Involving distances of over 7500 kilometres and traversing some of the world's most varied landscape and arduous terrain, the only people who lately traversed the complete stretch of roadways linking the capitals of Asia's two dominant nations, are the participants of the 1997 Peking to Paris Rally. The main reasons for such limited contenders, apart from the considerable physical strain involved, were also factors like icy relations between countries and decades of Tibet being closed for foreigners. 

Even now with the easing of travel restrictions in China and the thawing of political relations, the route though theoretically open for passage still remains largely off limit for most motoring travellers and more so in case of motorcycles. 

Hence, the combination of the colossal distances involved along with the extremities in climatic conditions and the myriad cultures on the way, insure that any attempt in covering the length between N. Delhi and Beijing would be an adventure of a lifetime. Here, a motorcycle as transport would further heighten the experience as unlike a four-wheeler which encloses its passengers both from the natural elements as well as the surroundings, a two-wheeler provides for much stronger interaction with the local inhabitants, hence aiding a greater degree of understanding of the indigenous habits and cultures.

With the closure of traditional trade routes between India and China like the Old Hindustan Tibet road in Himachal Pradesh and the Kalingpong to Lhasa route, the capitals of the two country's are now connected only with one all weather metalled roadway, via Nepal. Starting from Delhi, one has to first ride through the State of Uttar Pradesh and then cross over into Nepal and proceed towards Kathmandu, either directly or by slightly longer route, through Nepalganj and Pokhra. 

The Sino-Nepal Highway starts from here, reaching up to Lhasa covering a distance of over 2500 km across the Himalayas and the Friendship Bridge into the Tibetan Plateau. Beyond Lhasa there are two alternative ways for proceeding towards Beijing. One is through Naqu and Golmund via the Quinghai-Tibet Highway in the north before turning north-east (the route of the 1997 Peking to Paris Rally), the other is via the Sichuan-Tibet Highway (No. 318 National Trunk Highway) to Chengdu in the east and then turn northwards towards Xian and to Beijing. 

The preferred route would of course be the eastern one, i.e., via Chengdu, with a detour to Dali and Kunming via the Yunnan-Tibet Highway (a section of No.214 National Trunk Highway) and then onwards to China's ancient capital Xian, the nearby sacred Huashan mountains and culminating in historic Beijing. All places of historical and cultural importance, each playing a significant role in shaping the destiny and traditions of their country. 

India and China are the modern faces of two adjacent ancient civilisations and yet it is also no secret that our mutual awareness of each other is at best minimal. An average educated Indian knows China as no more than the land of the great pilgrim/explorer Huien Tsang and that of the Great Wall. Meanwhile most Chinese see India solely as the home of Sakyamuni (Gautama Buddha). Likewise, most current internationally available travel books and reports on China and India are efforts of western writers, with rare exceptions like Amitav Ghosh. Records largely bereft of Asian perspectives, sensitivities and cultural cognisance in their contents, as much as a sense of connecting to something familiar or even identical in ones own culture or religion. 

Riding from the plains of northern India, over the Himalayas, the icy Tibetan plateau and the expanse of the Chinese countryside would present a priceless opportunity for studying the diverse traditions and cultures encountered en-route and so it should serve a much broader purpose than just being a motorcycling run. A comprehensive memoir of the journey in the shape of a book would be put together at the end of the adventure, chronicling the entire passage, detailing the adventure and highlighting different aspects of the places and cultures encountered. Similarly, as the journey unfolds a dedicated "Internet web site" may be maintained for carrying dispatches and images from the road along with short articles on various subjects pertaining to the expedition. Last but not the least, the effort would serve as a low-key but unfailing way by which ordinary Chinese citizens would be able to interact with an Indian national and gain a first hand idea about our country and its people.

Never having formally studied literature or journalism, twenty-nine year old Ravi J.Deka has nonetheless spent the last four years in the world of freelance writing, penning a contrasting array of stories stretching from travelogs and heritage studies to auto journalism. Till date his articles have featured in national newspapers like Business Standard and Sunday Observer and regional ones like The Assam Tribune and The Northeast Times. Overseas his renderings have appeared in prominent publications like Whole Life Times and Travelocity. Formerly a monthly columnist of the widely read "Indian Auto" magazine, he has also written on motorcycling related topics for widely popular Internet portals like www.streetbike.com and www.gonomad.com.

A motorcyclist of considerable experience Ravi J.Deka has so far covered most of the Indian subcontinent and has made it across the Himalayas to Ladakh no less then three times on a motorcycle. He has also criss-crossed N.E.India on his bike, exploring many little known back roads in the process. Not only limiting himself to the riding experiences, Ravi is also a competent mechanic and strictly repairs and rebuilds motorcycles by himself. Along with the preparations for the motorcycling expedition to China, plans are equally afoot for a future motorcycling run across Russia, from Vladivostok to St.Petersburg.

Ravi has also sailed sections of the Brahmaputra on a country boat, trampled about the Indian borders with Tibet, Burma and Bhutan, and loves discovering interesting places in his own back yard. The only son of Dr. Pranav Jyoti Deka, Professor of Gauhati University and Nina Deka Zelinaborskaya, Ravi Deka currently lives with his parents in Guwahati, Assam. 

Ravi J. Deka
Email: [email protected]
Internet: www.ravideka.da.ru