Best bike park in China
Fulong Bike Park
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Destination
Surrounded by majestic mountains and lush greenery, Fulong is a haven for nature enthusiasts. Situated in Hebei province, Zhangjiakou is located NW of Beijing. Known for its cold winters and snow sports this is an unexpected location for a downhill bike park.
Duration
Our trip was 5 days of riding. We spent 3 days riding the park according to our own timeline. The last 2 days were dedicated to participating in a local race for 1 day and 1 day for practice.
Day-by-day itinerary
Our 3 day riding itinerary looked similar to this:
Day 1 - Riding all the trails to get familiar and comfortable on the bikes. Starting with blue line, blue advanced, A line, Pro line and ending with the 2 greens.
Day 2 - We spent the whole day on the trails riding as much as we could. We made decisions based off of how we felt and which trails we wanted to ride.
Day 3 - We spent the morning taking photos and videos on the blue and blue advanced line. After lunch we spent some time riding the A line and ended the day with photos and videos on the Black Line.
Best time to visit
The best time to visit Fulong is from summer to Autumn (July - Mid October). Due to the location being north of China the weather is a lot more comfortable during the summer time and cooler during the Autumn season. You can expect temperatures between 74°F / 23°C - 47°F / 8°C. For the majority of the year Fulong is a ski park and therefore will start to prepare for the ski season mid-end of October.
The Chinese national holiday is generally the last few days of September - the first week of October. This is a very busy time regarding traveling within China and will bring many tourists to the area. It is best to try to travel before or after this time for a quieter park but keep in mind that many restaurants and shops will be closed if there are no tourists.
Trail review
Blue line: Flow trail, great for beginner riders. Definitely some challenging aspects such as tight cornering & switchbacks. Good opportunities for more advance riders to hit some doubles. Trail can be split into two sections 1 - top half within the forest, 2 - bottom half more open trail over the ski piste. Conditions - very smooth, well maintained with safety netting in most areas.
Length - 2.78km
Descent - 250m
Gondola - L1
Blue advance: Technical trail, for more advanced riders with technical experience. Loose rocks, sharp corners and sleep declines at the top of the trail. This trail is great for riders who would want to hit some big features such as drops, gaps and on-off’s. There is the ability to take a “chicken” line around all of these features. The green line is quite simple and easy with no features. The blue line has some technical declines and wooden bridge. There is also a designated skill & practice area at the bottom of the forest. The bottom of this line is more open trail over the ski piste. Conditions - very smooth, well maintained with safety netting in some areas. This trail could be ridden on a hard tail MTB or an entry level bike with ease.
Length - 3km
Descent - 250m
Gondola - L1
A line: A diverse trail that can be rolled by beginners and ridden by advance riders. First 1/4 is the same as the blue line which then splits into the dedicated A line. A much faster trail with lots of turns and a couple jumps and drops at the top through the forest. Once you exit the forest area and head over the wooden bridge you enter and more open trail for the middle section. The bottom of the trail can be considered a jump line as there are many doubles, tables and a few drops. Conditions - smooth and well maintained. Well netted in necessary places. If you are a more advanced rider, pay attention to the wind socks placed before the big jumps before committing to make the leap.
Length - 2.72km
Descent - 250m
Gondola - L1
Pro line: This trail was closed during the time we were at Fulong. This is regarded as a pro line for advanced riders. The bottom half of the trail is accessible from the A line, just a 100m walk. This trail has many features such as a road-gap (9m long x 5m high), doubles, on-offs, shark fins, whoops, tables and drops. Conditions - this trail was not well maintained due to the fact that it was not officially open to riders, there were many water ruts so riders need to pay extra attention.
Length - 2.83km
Descent - 448m
Gondola - L5
Green line 1: Skills practice trail perfect for beginners. Many obstacles throughout the trail such as balancing on beams, riding over a variety of rocks and logs, drops, seesaws and small bridges. The trail is in an open area and well maintained.
Length - 1.6km
Descent - 91m
Gondola - L2
Green line 2: Flow line perfect for beginner riders. Great introduction to the blue line. The trail is a combination of forest and open area. It is well maintained.
Length - 1.94km
Descent - 91m
Gondola - L2
Amenities
Gondola: The bike park had two operating gondola lifts operating during our stay names L1 & L2. L1 is a short distance chair life that is more exposed to the elements. You can place your bikes on racks or on the chair itself. L2 has both a bike rack for 4 bikes and enclosed gondola.
Bike wash: There is a wash station at the bottom of the blue lines beside the L2 gondola station.
Safety: It is important to mention that the bike park is well marked with safety signs. You are able to make decisions on which direction to take and where there may be a drop or jump ahead.
Accommodation
The hotel we chose was the Fanwoods Four Seasons. We booked this as a flight and hotel combo. The hotel entrance is very conveniently situated, right in front of the ticket booth and gondola. We chose a double room with a balcony and bath. This was perfect for us as there is enough space for 2 bicycles and bags without the room being cramped.
Riding Gear
This is a downhill bike park, safety should always be the number one priority. This is a list of the gear we recommend bringing with on your trip:
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full face helmet
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Goggles
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Chest & back protector
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Shirts (shorts during the summer and longs during autumn)
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Elbow guards
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Gloves
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Hip/bum padding
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Knee/shin guards
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Pants (shorts during the summer and longs during autumn)
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MTB shoes
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Backpack
Bike Shops
There are two bikes shops in close proximity to the bike park. 雪族雪員(xue zu xue yuan) is more of a service center. Trek is a standard bike store.
Dining and Food
There are a few dining options that are within walking distance from the bike park. Food delivery is also an option as well as room service depending on which accommodation you have chosen. These are the restaurants we went to for lunch and dinner options for our trip. If you are more adventurous you can take a taxi into the town for more options.
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Noodles
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Subway
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Kor’s Nest
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Hopsland
Buffet style breakfast was included with our stay at the hotel and was very convenient.
There is a Spar located in the hotel building where you can buy basic groceries.
Equipment rentals
There are two bike shops that offer bike rental services.
The Trek shop is located in Fulong, they offer:
Full day - 680 CNY
4 hours - 380 CNY
KKBike is located in Zhangjiakou, they offer:
Full day - 600 CNY
4 hours - 360
Transportation
Flights: We booked flights from Hangzhou - Zhangjiakou. No direct flights were available so you can expect a short layover in Shijiazhuang. We booked this as a flight and hotel combo.
*traveling around the national holiday time can be challenging. Flights sell out quickly and become more expensive closer to the time. We recommend planning your trip in advance.
Shuttle: Zhangjiakou - Fulong. The bike park is approximately 54km which is about 1 hour from the airport. We used a local bike shop who assisted us to transport 4 bicycles and 4 people in 2 cars. They fetched us from the airport when we arrived and dropped us off when we left.
Cost estimate
This is a breakdown of our trip for 2 people:
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Flights and accommodation combo = 11 446.00 CNY
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Extra luggage = 975.00 CNY
200 CNY (total 20kg overweight to Zhangjiakou)
400 CNY (20 kg each return luggage)
375 CNY (11kg overweight to Hangzhou)
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shuttle (round trip for 2 people) = 600.00 CNY
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Day pass (2 people 3 days) = 1 300.00 CNY
216 CNY per day (1 person + refundable card deposit)
TOTAL = 14 321.00 CNY
If you require any contact information or have any questions about our trip please send us a message and we will respond with up to date information.
If you found this information helpful please let us know by dropping a comment below.
Bernie and Tee