This morning I took my time once again, as today's stage was only just under 80 kilometers, steadily climbing with a total elevation gain of 914 meters. I didn't feel completely recovered, though I wasn't sure why—perhaps it was just in my head. In any case, today was meant to be another active recovery day, since tomorrow will involve more distance and more climbing.

Before setting off, I asked the hotel owner whether he knew of any reasonably priced hotels in Qiaoerma. He simply suggested that I look for one once I got there. So at around 11:15 a.m., I started riding. Jiabin had only found accommodation online starting at around 50 Swiss francs, which is quite expensive for China. Until now, I had usually paid well under 20 Swiss francs per night.

As the day went on, the scenery became increasingly beautiful. The road connected one tourist attraction after another, which also meant there was a lot of traffic. I hardly had any interaction with the police today. I was never stopped, nor was I asked to show my passport. At one point, a policeman was stopping every car. As I rode past, I heard him telling drivers to be careful on the road. It seems that the local understanding of safety is somewhat different from what I'm used to back home.

I didn't take any major breaks today. Only at one viewpoint did I stop briefly, where I spotted a fairly large group of cyclists down in the valley. They were riding on a different road, however, so our paths never crossed. As a result, I arrived in Qiaoerma shortly after 4 p.m. Fortunately, the dark clouds never turned into rain. I checked into the first hotel I found—there wasn't much choice anyway, as Qiaoerma is little more than a small cluster of buildings. I paid nearly 35 Swiss francs, about twice as much as my most expensive accommodation in China so far. Mountain prices, I suppose, as I was now at an elevation of 2,318 m. Still, it was cheaper than the options available online.

I rested for a while first—and during that time it suddenly started raining quite heavily. Afterwards, I went out for something to eat. After dinner, an older woman on the street asked where I was staying because she was still looking for a room. I led her to my hotel, but the owner told her that everything was fully booked. I suspect all accommodations here were in the same situation. Later, when I went to a shop to buy drinks for tomorrow, I noticed that about 90% of the many parked cars still had people sitting inside them, some already appearing to prepare for the night. Once again, I realized how lucky I had been to arrive early enough to secure a room. As for the price, that's simply the market at work—even in China, supply and demand rule. Camping would have been possible as a backup plan, but it gets quite chilly up here at night, and I generally sleep much better in a hotel.

Good recovery seems especially important to me because tomorrow I will be crossing a mountain pass at nearly 3,500 m above sea level, and the route will cover more than 130 km. That's also the distance to the next settlement, and apparently there is nothing in between except mountains and nature—which I’m really looking forward to. This high mountain road only opened today (depending on the year and weather conditions, the season typically runs from late May or early June until September or October). It is extremely popular in China, which explains the large number of cars here—everyone wants to drive it as soon as it opens. Jiabin even told me she had read reports today of traffic jams on this route, known as the Duku Highway. We'll see whether I encounter any other cyclists tomorrow.