Hello,

I am planning a trip to the north west of Yunnan province. Go to Liuku, then up along the salween river to Gongshan to look around there. Then, I want to take a bus, if there is one, from Gongshan, over the mountains, to Deqin. Is there such a bus?

There's no road. Your best bet would be to find Aluo in Dimaluo(迪马洛) or Bingzhongluo(丙中洛),right beside Gongshan and make the hike, it should be reasonably priced. Otherwise you are looking at one hell of a bus ride down the nujiang up through lijiang and shangrila......probably about 700-800 KM, just to cover about 80 KM of distance.

Apart from that the area is not safe now, - due to earthquakes (one more last night). Not a good idea to trek around Deqin right now. Just recently the torrents brought landslides and now theres shaking too. More than one westerner has dissappeared around Meili.

I've got a map that shows a road that starts from halfway between Gongshan and Bingzhongluo, then winds it way up the mountains between the Nujiang and Lancang rivers and then comes down the other side just north of Yanmen, which, I understand is a very beautiful area with a hundred year old Catholic church and so on.

Perhaps, I can get a minibus?

Also, according to my map, there's a road up along the lancang river. Take the motorway west from Dali, then get off at Wayao on the Lancang river. I don't know if there is public transportation up that way though.

Theres a military checkpoint after Bingzhongluo and they are quite aggressive (at least my experience) once you go further from Bingzhongluo. The Tibetan border is not far away. You are allowed to go and check the churches and such but I suspect they expect you back the same way. The passport is registered, with the usual questioning.

Im not trying to discourage you or anything, but things up there are somewhat different than on the map. Some roads blocked now too. Bring a lot of cookies with you.

Oh, sorry. That road is to Dimaluo. No checkpoint there.

Indeed there are maps with a road between the Nujiang valley and the Lancangjiang valey just under Gongshan but in reality there is no road right now. There is a road under construction but nobody knows when it will be ready. New roads tend to be frequently closed again after opening due to land and mudslides because the slopes above them are not secured enough. Especially in the rain season this is a problem.

In general don't trust Chinese maps. A lot is wishful thinking. I know roads and bridges on maps from 2005 of which the construction was just started this year.

Another point to take into account is that maps here are political. In remote area roads are often depicted as being bigger than they are in reality. I travelled at dirt tracks that were indicated as major highways.
One of the better maps of Yunnan is actually Google maps also this is often full of mistakes as well. Bing maps are an absolute waste of time. Even the motorway to Dali and Baoshan, also ready for years, is not on it.

If you really want to be sure it is possible to compare Google maps with Google Earth. It requires some skill but it is amazing to find out how much information you can get from Google Earth or even the "Satellite view" from Google maps.

Anyway in remote area it is good to ask for local information about the state and condition of the road also few people know anything that is further away than 10 Km.

Sometimes taking a break for half an hour works as well. Just observe the traffic that is passing. If busses pas with a destination past the area you are concerned about pass or cars with other number plates than the local code than that is an indication that a road "might" be open.

@Paul Carr

Which map are you talking about?
I've seen countless maps of Yunnan, and not one of them shows any road between Gongshan and Deqin. Maybe what you're seeing is a trail, not a road. There are plenty of trails.

I was just in Dimaluo and spoke to some of the road engineers so there's an update as of November 2013.

Much of the excavation work on the new 4th class Gongshan-Deqin road is already complete on the Nujiang side (all the way up to the pass). However, the Shangri-La government responsible for building the road on the eastern side of the Biluo Snow Mountains has been much slower. The engineer I spoke to said this road probably won't be finished until 2017-2018.

Anyone know if this road has been finished. On Amap it seems to still be closed but thought I'd ask just in case. Also if possible I'd rather trek a few days from Deqin over to Bingzhongluo rather than take the huge detour round to Baoshan and then Liuku and then have to go back that way as well.

Road has been opened some years ago but is still far from stable. Especially during the rainy season it is often closed due to land and mud slides.
No idea if there is a bus service.