Shengkai Bike | Cycling Guide around Erhai Lake

On September 7, I and Randy asked his friends to ride around Erhai Lake. They helped us take photos and record data, which provided a lot of material for this article.

I boldly used the word "strategy" as the title, and I hope that the following content can live up to this name.

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First, if you use a cycling app, you can refer to the following road books/routes/trajectories (different apps call them differently) :

Traveler : Search the road book "3607953"

Strava : Search for the route " Blooming Bike "

Blackbird : Search for road book "1024113"

Two-step route : Search for the route "Blooming Bike Around Erhai Lake", and there are two routes available.

Keep : Select "Outdoor Cycling" first, then search for the route "Shengkai Bicycle"

These are the routes starting from Shengkai Bicycle Ancient City Store, circling Erhai Lake and then returning to Shengkai Bicycle. The whole journey is about 130km. It doesn’t matter if your starting point is different from ours. Just find the easiest way to join this route.

Before you start riding, you need to make two choices:

Option 1: One-day tour around the sea vs. two-day tour around the sea

It depends on your riding ability and purpose.

Cycling ability is the primary factor. You need to carefully evaluate whether you can complete a 130km ride in a day. You can refer to your previous cycling or other outdoor experience to make a judgment.

The second thing you need to consider is the purpose of your cycling trip . Do you plan to simply complete the Erhai Lake cycling challenge, or do you want to visit more attractions through cycling to fully appreciate the beautiful scenery and understand the culture?

Option 2: Clockwise vs. Counterclockwise

We recommend that you ride clockwise around the sea for two reasons. First, riding clockwise will bring you closer to the sea and give you a better view of the sea. Second, there is a non-motorized vehicle lane only on the sea side of Huanhai East Road, so riding is relatively safe.

Erhai Lake is a long lake from north to south, so the roads around the lake are mainly distributed on the east and west sides. As shown in the picture above, a greenway called "Erhai Ecological Corridor" was built on the west side of Erhai Lake, with a total length of 46 kilometers (48 kilometers in the picture is wrong, the real starting point is not at the "National Fitness Center", but at the "Ecological Corridor Starting Point" 1.8 kilometers away) , almost covering the entire west side of Erhai Lake. This road only allows pedestrians and bicycles to enter, and other social vehicles are prohibited from passing. Therefore, from the perspective of safety, scenery and road conditions, this road is very suitable for cycling. Other sections outside the Erhai Ecological Corridor are public roads with asphalt pavement. When traveling with vehicles, please pay attention to the non-motorized vehicle lane on the right.

Below, I divide the route around Erhai Lake into five sections using five key locations: A Shengkai Bicycle Ancient City Store, B End of Ecological Corridor, C Shuanglang Ancient Town, D Airport Roundabout, and E Starting Point of Ecological Corridor, and explain them one by one:

Entering the Erhai Lake Ecological Corridor

We chose Xiaoyizhuang Highway to go to the edge of Erhai Lake. This is the closest road from Shengkai Bicycle Ancient City Store to the Erhai Lake Ecological Corridor. There is an alley at the end of the road, but don’t be afraid. Walk to the end and see the screen wall below. Don’t think it is a dead end. The entrance to the corridor is next to the screen wall.

Two Ways to Travel the Northern Section of Erhai Lake

Internal roads VS external roads of Shuanglang Ancient Town

Considering that most of the people reading this article are tourists who are cycling in Dali for the first time, our route has chosen a route passing through Shuanglang Ancient Town, so that you can visit the ethnic cultural street of Shuanglang while circling the sea, and you can also choose a good restaurant here for lunch.

If this is not your first time to Shuanglang, or you don’t want to squeeze in the crowd, you can choose to take the East Huanhai Road outside Shuanglang and go around the ancient town. This option will involve a climb, and you can overlook the entire Shuanglang ancient town from the top of the slope.

All five climbs are on this section

All the climbs around Erhai Lake are in this section, except for the slope outside Shuanglang. There are five other climbs, each of which is not very long and the slope is not steep.

Xingsheng Bridge

At this point you have ridden to the southwestern side of Erhai Lake. When you see Xingsheng Bridge, remember to get on the bridge. There are two ways to get on the bridge. One is to take the auxiliary road with the motor vehicles to get on the bridge, and the other is to carry your bicycle up the stairs. This is the way to go when there is heavy traffic.

Ecological corridor

Look for "Yueqi Sea View Hotel" and you will find the way you came here after exiting the ecological corridor.

About tourist attractions

Regarding the introduction of scenic spots along the Erhai Lake, I believe you have seen relevant content on many platforms. Starting from Dali Ancient Town, you will pass Panxi S Bay, the Covered Bridge, Xizhou Ancient Town, Haishe Park and Twin Trees, Shuanglang Ancient Town, Luwo Mountain, Xiao Putuo, Wenbi Village, Tianjing Pavilion, Dali Santorini (Ideal Country), Xingsheng Bridge and Longkan Wharf. Except for Haishe Park, which requires reservation one day in advance and Tianjing Pavilion, which requires tickets, other attractions can be passed by directly and visited for free. We also found a hand-drawn map to introduce the distribution of these attractions.

Of course, if you are interested in Dali's history and culture, you can go further to see the Bai architecture and screen wall culture along the way, visit the local temples along the way, and find the estuaries of the 18 streams of Cangshan Mountain. You can also study the specific location where Zhuge Liang captured Meng Huo seven times and explore the beginning and end of the Tianbao War in the Tang Dynasty.

Dali is a tourist city with distinct peak and off-seasons. Generally speaking, the winter and summer vacations, May Day and National Day are the peak seasons in Dali, and the rest of the time is the off-season.

During the peak season, there are many people and vehicles. The popular attractions on the ecological corridor - Panxi S Bay and Longkan Wharf are crowded. There will also be bicycle congestion during peak hours. The congested section of Longkan Wharf is about 800m, and the congested section of S Bay is about 2km. On the Haidong Road, there is a lot of traffic near Shuanglang Ancient Town, Wase Xiaoputuo, and Haidong Ideal State, so please pay attention to traffic safety.

There are fewer tourists in the off-season, and the area along Erhai Lake is relatively quiet. Tourists will still gather in S Bay and Longkan, but it will not be crowded. If you want to enjoy the quietest side of Erhai Lake, cycling in the off-season is a good choice.

The impact of Dali’s climate on cycling around Erhai Lake

Temperature Dali has the lowest temperature in January, ranging from 5-15℃. It is cooler in the morning and evening, so you should keep warm. The highest temperature is from late May to mid-June, ranging from 15-28℃, and occasionally reaching 30℃, which is the highest temperature in Dali. Dali is at a high altitude, and ultraviolet rays are strong all year round, so you must take good sun protection when riding.

The rainy season in Dali is from late June to early September every year, with mostly showers or thunderstorms, which have an impact on cycling but not too big. We suggest you find a place to hide in heavy rain and wait for the rain to change. You can wear a raincoat to ride in light rain. The rain changes quickly in the rainy season, and there are often beautiful clouds and rainbows. In addition, the ultraviolet rays are not so strong in cloudy weather, and the temperature will be cooler, which is why the rainy season becomes the peak season.

The wind season in Dali is from early December to late April of the following year. During this period, there will be wind in Dali almost every day, with varying wind strengths. Generally, the wind is stronger in the afternoon. According to the experience of previous guests, if you are riding on a single day, you will encounter headwinds in the Haidong section in the afternoon, so you need to be mentally prepared.

Pay attention to your physical condition

❶ Do not drink alcohol or stay up late before departure, and it is best to eat a regular and light diet;

❷During riding, the palms and buttocks will bear a lot of pressure and cause pain, which can be relieved by changing the riding posture;

❸After riding, you should relax your body by stretching to effectively prevent muscle soreness.

 Night riding environment

Most situations where night riding is required occur on the fifth section. There are no street lights on the Erhai Ecological Corridor. An alternative is to take the Dali Line. Most sections of the Dali Line have street lights. No matter which road you choose, you must slow down and pay attention to safety.

About accommodation and supplies

If you choose to travel around the sea in one day, it is recommended to have lunch in Shuanglang Ancient Town. If you choose to travel around the sea in two days, it is recommended to have lunch in Xizhou Ancient Town on the first day, have dinner and stay overnight in Shuanglang, and have lunch in Haidong Town at noon on the second day. There will be more food and accommodation options in these places.

There are many small shops and supermarkets along the way around Erhai Lake, so you don’t have to worry about supplies. You don’t need to carry too much water and food before departure, and try to reduce the weight.

About maintenance point

Bicycle repair stations along the Erhai Lake Ring Road are mainly distributed in Xiaguan City, the Old City District, or towns along the way. It is difficult to find a repair station on most sections of the road, so it is recommended that you carry portable repair tools when riding to be prepared. If you rent a bicycle from Shengkai Bicycle, we will fully support you in solving the problem and will send a vehicle to rescue you when necessary.

About Lalamove

It is quite convenient to call Huolala in Dali, but you need to pay attention to the time of calling the car, which should be no later than 18:00. If no one accepts the order, you can try to increase the system price. If the price is right, someone will always come.

We hope the above information can help you who come to Dali for cycling. We will continue to improve on this basis to provide you with more practical and reliable information around Erhai Lake.