CHINA 2026 DE
The glaciated peaks of the Siguniangshan massif in Sichuan above forested high valleys

Route 1 · Nature & high mountains

Alpine Sichuan & Karst

The toughest of the six routes. Five nights in the Siguniangshan massif with a guided summit at 5,025 metres, Tibetan watchtowers in Danba, the complete pilgrim path up Emei Shan, 8,000 stone steps on Fanjingshan – and to finish, climbing rock in Yangshuo and the ridges of Hong Kong.

  • 🥾 Difficulty 5 / 5
  • 📍 Highest point 5,025 m
  • 🚗 Driver 6 days
  • ✈️ no domestic flight
  • 🛂 no border crossing
  • 🎶 Nightlife medium
  • 🎶 Festival possible on day 19
  • 💶 €2,100–2,500 p.p.
  • Entry: Chengdu

The character of this route

This route has a clear dramatic arc: it opens with two days of settling in in Chengdu, builds steadily over a week up to 5,025 metres and then deliberately eases off – first culture mountains with steps instead of scree, then climbing rock in subtropical karst, finally the ridges above Hong Kong's harbour.

Acclimatisation is not an add-on here, it is the structuring element. Three days of altitude adjustment in Rilong at 3,200 metres with two progressively higher day hikes are the reason the summit day is realistically doable rather than a gamble.

Late October and early November are the most stable mountain season of the year in Sichuan: the monsoon moisture is gone, visibility is long, and the autumn colours in the valleys are at their peak. The price you pay is cold – −10 to −15 °C at night in base camp.

📊 The route in numbers

Bases
7 (Chengdu, Rilong, Danba, Emei Shan, Fanjingshan, Yangshuo, Hong Kong)
Rail kilometres
approx. 2,300 km
Road kilometres
approx. 800 km with a driver
Total elevation gain
approx. 7,500 m of ascent
Hardest leg
Dafeng summit day, 800 m of ascent from 4,200 m
Quietest leg
Yangshuo, days 15–16

⚠️ A requirement, not a recommendation

The Dafeng ascent is technically straightforward but physiologically serious at altitude. Do not attempt it without the three acclimatisation days. Anyone still suffering headaches, insomnia or loss of appetite by day 5 skips the summit – the route works without it too, and days 6 and 7 simply become two more valley hikes.

20 days

Day by day

27 October to 15 November 2026. The weekdays are used deliberately: the summit day falls on a quiet Monday, Hong Kong on Friday to Sunday.

Route 1 – day-by-day overview
Day Date Location Activity Accommodation Transport
1Tue 27 Oct Chengdu Arrival, hotel, Yulin district in the evening: hotpot and craft beer. Plan nothing, the jet lag wins anyway. Chengdu Flight arrival
2Wed 28 Oct Chengdu Dujiangyan panda base (far emptier than Chenghua), then the Renmin teahouse in People's Park in the afternoon, ear-cleaners included. Check kit, last purchases. Chengdu Metro, taxi
3Thu 29 Oct Chengdu → Rilong 🚗 Drive through Wolong National Park and over the Balang Shan pass. If the weather and the road play along, take the old pass road at 4,487 m instead of the tunnel – the view of the entire Siguniangshan massif is the best on the route. Arrive Rilong, 3,200 m. Rilong 🚗 Driver, approx. 5 h
4Fri 30 Oct Changping valley 🥾 Acclimatisation day 1: boardwalk through the Changping valley to Muluozi and on to the bamboo zone, 18–20 km, up to 3,700 m. Autumn colours, hardly anyone about midweek. Rilong Shuttle + on foot
5Sat 31 Oct Haizi valley 🥾 Acclimatisation day 2: steep start, then an open high valley to Lake Dahaizi at approx. 4,000 m, 14 km. 📍 First real experience of altitude, an important test for the summit day. Rilong on foot
6Sun 1 Nov Dafeng base camp 🥾 Ascent to base camp at approx. 4,200 m. The luggage goes by pack horse, you walk. Into camp early, to sleep early – the start is around 04:00. Base camp (hut/tent) on foot, pack horse
7Mon 2 Nov Dafeng 5,025 m 🥾📍 Summit day. Night start, approx. 800 m of ascent over scree and névé to the summit plateau, sunrise over the glacier crest of Yaomei Feng. Descent all the way to Rilong. A long, big day. Rilong on foot, 12–14 h
8Tue 3 Nov Rilong → Danba 🚗 Drive into the Dadu valley. Jiaju in the afternoon: Tibetan houses stacked above terraced fields. On to Zhonglu, moving into a watchtower homestay. Zhonglu (homestay) 🚗 Driver, approx. 4 h
9Wed 4 Nov Zhonglu 🧭 A recovery day with substance: circular walk between the stone towers, walnut harvest, lunch with the host family. 📍 Evening light on the towers above the valley. Zhonglu (homestay) on foot
10Thu 5 Nov Danba → Chengdu 🚗 The longest driving leg of the route, back via Wolong. Evening in Chengdu: massage, a proper meal, laundry. Chengdu 🚗 Driver, approx. 7 h
11Fri 6 Nov Emei Shan 🥾 Early train to Emeishan, then on foot from Baoguo temple uphill via Qingyinge. Night in a monastery guesthouse at around 2,000 m – a plain bunk, the bell at five. Monastery on the mountain 🚄 1.5 h + on foot
12Sat 7 Nov Golden Summit 🥾📍 On to Xixiangchi and up to the Golden Summit (Jinding, 3,079 m). Above the sea of cloud, the Gongga Shan chain. Descend by cable car and bus to spare your knees. Emeishan town on foot, cable car, bus
13Sun 8 Nov → Fanjingshan 🚄 A rail day across to north-east Guizhou, with one change. Arrive in Jiangkou at the foot of Fanjingshan in the afternoon. Secure the ticket and time slot for the next day online. Jiangkou 🚄 approx. 7 h
14Mon 9 Nov Fanjingshan 🥾📍 Ascent up the notorious roughly 8,000 stone steps to the Red Cloud Golden Summit, 2,336 m: a rock needle split by a cleft, a temple on each half, joined by a small bridge. UNESCO World Heritage, and astonishingly empty on a Monday in November. Jiangkou Shuttle + on foot
15Tue 10 Nov → Yangshuo 🚄 Train to Guangxi. Arrive in Yangshuo, lodgings on the Yulong river rather than on West Street. Bouldering in the rock garden in the evening, or simply a beer by the river. Yangshuo 🚄 approx. 6 h
16Wed 11 Nov Yangshuo 🧭 Climbing day with a local guide at Moon Hill or White Mountain – bolted limestone, grades from 5.9 to 5.13, and October to December is high season there. Afterwards a bike ride through the karst fields. Yangshuo Bicycle, scooter
17Thu 12 Nov Xingping → Hong Kong 📍 The steep ladder climb up Laozhai Shan above Xingping in the morning: the river bend from the 20-yuan note, just without the boats. Train at midday, entry into Hong Kong in the evening. Hong Kong 🚄 approx. 4 h + border
18Fri 13 Nov Hong Kong 🥾📍 Dragon's Back over Shek O Peak, then a swim at Big Wave Bay. In the evening 🎶 Sheung Wan and Kwun Tong – Friday is the more reliable club night than Saturday. Hong Kong MTR, bus
19Sat 14 Nov Hong Kong / Yuen Long 🎶🎶 Recommendation: Shi Fu Miz Festival at Tai Tong Organic EcoPark, 12:00 to 04:00, four stages – date and line-up confirmed, see Route 4.
🥾📍 Alternative for mountain people: Sharp Peak in Sai Kung, 468 m, brutally steep on loose scree – the hardest popular hike in the city. Or Kowloon Peak with the clifftop view over the harbour.		 Hong Kong MTR + shuttle
20Sun 15 Nov Hong Kong Dim sum in Sham Shui Po, Star Ferry, then the Airport Express. Onward flight. If the connecting ticket is flexible: day 20 is the best candidate to cut. — Airport Express

Table scrolls sideways · 20 days, 27 Oct – 15 Nov 2026, with no gaps.

Geography

Map

The overview map shows the corridor from Sichuan via Guizhou and Guangxi to Hong Kong. The Amap button below marks every stop and works inside China too.

📍 All stops in Amap (高德) – works in China 🗺️ Google Maps (VPN only) OpenStreetMap larger

In China: the Amap link works behind the firewall. Google Maps is blocked on the mainland and OpenStreetMap is unreliable – background, app tips and offline maps.

🚗 Driving legs individually in Amap – with a drawn route

The button above only places markers, no line: Amap's marker endpoint shows up to ten points but no track between them. A drawn route comes from the navigation endpoint – which however only takes a start, an end and one waypoint. So here are the driving legs one by one:

Driver legs only. Rail and flight sections are deliberately missing – Amap would compute them as a car journey and show wrong times.

Note: the embedded map is an overview without a route line – OpenStreetMap embeds do not support waypoints. Route lines come from the Amap leg links below.

The core programme

🥾 Hiking and viewpoints

Dafeng, 5,025 m

Difficulty: high, but not technical. Two days from Rilong, base camp at approx. 4,200 m, summit day around 800 metres of ascent over scree and, in November with high probability, over névé and snow. No climbing, no roping up – but altitude, cold and a very long day.

Mandatory: a registered local mountain guide, registration through the reserve administration, microspikes or crampons, a down jacket, a head torch, category 4 sunglasses. A pack horse for the camp luggage is standard and costs little.

Honestly: of the four sister peaks, Dafeng is the only one that goes without alpine technique. Erfeng at 5,276 m and Sanfeng at 5,355 m already demand more, and Yaomei Feng at over 6,200 m is a genuine expedition.

Changping and Haizi valleys

Difficulty: medium. The two acclimatisation days are not filler but two of the finest valley hikes in Sichuan. Changping leads on boardwalks past waterfalls and through conifer forest up to 3,700 m, 18–20 km there and back.

The Haizi valley starts with an unpleasantly steep set of switchbacks and then opens into a wide high valley with lakes at 4,000 m. 📍 Lake Dahaizi below the north face is the best viewpoint you can reach without summit ambitions.

Emei Shan – entirely on foot

Difficulty: medium to high, but not dangerous. Walk the complete pilgrim path from Baoguo temple to the Golden Summit and you cover roughly 50 kilometres and about 2,500 metres of ascent in two days – almost entirely on stone steps. That is harder on the muscles than Dafeng, just without the altitude problem.

The monastery night is the real draw: spartan, vegetarian, bells at five in the morning. 📍 At the top at 3,079 m, on clear November days, views out to Gongga Shan. A warning: the macaques at Xixiangchi are organised, not cute – stow your bags away, take a stick in hand.

Fanjingshan – the staircase

Difficulty: medium, but relentless. Roughly 8,000 stone steps to the Red Cloud Golden Summit at 2,336 m. Pure leg work, no exposure. Take the cable car and you miss exactly half the experience.

📍 At the top, a split rock needle with two temples, joined by a short bridge across the cleft. The mountain has a daily visitor cap – reserve a timed ticket online in advance, otherwise you stay at the bottom.

Laozhai Shan above Xingping

Difficulty: short and steep. Barely 20 to 30 minutes on steps and metal ladders, exposed in places. At the top 📍 the classic view of the bend in the Li river that appears on the 20-yuan note.

Go up before eight in the morning: haze still sits in the valley, the tour boats are not running yet, and you often have the summit to yourself.

Hong Kong – harder than expected

Dragon's Back, 8.5 km, pleasant: a ridge path with views of Shek O and the southern islands, then into the water at Big Wave Bay.

Sharp Peak in Sai Kung, 468 m: the most demanding well-known route in the city. The final climb is a gully of loose sand and scree, more unpleasant on the way down than on the way up. At least 4 litres of water for two people, no shade anywhere, no bail-out option.

Kowloon Peak with its jutting rock ledge above the harbour: a short approach, and Hong Kong's best-known panorama shot. Not in the wet.

The Golden Summit of Emei Shan with its gilded Buddha statue above the sea of cloud
Golden Summit of Emei Shan, 3,079 m – day 12
The split rock needle of the Red Cloud Golden Summit on Fanjingshan with two temples
Red Cloud Golden Summit on Fanjingshan – day 14
Tibetan stone houses and watchtowers in the Danba region of Sichuan
Watchtowers near Danba – days 8 and 9
Fields between the karst cones of Yangshuo in Guangxi
Karst fields near Yangshuo – days 15 and 16

Substance rather than sights

🧭 Off the beaten path

Watchtower homestay in Zhonglu

Some of the towers in the Dadu valley are over 700 years old, and many families still live in the courtyards built onto them. Staying the night here means: a room upstairs, a stove in the kitchen, barley spirit with the man of the house in the evening. Arranging it runs practically only through the driver or directly on the spot – online platforms do not know these houses.

Sleeping in a monastery on Emei Shan

The mountain monasteries take in walkers, without a reservation, for a small sum. No comfort, but an experience no cable car ride can replace: evening prayers, vegetarian noodle soup, lights out at 21:00, bell at 05:00.

Climbing with local guides in Yangshuo

Yangshuo is China's sport-climbing centre, but the scene is small and surprisingly approachable. A day with a local guide costs little, opens up sectors away from Moon Hill and reliably ends with dinner together in Baisha.

Balang Shan pass instead of the tunnel

Since the tunnel was built, almost nobody takes the old hairpin road over 4,487 m any more. Which is exactly why it is worth it: empty bends, prayer flags, and the only point from which you see the entire massif at once. Only on a dry road, as there can be ice up there in November – leave the decision to the driver.

Jiangkou instead of a mountain resort

Most Fanjingshan visitors sleep in the resort at the park entrance. The little town of Jiangkou, by contrast, has a night market, grilled skewers, card games in the street and rooms for a third of the price.

Sham Shui Po instead of Central

On the last day in Hong Kong, don't head downtown but out to Sham Shui Po: electronics alleys, fabric markets, and the best dim sum places in the city at a quarter of Hong Kong Island prices.

Evenings

🎶 Nightlife on this route

Route 1 is not a scene route – after a summit day nobody wants to go to a club. There are three windows worth taking, though. And a stroke of luck at the end.

🎶 Shi Fu Miz Festival on Saturday 14 Nov – reachable on this route too

Day 19 of this route is the Saturday on which the Shi Fu Miz Festival runs in Hong Kong: four stages at Tai Tong Organic EcoPark in Yuen Long, 12:00 to 04:00, house and disco by day, techno at night, ambient to close. Date, venue and line-up are confirmed. If you want to take it in, trade the Sharp Peak day for it – after two weeks in the mountains that is a very defensible decision. All details and tickets in Route 4.

Source: Mixmag Asia, 15 Jun 2026, and shifumiz.com. Checked on 29 Sept 2026.

Chengdu, days 1–2

Chengdu is regarded as the centre of the Chinese electronic scene, with a dense landscape of livehouses and small clubs around Yulin and the Jiuyanqiao area. Realistically, Wednesday evening is a bar and craft-beer evening, not a club night. For the hard version: see Route 4.

Yangshuo, days 15–16

Not a club destination but climbers' bars: places like the ones along the road to Baisha are where the international climbing scene meets in the evening. Productive for contacts and sector tips, not for electronic music.

Hong Kong, days 18–19

The strongest stretch. What matters is not Lan Kwai Fong but the warehouse venues in Kwun Tong and the smaller places in Sheung Wan and Wan Chai. Friday is more reliable than Saturday, because many line-ups only start late.

🔎 Last-minute check – two weeks before departure

Club programmes in China and Hong Kong cannot be planned far ahead. Venues close and open quickly, and events are often announced only via WeChat. Hence no guarantees of names in this document, but the sources that genuinely help at short notice:

Assessment as of 29 Sept 2026.

Logistics

🚗🚄 Transport analysis

🚗 Driving yourself: no

China recognises neither the German driving licence nor the international driving permit. For a hire car you would need proof of a temporary Chinese driving licence plus a certified translation. On the mountain roads to Rilong and Danba driving yourself would be a bad idea on top of that: narrow hairpins, lorry traffic, roadworks, and ice in places in November.

🚗 Instead: a driver for six days

The legs Chengdu → Rilong → Danba → Chengdu and the day trips in the valleys are driven with 包车, that is, a car with a driver. The usual price is RMB 600–1,000 per day for the vehicle, so roughly €75–130, split between two.

The advantages that justify the price: the driver decides between pass and tunnel, arranges the homestay in Zhonglu, waits at the valley exits and reads the weather better than any app. For Route 1, clearly the right choice.

Legs and journey times
Leg Means Duration Note
Chengdu → Rilong🚗 Driverapprox. 5 h Public alternative: bus from Chadianzi, approx. 6–7 h, mornings only.
Rilong → Danba🚗 Driverapprox. 4 h No train, bus connections unreliable.
Danba → Chengdu🚗 Driverapprox. 7 h Leave early, the drive drags.
Chengdu → Emeishan🚄 high-speed trainapprox. 1.5 h Frequent departures, straightforward.
Emeishan → Tongren / Jiangkou🚄 high-speed train + busapprox. 7 h With one change. Check the specific connection when booking, as the network in north-east Guizhou has been extended several times in recent years.
Tongren → Yangshuo🚄 high-speed trainapprox. 6 h Change in Huaihua or Guiyang, verify the connection when booking.
Yangshuo → Hong Kong🚄 high-speed trainapprox. 4 h Via Shenzhen North or direct to West Kowloon. Passport control inside the station.

🚄 Why no domestic flight

On this route flying gains you nothing: the mountain legs have no airport nearby anyway, and all the long-distance sections sit within the dense high-speed network. Door to door the train is no slower here, but considerably more reliable – and you arrive in the middle of the city.

Mandatory check

🛂 Border crossing check

Result: no border crossing makes sense

Route 1 runs entirely within inland China. The nearest reachable neighbouring country would be Vietnam from Guangxi – but that would cost two to three days, which the Siguniangshan block here could not spare. The added value does not justify the effort.

Anyone who wants a border crossing is better served by Route 4 or Route 6 – there it is part of the dramatic arc from the start rather than an appendage.

🛂 Entry into China

No visa required. German citizens enter visa-free for up to 30 days per entry; the unilateral visa exemption applies until 24:00 on 31 Dec 2026. Carry with you: a valid ordinary passport, hotel bookings and the onward flight ticket out of Hong Kong as proof of the purpose of travel.

Sources: Consulate General of the PRC in Hamburg (4 Nov 2025); FAQs on Visa-free Entry into China, as of 21 May 2026. Check again before departure.

Implementation

Practicalities, kit and costs

💶 Cost estimate per person

Accommodation, 19 nights
approx. €780 (of which Hong Kong approx. €330)
Driver, 6 days
approx. €250
Mountain guide Dafeng
approx. €200 incl. pack horse and registration
Rail and local transport
approx. €210
Entrance fees and shuttles
approx. €180
Food and drink
approx. €400
Buffer
approx. €200
Total
€2,100–2,500
Excluding international flights. Mid-range with separate rooms.

🎒 Kit you cannot do without

  • Down jacket, fleece, hardshell – −10 to −15 °C at night in base camp
  • Microspikes or light crampons for the summit day
  • Head torch with spare batteries, start around 04:00
  • Category 4 sunglasses and factor 50+ sunscreen, snow at 5,000 m burns
  • Sleeping bag liner for the monastery guesthouse and the homestay
  • Trekking poles – decisive for 8,000 steps on Fanjingshan
  • Climbing shoes and harness, if you would rather not hire in Yangshuo
  • Power bank, electricity is not a given in the mountains

⚠️ Take the altitude seriously

Rilong sits at 3,200 m, base camp at 4,200 m, the summit at 5,025 m. The three days of acclimatisation are the minimum, not the comfortable option.

Agree the turnaround criteria beforehand: severe headache, vomiting, breathlessness at rest or unsteady walking mean descent, not discussion. Check your travel health insurance for altitude cover – many policies exclude trips above 4,000 m. Discuss altitude medication with your GP.

🌡️ Weather during the travel period

Chengdu
12–20 °C, often hazy, dry
Rilong (3,200 m)
5–12 °C by day, around −5 °C at night
Dafeng summit
−15 to −20 °C with wind, snow likely
Emei Shan, top
around 0 °C, snow possible from about 2,500 m
Fanjingshan
5–14 °C, frequently foggy
Yangshuo
16–24 °C, the driest time of year
Hong Kong
20–26 °C, ideal walking conditions

🔑 What to actually book

Dafeng permit
mandatory, issued by the Sichuan Mountaineering Association in Chengdu – in person, about 30 minutes, no prior notice needed. The registered guide is usually arranged at the same time.
Dafeng guide
through the reserve administration in Rilong or the Association; a pack horse for camp gear is standard and cheap.
Siguniangshan entries
Changping valley 70 RMB, Haizi valley 60 RMB, Shuangqiao valley 80 RMB (peak-season prices), each plus the park bus.
Fanjingshan
daily cap, secure a timed-entry ticket in advance via the official WeChat / Trip.com booking.
Emei Shan monastery lodging
no reservation needed, admission for a small fee directly on the mountain (e.g. Xixiangchi, Huazang).
Permit procedure: American Alpine Club, "Notes on Logistics for Climbers". Entries: chinadiscovery.com. Checked 4 Oct 2026, re-verify before departure.

📅 Booking order for Route 1

  1. Open-jaw flight: into Chengdu, onward flight out of Hong Kong
  2. Mountain guide for Dafeng – enquire immediately, capacity is limited
  3. Driver for the six days in Sichuan
  4. Hong Kong hotel for days 17–20
  5. If the festival is being taken in: buy the Shi Fu Miz ticket for 14 Nov now
  6. Fanjingshan ticket with a time slot, mind the daily visitor cap
  7. From 12 Oct, book the train legs daily as they enter the 15-day window

Further reading

Sources

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