23-Jul-2008 -- This is the 14th out of 23 confluences that I visited on my bicycle trip to the North-East of China. The story starts from 40°N 117°E.

From now on I had to ride through the Dàxìngānlǐng Mountains (大兴安岭), which cover a huge area in China’s North. They are densely forested and sparsely populated. Confluence hunting is a little challenge here – it is no wonder that none of the confluences in the forest has yet been visited. For me, it took two days to get to this confluence from the city of Zhālántún (扎兰屯).

On confluence day, I started from the little town Bókètú (博克图), 100 km from the confluence point. The day before I had been tired and went for a little nap at 6 p.m. This little nap lasted until 3 a.m! Then, I was feeling fine again. After I had some bread in my hotel room I started biking at 4 a.m.

A couple hours later, not far from the town Miǎndùhé (免度河), I reached a village – I think Tuánjié (团结) – 7.5 km from the confluence point. From there, a track pointed towards my goal. On the way, I passed several beekeepers. Suddenly I was surrounded by swarms of bees. They went into my hair, my shirt, my face… but I kept on cycling steadily and I didn’t get any bites. The last kilometre, I rode on a farm track – surrounded by beautiful skies and colourful rape fields. I left my bike at a distance of 102 m. Access to the point was no problem by walking between two fields.

On my way back a farmer with a cart came by. Half an hour later I was back to the main road. Without any break, I continued the trip another 50 km up to the city of Yákèshí (牙克石), where I enjoyed the food and accommodation of a bigger place.

CP Visit Details:

• Distance to an asphalt road: 7.5 km
• Distance to a road: 938 m
• Distance to a track: 104 m
• Distance of parking the bike: 104 m
• Distance to houses: 7.2 km
• Time for detour: 2 hours
• Time at the CP: 10:10 a.m.
• Riding time (distance) from Zhālántún: 5:40 hours (102.4 km)
• Measured height: 771 m
• Minimal distance according to GPS: 0 m
• Position accuracy at the CP: 4 m
• Topography: hilly, slightly ascending terrain
• Vegetation: rape field, nearby corn field, forested mountains in the south.
• Weather: sunny, 27° C (felt temperature)
• Description of the CP: In the eastern part of Inner Mongolia, in the Dàxìngānlǐng Mountains (大兴安岭). On agricultural land – although the general area is mainly forested.
• Given Name: The Rape Bee Confluence

Story continues at 50°N 122°E.