Is it definitely doable or have they started building the dams yet?　Anyone know recent info? I wanna go before it gets all plugged up!

And can anyone tell me what's the best approach? Bus to BaoShan then go from there? How far up should I go? All the way up to GongShan? Or higher? Then turn around and come back? (I aren't particularly averse to this, believe it or not!). Is it... doable? Calling all Kunmings cycle tourists!

Oh yeah - I know about the trip report here: www.gokunming.com/[...]

Just looking for some up to date info!

Oh yeah2 - am thinking of taking a tent and camping in a few spots... recommended?

The most beautiful part is the ultimate northern one, beyond Bingzhongluo. Here, across the river and rather inacessible by bike, is the indescribably scenic village of Wuli, that you reach via a path carved out in the steep cliffside along the riverbed. From Wuli, a small trail leds into a deep, misty valley, again with paths in the cliffside, and absolutely otherworldly jungle. Follow this path long enough (several hours, you'll be able to judge by the litter that you're on the right track), and you'll reach the extremely secluded village of Yaotou, high up a mountainside. Again, this won't be accessible by bike unless you're like a magical world class athlete + suicidal, but I wanted to mention it anyhow because it's one of the most awesome places I've ever seen.

Anyhow, sorry for digressing; you'd definitely wanna take your bike all the way up beyond Bingzhongluo, as it's extremely beautiful there. Bingzhounglou itself has an extremely good and cheap restaurant in a basement along the main throughfare.

I'd take the bus to Fugong, which is the farthest you can get into the valley directly from Kunming, seeing as I'd wanna go as far north as possible in the valley on my bike.

Camping is possible, of course, if police or somebody objects just play the stupid laowai card. But I personally wouldn't bother as accomodation is super cheap in China if you have no standards + a minimum of language skill (though being two people so you can share a shabby double is by far the cheapest), and even in some obscure outback villages in Nujiang valley, there are guesthouses. Talk to chinese hikers you meet along the way, they often have some kind of maps and valuable area knowledge.

WuLi Village is worth looking into. Beautiful area. www.hugoyunnantravel.com/des_nujiang.asp?page=9

Dams have not started yet. They still have to do the Environmental Impact Reports. WIll probably be many years down the road before the old road is flooded. They've got to build the new road first and they haven't even begun doing that yet except for in Liuku.

Direct bus to Liuku is just 1.5 hours longer than the bus to Baoshan ever since they finished the new road. You might as well take that and skip Baoshan since Baoshan isn't really on the way. That is, unless you plan to ride the lower Nujiang as well, in which case you should go to Baoshan, then from Pupiao take the new road to Saige (100 km south of Liuku) and start riding from there. It's a new a road and the land is hot and tropical, full of coffee and mango trees. You'll also get to see the 250 year old Shuanghong Bridge.