TBR China ADV Riding

Returning back to Beijing downtown from the Great Wall sections called Simatei and Jinshaling near the Hebei / Beijing province border.
Quick visit to the Donghuamen Night Market not far from the Forbidden City and Tianamen Square in Beijing to meet up with my visitors from overseas.
A sight in itself, the bustling night market near Wangfujing Dajie is a veritable food zoo...
Donghuamen Night Market - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

















































 
Damn you have some fun up there in northern China, how much to truck the Duc one way from SH to BJ? They sure eat some unusual delicacies in BJ, even more unusual than Laos. Superb report thanks TB.
 
KTMphil said:
Damn you have some fun up there in northern China, how much to truck the Duc one way from SH to BJ? They sure eat some unusual delicacies in BJ, even more umusual than Laos. Superb report thanks TB.
Click to expand...
Food wise, southern China (Guangdong Province) has some more interesting choices on the menu compared to Beijing, have to look up pics for another ride report I took some years ago.

As I have very easy access to various size transport vehicles (cargo / passenger) in China its very hard to put any costs down for any shipments, takes around 13-15hrs. overnight on the expressway between Shanghai - Beijing with a truck (2 drivers taking turns).
Usually I ride my bikes all over the country but did the Shanghai - Beijing - Shanghai ride too many times in the past and one way takes around 2.5 > 3 days as we are not allowed to go on the expressways (tollways) in most parts of China (Beijing municipality is the big exception) and have to ride on secondary roads most of the times.
 
Black Dragon Pool Road becoming my preferred afternoon ride destination and heading out ones again before making my way to Shanghai.
Quick break and snack stop along the Black Dragon Pool Road in the mountains North of Beijing, pair of lizards perform a little sideshow.



















 
Rolling back to Beijing from the Black Dragon Pool Ride, had another rear tire puncture right on the expressway, must have driven over a lane divider reflector or reflector bolt mounted into the asphalt as the hole was a perfect round, shaped like a bullet hole.
Had to use two sticky ropes to seal the puncture perfectly and secure. Now the real danger was standing in the right lane (emergency lane), in China crazy drivers use the emergency lane as a regular driving lane all the time..... TIC = This Is China!













 
Last days of my temporary Beijing stay and trip.
Trail riding in the mountains to one of the very few know arch ways in the Great Wall of China approx. 85k's from the Beijing.
















 
Chinese food at trout farm and restaurant near the Mutanyiu Great Wall section after the arch way trail ride....
They say, the albino trout tastes better but makes no difference in my opinion.




























 
Really hope the government powers refrain from turning the great mountain ranges and grasslands around greater Beijing region into the "big modern city dream".......




 
Quick lap around the famous Tianamen Square in Beijing before packing up for the return to Shanghai and saying goodbye to Capital City Beijing for the time being....













 
The MTS arrived back in Shanghai by overnight truck shipment from Beijing, a few weeks of B+B (business and biking) went by in a flash (riding distance = 1x Pirelli Scorpion Trail 190/55ZR17 -rear tire-, approx. 6000k's extensively twisting the throttle).
The Italian Diva performed great and flawless. Ducati MTS = absolute brilliant bike and will get a lot of TLC incl. a decent wash and polish in the next few days thats for sure....

Had a blast around the greater Beijing region going for afternoon rides, overnight trips and full day cruises on the expressways (gets you out of the city and the touristy areas pretty quick, fully legal and very convenient) to the brilliant mountain roads and the beautiful grasslands.....
Enjoyed catching up with quite a few old mates and made a few interesting new contacts in the Beijing biker community and planning a longer stay up in Capital City Beijing later in the year once again.

Beijing rocks.... stay and ride safe!















China ADV Cruising will continue after the summer break.... going ridin'....
 
After a relaxed hearty breakfast at the HQP-Roadhouse, went for a nice ride early on Sunday morning along the Great Canal passing through Liantang Town, in the Qingpu District of Shanghai over into Jiangsu province and back via Diashan Lake.
Very nice and pleasant weather without the high humidity....

Liantang Town, former home toen of Chen Yun: Chen Yun - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia







 
After the Liantang / Great Canal morning run taking the MTS little angry brother for an extended ride, good times passing cars and larger bikes...








 
You really are covering some new territory for us here, I bet not many big adventure bikes have been along here, how long does this trail go on for?


i-mQWS47M-L.jpg







I Like your shipping method a lot. In case you've missed why this is so good, it designed so that the bike is safely secure WITHOUT loading up the suspension risking blown fork seals etc.... All straps and securing rear metal rods fit to the bike below the suspension, the suspension is only under the load of the weight of the bike.



i-kVSQL7p-L.jpg
 
KTMphil said:
You really are covering some new territory for us here, I bet not many big adventure bikes have been along here, how long does this trail go on for?
Click to expand...

Did roughly 2.5k's as I had to give up due to water crossings and being alone dropping a bike with a lot of electrics into a water stream is not a very good idea... A mate with a lightweight 400cc dual-sport went further up and says the canyon gets narrow and looks great, awaiting his pictures.


KTMphil said:
I Like your shipping method a lot. In case you've missed why this is so good, it designed so that the bike is safely secure WITHOUT loading up the suspension risking blown fork seals etc.... All straps and securing rear metal rods fit to the bike below the suspension, the suspension is only under the load of the weight of the bike.
Click to expand...

Exactly, no stress on the suspension, shipping bikes with Pit-Bull Trailer Restraints: Pit Bull Motorcycle Stands-Motorcycle Accessories for quite a long time via truck or air-shipments, always secure and easy to work with alone, actually easier to get the bike mounted without any assistance. Another great feature, even with flat tyres, the bike sits totally secure.

While in the US of A recently and out with my mate riding at the Glamis Dunes / California seen this CargoBuckles used: http://www.immioutdoors.com/products/cargobuckle/retractable-tie-downs/ and straight away shipped some sets and mounting accessories over to my home in Shanghai, makes bike securing and shipment much easier.
 
Heading out to the seaside out at Nanhui district / Pudong (Shanghai / China) to test the newly installed Ohlins Suspension Control Unit (SCU).








Stop at Dishui Lake and the new Shanghai Maritime Museum and just down the road one of the concrete aircraft carriers we have in the Shanghai region.

















Some floats for the Shanghai Tourism Festival during the National October Holidays 1-7th.October.








 
Educational wall graffiti spotted during yesterdays Qingpu / Shanghai run to Taihu Lake in Jiangsu province.....











 
I've been to Lake Taihu a few times and even did a 5 day's conference there, cannot remember the hotel name.

Did you go visit the famous Suzhou gardens like the Humble Administrator's Garden or seen Tiger Hill?
Really a nice place to visit is Suzhou Museum. And if you want a different style of hotel, I recommend Hotel ONE.
 
brake034 said:
I've been to Lake Taihu a few times and even did a 5 day's conference there, cannot remember the hotel name.Did you go visit the famous Suzhou gardens like the Humble Administrator's Garden or seen Tiger Hill?Really a nice place to visit is Suzhou Museum. And if you want a different style of hotel, I recommend Hotel ONE.
Click to expand...

Been to the Suzhou / Wuxi / Nanjing tourist sites some years ago and feel no real needs to go again in the future.
Takes us around 60 min. to ride over to Suzhou from Shanghai starting from our usual meeting point in the Shanghai suburbs and not really necessary to stay overnight and hotel wise, well ~ you got the Intercontinental, Marriott, Crowne Plaza, Kempinski, Pan Pacific and Shangri-La among the long list of Suzhou hotels. Lots of new hotel properties along Taihu Lake on both sites = Suzhou and Huzhou. We are out and about riding the greater Suzhou / Huzhou / Wujiang / Mudu / Tongli / Zhouzhuang / Wuxi area quite often and not really into any touristy sites like the Suzhou gardens and as we have the week long october national holidays right now lets say the area is rather crowded in the moment.

Not far from Taihu Lake (up the road from Mercury Suzhou Marina) are the military tank testing grounds, great off-road riding with 4x4's and bikes and quite challenging in some sections....
 
TB, when I was there it was always on business trips, so work 5 days a week, leaving 1 or 2 days for relax and recreation.
I never had a Chinese driving license and the factory guys let us drive company cars only very occasionally.
So for 10 years I have been pretty much confined to the Suzhou area only.
Just wanted to challenge your readers a bit on the beauty of the Lake Taihu area.

Love your posts, keep them coming!
 
KTMphil said:
TB- Interested to see what you've uncovered there!
Click to expand...
Phil, did not take the Ducati MTS seriously off-road to the Suzhou tank testing grounds yet, getting some Conti TKC80 (rear 180/55-17 and front 120/70-17) into the country as we speak and once I have them on hand and installed the Ducati MTS shall have a run around the tank testing grounds.
We are planning another weekend out at the Suzhou tank testing grounds with various bikes, shall be fun....

brake034 said:
TB, when I was there it was always on business trips, so work 5 days a week, leaving 1 or 2 days for relax and recreation.
Click to expand...
Let me know once you have any trips planned to Suzhou and we might have a chance to meet up.....
 
Hi TB, thanks but I am no longer with that company so I am not sure when I will be in China again or where for that matter.
The valve business in China is mainly in 3 area's, the old (State?) companies around Beijing, the more modern ones (some also State) in Suzhou/Wuxi area and the majority are in the Wengzhou province.
I think I will be in China again, will drop a note when and where, for now I work for a customer in Seoul.
 
The diversity in China is so amazing, there's nothing like it for me, i'm hooked. Looks like the "London Town" is a huge hit for the wedding photo's, saves the USD$ 2,000 airfare. Love this unique stuff TB thanks for taking the time.
 
Heading out of the big city to Qinglong Temple in Qingpu district, a rather large suburb of Shanghai.









































Vendors and shops outside the temple selling candles and incense sticks to visitors.

















 
Hairy Crab season around greater Shanghai region and Yancheng Lake near Suzhou / Kunshan (Jiangsu province) has the authentic Hairy Crabs, the best of the crawlies apparently.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_mitten_crab and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yangcheng_Lake



























Massive crab restaurants are situated around the Yangcheng Lake area in Jiangsu province.


















Hairy Crabs for shipment to outlaying areas and yes ~ they ship them live to Hong kong, Singapore, etc. as well....



























Yangcheng Lake (Jiangsu) Aquatic Park and a quick run through Baocheng.





































 
KTMphil said:
I bet the crab there is awesome!
Click to expand...
Yeah, it's fun with a big dinner group, must say prefer king crabs or blue swimmer crabs as the hairy crabs don't have much meat...

This time, very simple convenient pit stop near Yancheng Lake for a coffee and cheese burger....



KTMphil said:
You really dig up some unusual stuff, thankyou.
Click to expand...
Mate, same to you, really....
 
Autumn bike run to Nanjing (Jiangsu) for a few business meetings and catching up with mates. Nanjing is the capital of Jiangsu province in eastern China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions: Nanjing - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Taking national roads #318 / #104 / #312 to Nanjing from Shanghai this time, bit of a long way 'round but the other national roads between Suzhou / Wuxi and Shanghai are currently under construction.

Crossing China province borders and a Jiangsu province...







Jiangsu province road-side restaurant "you kill it ~ we grill it" style with various meats on display including man's best friend beside national road #318.....










 
Beside national road #104 between Huzhou - Nanjing several areas displaying and selling rather large stone sculptures....









 
Wile staying in Nanjing for three days, went to the Nanjing massacre museum one afternoon with a mate as I have been there the last time a decade ago, very intense display...

The tomb-like exhibition hall, half underground, contains items related to the massacre, including an immense collection of pictures, objects, charts, and photographs.
Paintings, sculptures, illuminated display cabinets, multimedia screens and documentary films serve to demonstrate to visitors the crimes committed by the Japanese military.
The Nanking Massacre or Nanjing Massacre, also known as the Rape of Nanking: Nanking Massacre - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and Nanjing Massacre









































































John Rabe was a German businessman who is best known for his efforts to stop the atrocities of the Japanese army during the Nanking Occupation and his work to protect and help the Chinese civilians during the event.
John Rabe - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Iris Chang was an American historian and journalist. She is best known for her best-selling 1997 account of the Nanking Massacre, The Rape of Nanking. She committed suicide on November 9, 2004.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iris_Chang
 
Heading back to Shanghai in the morning from the Nanjing downtown traffic circle with a statue of Sun Yat-Sen.
Mostly rain all the way from Nanjing to Suzhou and clear from Suzhou Jinjii Lake area to Shanghai.
As usual, riding during rain in China ~ bike and rider gets covered in a thick layer of road grime and dirt.....







 
Impressive pictures of the Nanjing massacre museum TB, thanks for sharing.
 
Sanya / Hainan Island~ down in Southern China, picking up the China Jialing ride report from post #141 as I am reunited with my trusty Jialing JH600 at the again.
First short run was over to Hohai, just down the road from the ferry pier to Wuzhizhou Island near Haitang Bay.











Waiting for the aircon bus?



 
Got a bottle of famous Sanya moonshine and rode up to one of my favourite Sanya mountain tops to watch the world go by on sunset hill listening to music.....









Light dinner over at Serenity Coast Sanya Marina watching the lightshow display on the five towers at Phoenix Island.

 
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