Chinese locals pass the convoy while it is pulled over on the bad road to Dali.

The convoy skirts along rice paddies butted up against the road to Dali.

Journal and photos by Neil Dana

Driving through China has been a very interesting experience, filled with great people, all who have unique style that’s depending on their location, endless mountains, rice fields, corn, soy, wild drivers, and intense new construction everywhere. The main highway that we take through the countryside is very modern and under construction half of the time. The road is very wide, and the tunnels and bridges are huge. One tunnel we passed through was over a kilometer in length. The countryside is so beautiful that the highway running through it doesn't really fit, as it contrasts with the landscape in a harsh way. For example, there are countless small villages with one or two rice fields and a few wooden homes nestled in the hillside amongst gorgeous trees and fauna, yet right in the middle of their field are a few 20-foot-wide-in-diameter bridge pilings that tower 100 feet into the sky up to an immense cement freeway overpass. It is sad to see this brand new and very large-scale construction ripping through these peaceful, secluded areas of countryside.

Such is life, especially when you live in a country that has 1/5 of the world's population. And being visitors in China, and especially since we are driving, we had the unique pleasure of going through their driving inspection today. Since we entered Latin America more than nine months ago and had to declare four drivers for our vehicles, we (the drivers) have been tied to those vehicles and endless paperwork at every border. In fact, in China, we are the only ones allowed to drive the vehicles, so I have been Adam and Colin's chauffeur for the entire China drive. It has been fun, and they keep making me coffee and tea on the road to help keep me awake. So today, Nick, Nancy, Justin and I, along with our guide, Ma, went over to the Chinese Driver's Inspection in New Dali.

The Land Rovers we are driving are part of their Certified, Pre-Owned, Land Rover program, which means every vehicle must pass a grueling 140-point inspection before they can be accepted into the program. Today we put our vehicles through the Chinese version. There are a few rules in the Chinese inspection that are unique to China, though. The one that I found the most interesting was that I could not wear my flip flops while I was driving! Luckily, I had a pair of shoes hanging out in the car and just slipped those on. They also told us that our vehicles were too heavy and we wouldn't be able to brake within their standards. We told them that we were fine and within the manufacturer's weight limits. They continued to run all kinds of tests on the vehicles. They tested our emissions by sticking a sensor up our tailpipes. We passed, no problemo. They stepped on the gas and then slammed on the brakes; they did that a few times. They all passed, except D2, which needs new brake pads. They flipped on the headlights and shined them on a board that senses brightness and aim, or something, and they passed that, too. It would have been a little scary having these Chinese inspectors give our vehicles the once-over, had it not been for our confidence in the 140-point Land Rover Certified inspection. I mean, what would happen if we failed? Would we go to prison? Would we be heavily fined? Would they turn us around and send us right back to Lao!? After a couple of hours, we received our results, and Ma insures us that the paperwork, all in Chinese, indicates that we passed. Whew! Thank you, Land Rover!

Neil

Help support our cause: The LONGITUDE Expedition is the longest journey ever attempted with a focus on Parkinson's Disease. The Drive Around the World team aims to raise money for Parkinson’s Disease research by driving four Certified, Pre-Owned Land Rover Discoverys around the globe following lines of longitude. Readers are encouraged to pledge small amounts of money per expedition-kilometer via a pledge form that can be found on our Parkinson’s page by clicking HERE. One hundred percent of donations received go directly to Parkinson's research, and all who donate $10 or more will be entered into a raffle to win an expedition-equipped Land Rover Discovery.