danieldumbrill
I had originally planned to drive straight from Chongqing into Xinjiang. But an event at Tsinghua University I needed to attend gave us the perfect reason to detour, and it turned into a wonderful opportunity to see so much of Inner Mongolia along the way. The drive from Chongqing to Beijing was roughly 1,800 km. We spent two nights on the road, sleeping in our RV at highway service stations to keep things moving. It's free to stay in service stations and there are designated spots for truckers and other vehicles to spend the night. We made a quick stop in a small Shanxi town for a meal. During lunch, the locals asked where we were from. One of the guys was apparently in the military, and they were genuinely excited that foreigners had found their town. Despite our best efforts to convince them it wasn’t necessary, they bought us a couple of boxes of their local snacks. Friendly encounters like this happen all over China. After 18 years, they’re no longer a surprise — but they still feel heartfelt.
danieldumbrill
I'm halfway through a 7 week road trip around China. The route roughly looks like this. I reached Xinjiang last week. By time it's all said and done we would've traveled close to 13,000 km. I'll post some photos and videos over the next few days.
