijing.

Paolo's garage in Yinchuan:



The bikes. The silk flags are so the riders can see the other bikes at distance in the desert:



Unlike some other big cities in China, a lot people here still get around by bicycle:



This guy with the corner tire repair service had customers waiting in line:



Orientation ride on the bikes: this is Paolo's son Marco, a medical doctor:



Jens and his gf Diana:



Me on the wide streets. The Chinese certainly think big.

[yellowknife]

This looks real gooooooooood ...



YK

[kahlgryndiger]

Originally Posted by Sidecar Asia

Going anywhere on a CJ750 is always an adventure!

Well ... you should try my russian bitch. IZH Jupiter outfit. THIS is an adventure By the way, a friend of mine rides a Donghai here in Germany maybe he can tell us stories about adventures.

To go back topic ... this is really an interesting RR!

[Dessert Storm]

Fantastic. More please.