Why this ride
532 km from Chengdu to Gaocheng, about 13 h of riding. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 4,500 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Sichuan Tibet Highway G318: Chengdu to Litang
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 532 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 6 h 16
- Journey
- One way; return travel is separate
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Chengdu
Chengdu is the sort of city where the main achievement is that people there have a good time, and the rest is background. The capital of Sichuan province sits in a wide, humid plain in western China, home to more than seven million people in the city proper and a lot more in the wider area. It has an easy, teahouse-and-mahjong rhythm, a pace the rest of the country envies, and a cuisine whose reputation is global. Sichuan pepper, the tingling spice that numbs the lips, flavours the hotpot, the mapo tofu and the dan dan noodles, and a rider arriving here should plan on eating well.
Read the complete Chengdu write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Chengdu is where the day begins. Next is Kangding.
2. Kangding
Kangding is where the Chinese road meets the Tibetan plateau. The town sits in a narrow gorge where two rivers join, at the foot of the Gongga massif, and for centuries it was the main trading point between Han China and Tibet, where tea from Sichuan was exchanged for horses, wool and medicinal herbs. The Tibetan name is Dartsedo, and the town remains a meeting place of two cultures, with Tibetan monasteries, prayer flags and markets beside Chinese shops and restaurants.
Read the complete Kangding write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Kangding comes up about 260 km into the recorded legs. Next is Litang.
3. Litang
Litang is one of the highest towns in the world, at roughly four thousand metres, a Tibetan settlement on a wide grassy plateau in western Sichuan, where the G318 highway crosses on its long journey from Chengdu to Lhasa. The mountains around it are rounded and bare, the sky is huge and the air is thin enough that every staircase becomes a conversation with your lungs.
Read the complete Litang write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 532 km.
Leg by leg
Chengdu to Kangding
Chengdu → Kangding is 260 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Kangding to Litang
Kangding → Litang is 272 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.