How do you best combine fresh air, green pastures, ancient Buddhist grottoes, Tibetan culture, mountain passes and physical activity with photography? On a bike trip through Gansu and Sichuan. And here I was.
如何最好地将新鲜空气、绿色牧场、古老佛教石窟、西藏文化、山口和体育活动与摄影结合起来？骑自行车穿越甘肃和四川。我就在这里。
Lanzhou, capital of Gansu Province, can easily be reached from Nanjing by plane and high-speed train. My choice was the overnight-sleeper train, one of the famed green ones, requiring just under 20 hours. From there, the mantra was always “Go South”.
从南京乘坐飞机和高铁可轻松抵达甘肃省省会兰州。我选择的是过夜火车，这是著名的绿色火车之一，需要不到 20 个小时。从那时起，口头禅始终是“向南走”。
A quick diversion with a motorised vehicle means you can easily reach the Bingling Grottoes (炳灵寺) from Lanzhou, carved into the cliffs of a gorge, just after taking a boat ride on the dammed Yellow River, a pleasure in itself.
机动车辆快速改道，从兰州乘船游览截流的黄河，即可轻松到达建在峡谷峭壁上的炳灵寺，其乐无穷。
On the bike, it is a longer 1 day ride to first arrive in Linxia, a once important stop on the Silk Road and a town with decidedly Muslim Hui character.
骑自行车，需要花费 1 天的时间才能抵达临夏，临夏曾经是丝绸之路上的重要一站，也是一座具有明显穆斯林回族特色的城镇。
And from there, you can easily reach Xiahe with its famous and huge Tibetan Labrang Monastery (拉卜楞寺), before continuing at heights of over 3,000 metres above sea level. Next was the town of Langmusi, a real highlight with two big Tibetan monasteries presenting their golden roof tops amid splendid mountain scenery, one in Gansu and one in Sichuan, with Langmusi straddling the border.
从那里，您可以轻松到达夏河及其著名的巨大拉卜楞寺，然后继续前往海拔3000多米的高度。接下来是郎木寺镇，这是一个真正的亮点，两座西藏大寺院在壮丽的山景中呈现出金色的屋顶，一座位于甘肃，一座位于四川，而郎木寺横跨边境。
For nature lovers, another place worth its own trip is Zhagana in Gannan Prefecture, where I felt reminded of the Dolomites in the European Alps. My constant companions throughout on the huge rolling hills only covered by grass were yaks. When on the road, they only reluctantly give way to cars; you should see what happens when they see an alien on a bicycle!
对于热爱大自然的人来说，另一个值得一去的地方是甘南州的扎嘎纳，那里让我想起了欧洲阿尔卑斯山的白云石山脉。 在只有草覆盖的连绵起伏的巨大山丘上，我不变的同伴是牦牛。在路上，他们只是不情愿地给汽车让路； 你应该看看当他们看到骑自行车的外星人时会发生什么！
But forget the First Bend of the Yellow River (黄河九曲第一湾); what a rip off. And foreign travellers should best not forget we are in China and finding accommodation on Ctrip without the dreaded “We only accept guests with China Mainland ID“ is sometimes a challenge. It was a phenomenon which led to a longer 220-kilometre stage down to beautiful Zhuokeji in a deep Sichuan valley.
但忘记黄河九曲第一湾；真是太宰人了。外国游客最好不要忘记我们是在中国，在携程上寻找住宿而避免可怕的“我们只接受持有中国大陆身份证的客人”有时是一个挑战。这一现象导致了长达 220 公里的更长赛段一直延伸到四川山谷深处美丽的卓克基。
I was then in Aba Kham Tibetan Prefecture where many villages are protected by their 40-metre high “Diaolou” (碉楼) watch towers, followed by some of the most beautiful deep valleys, with the odd hot spring in between, which made for a welcome boiled-egg lunch, before reaching another Tibetan monastery town in Tagong.
当时我在阿坝康藏族自治州，那里的许多村庄都受到 40 米高的碉楼的保护，接下来是一些最美丽的深谷，中间有奇特的温泉，这是一顿受欢迎的煮鸡蛋午餐，然后到达塔公的另一个西藏寺院小镇。
Then onward for a 2-day stretch on the G318, the longest national highway in the whole of China. The road traverses several 4,000+ metre-high mountain passes with the highest over 4,400 metres; and a well-lit, nigh-on 6-kilometre long tunnel. Trucks and buses passing by are less of a pleasure, but nevertheless, the G318 is popular with Chinese cyclists on the Chengdu-Lhasa route; it’s a 21 day standard trip on a lot of bucket lists for pedal-powered Chinese. And it was only here that I encountered a number of cyclists.
然后继续沿中国最长的国道 G318 行驶 2 天。公路穿越数座4000多米高的山口，最高处4400多米；还有一条光线充足、近 6 公里长的隧道。卡车和公共汽车的驶过并不那么令人愉快，但尽管如此，G318在成都-拉萨路线上还是很受中国骑行者的欢迎；这是一个 21 天的标准旅行，是很多骑自行车的中国人的愿望清单上的。正是在这里，我遇到了一些骑自行车的人。
A well deserved rest is to be had in Litang, another Tibetan town worth a visit complete with monastery, at an elevation of 4,000 metres. Be sure to pause on the hill overlooking the town for sunset and get up early for sunrise; both will drain the batteries of your cameras.
理塘是您值得好好休息的地方，理塘是另一个值得一游的藏族小镇，这里有一座海拔 4,000 米的寺庙。一定要在山上停下来俯瞰小镇日落，早起看日出；两者都会耗尽相机的电池。
Again continuing south, a peculiar-looking mountain has been rightfully named Rabbit Mountain (兔儿山), while the next and one of the last days on a longer gravel road over a 4,700-metre high pass brought me to No Name Mountain (无名山); how creative. It was a nice highlight.
再继续向南，一座奇特的山被名副其实地命名为“兔儿山”，而第二天也是最后几天，我沿着一条更长的碎石路翻越了 4,700 米高的山口，来到了无名山。多么有创意啊。这是一个很好的亮点。
The Sichuan Shangri-La Prefecture with the Yading Mountain Park can only be explored by walking. Roads there are reserved for the shuttle buses of the huge scenic area. So, the last adventure of this trip was on foot, hiking. A worthwhile diversion.
四川香格里拉地区的亚丁山公园只能步行游览。那里的道路是为大景区的班车预留的。所以，此行最后的冒险就是徒步，徒步。一个值得的消遣。
For all the bicycle enthusiasts, the roads there are mostly in good condition, with some segments on gravel to add diversity. This trip was done on a road bike with tubeless road tyres; perfectly fine. Pack as little as possible and be sure that your bike offers a 1:1 gear ratio. The overall distance was 2,100 kilometres with 18 days spent riding. Choose the onion principle for keeping warm at high altitudes. I had no problem at all climbing mountain passes of 3,000 and 4,000+ metres, but note that altitude affects different people to varying degrees.
对于所有自行车爱好者来说，那里的道路大多状况良好，有一些路段是碎石路段，以增加多样性。这次旅行是使用配备无内胎公路轮胎的公路自行车完成的；完全没问题。尽可能少带行李，并确保您的自行车提供 1:1 的传动比。骑行18天，总里程2100公里。高海拔保暖选择洋葱原则。我攀登3000米和4000米以上的山口完全没有问题，但请注意，海拔高度对不同的人有不同程度的影响。
I stayed in small hotels every night and Chinese language skills sure help, however, you can do this without. As a benefit, it will probably add some more to the adventure.
我每晚都住在小旅馆里，中文水平肯定有帮助，但是，你可以不用中文。作为一个好处，它可能会为冒险增添更多内容。
