Sun Trip in China

On this page, we summarize the projects carried out by The Sun Trip in China since 2023. These projects were designed primarily for the Chinese public, who are discovering the concept of bicycle travel and solar cycling.

Over the course of future editions, we also aim to open these adventures to international travelers. Starting in 2026, we plan to include 10 non-Chinese participants, with a one-week discovery program, and to develop a local Sun Trip solar bike project, providing suitable equipment on site.

If you would like to be notified when applications for 2026 open, you can sign up using this form. : forms.gle/wmvAHwJULUouiASaA

In addition, we will soon open applications for the next major edition of The Sun Trip, running from Lyon to Guangzhou, scheduled for 2028 — ten years after the 2018 edition!

Sun Trip Shaoguan 2025

The Chinese edition of the Sun Trip in 2025 was held in Shaoguan from November 4 to 7, centered around the Danxia Mountains, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The group included 12 Chinese participants and 4 representatives from other countries.

This edition marked a significant step forward — both in terms of international participation and organization with our local partners — reflecting a clear ambition to establish the event as a long-term fixture.

Day 1 : Shaoguan-Lechang

A 100 km stage starting from the city of Shaoguan, crossing through the Danxia Mountains Park with the presence of our French partner Poma, and finishing in Lechang, where the day ended with a joyful local celebration!

That was the summary of this first day on the road.

To end the day, we received an incredible welcome in Lechang — the largest celebration ever held to greet the Sun Trip!

Day 2 : Lechang – Pingshe

A ride north through Guangdong, covering about 100 km, featuring an unexpected visit to a school — one class focused on military training and another on dance — followed by a final arrival greeted by the applause of young students.

China, a country of a thousand faces 😉

SUN TRIP GUANGZHOU 2025

Day 1 : deparure in Conghua

A fanfare departure given from this district in the North of the territory of Guangzhou (Canton), known for its mountainous areas and its hot springs. A departure in the presence of the Consul General of France in Guangzhou, Mister Sylvain Fourrière, and the mayor of the Olympic city of Albertville, Mister Frédéric Burnier Framboret.

Day 2 : on the road for Yingde

The group encounters the first clouds of the journey as it travels more than 100 km towards the North. A transition stage and immersion in Chinese culture.

Day 3 : trough Shaoguan

Rain was on the agenda for this 3rd stage passing through the central city of Shoaguan, a city of 3.5 million inhabitants, renowned for its forests and outdoor activities. This shortened stage was notably an opportunity to visit the Buddhist temple of Nanhua.

Day 4 : the “Danxia Mountains” paradise

The main stage of the project was able to take place under a bright sun! 30 km north of Shaoguan, on the road to Lechang, the group crossed the Danxia mountains, a site classified as a GeoPark by UNESCO. In the end, a 130 km stage for our adventurers.

Day 5 : arrival in Pingshe

A short stage to finish and here is the Sun Trip again in Pingshe, a small town in the North of Guangdong Province, which was already the arrival point of our 2023 edition. A ceremony in the presence of the Consul General of China in Canton.

We are planning to organise the Sun Trip China between Guangzhou and Shanghai in 2025! An adventure of almost 2000km, designed above all for the Chinese public, in which we will try to include a few Western SunTrippers!

If you are interested in receiving information about Sun Trip China 2025 project, you can register on this form!

SUN TRIP GUANGZHOU 2023 SOUVENIR

From 18 to 21 November 2023, the first edition of the Sun Trip Guangzhou took place, an adventure aimed at the Chinese public and inspired by the Sun Trip Lyon-Canton 2018. Organised from Guangzhou (Huadu) to Shaoguan (Lechang and Pingshi), over 400 km, this first edition brought together around ten participants, all solar bike pioneers in China!

In this article, you’ll find a video summary and a wide selection of photos to accompany a text written by Florian Bailly, the Sun Trip founder.

Teaser movie : 

Text by Florian Bailly, Sun Trip founder
(automatic translation with Deepl.com)

“The idea originated with my first trip to China in 2010, and was written after the success of Sun Trip Lyon-Canton 2018. Now, in November 2023, the idea has come true, with the first edition of the Sun Trip Guangzhou..

Considerably ahead of the West in the development of electric mobility, able to invest massively in renewable energies, with its immense unspoilt natural areas and good road network, China has always been for me a country where it was appropriate and useful to develop the Sun Trip message.
Taking this step here means multiplying by 1000 the impact we’ve been trying to have with our solar adventures in Europe for the last 10 years.

For me, it’s also the idea of following through on the flame that has driven me since 2010: not allowing ourselves to be trapped in a navel-gazing approach to ecology, not allowing ourselves to be paralysed by the idea of a world in crisis, but always continuing to drive forward actions that bring people together and make human beings the agents of change, and not just the poor victims of their own system.

Change will take time, and we’re proud to be part of it, step by step, without catastrophising.

A selection of photos from Day 1, departing from Guangzhou (Huadu).

Turning the Chinese into SunTrippers was no mean feat, given that cycle travel is still very uncommon there, and because the relationship with leisure is different from what we know in Europe.
In 2010, I was struck by the fact that the Chinese thought my idea of travelling by solar bike was a good one, but they didn’t understand why I was doing it just for fun and not to make money…

After thinking long and hard about the subject, I came to the following conclusion, by way of a wager on the future: “Doing things for pleasure is an area where France has a competitive advantage over China. All that remains is to find a way of selling the idea to them, so as to become credible in their eyes”!

At the finish of the 2018 Sun Trip Lyon-Canton, we sowed the first seeds, showing just how much can be achieved with a solar bike. Raf Van Hulle, who won in 45 days, became the fastest man in the history of the oil-free Silk Roads. It was enough to touch the heart of the Chinese collective imagination and inspire others to follow in his footsteps. What a source of pride!

Selection of photos from Day 2, on the way to Shaoguan.

And since 2018, China has evolved. Strong measures have been taken to reduce pollution in the big cities (where you can sometimes say that your suitcase makes more noise than the cars…), a change has been made to encourage the population to take up sport and the idea of promoting the natural and heritage riches of the countryside is also gaining ground. There is also reason to believe that the three years of hell that the Chinese went through following the outbreak of the Covid epidemic may have contributed to some people’s desire to take part in outdoor activities.

All this creates a very favourable breeding ground for the development of the Sun Trip in China, and what has been achieved here over 4 days is just an introduction.

Selection of photos from day 3, from Shaoguan to Lechang.

For 400 km, from Guangzhou (Huadu district) to Shaoguan (Lechang & Pingshi), what I saw totally blew me away:

• The local authorities are keen to boost relations with the rest of the world, and particularly with France, and President Macron’s recent visit to Guangzhou has only served to encourage this.
• The Chinese participants were admirable. They were as disciplined as any other SunTrippers, demonstrating the ability of the Chinese to live together and put collective strength before individual pride. They were also good technically. The bikes were all different but functional. The pace was brisk and there was only one major technical breakdown in the group. For a first-timer, that’s incredible. It proves that they have perfectly mastered the techniques of electric mobility. What’s more, half of them did the project using 100% solar power, which is also good for a first. They have been perfect pioneers of the solar bike in China, becoming a source of admiration in their own right.
• The itinerary imagined with the Chinese participants and partners was sumptuous. The exit from Guangzhou followed the route of many SunTrippers 2018, along an impressive river. Then after Shaoguan, the route was entirely on small roads, immersed in nature, unspoilt and alive. The third stage, on the tourist route around the Danxia mountains, was certainly the most beautiful I’ve ever experienced on a Sun Trip.
• The curiosity of the Chinese people is still there! It amazed me in 2010, it inspired us in 2018, and this time it was written in a different way, with 100% of the participants playing the role of ambassadors.
• France still holds a special place in the hearts of the Chinese, and they like to support the development of an idea that originated in Savoie and Lyon.

Selection of photos from day 4, from Lechang to Pingshi.

The future remains to be written. Firstly, with the idea of one day being able to organise a major France-China event, if the state of the world allows us to do so. Then there’s the plan to expand the regional Sun Trip project in Southern China, still mainly aimed at the Chinese public, and also the sweet dream of involving a few former Western SunTrippers, who would come to represent their country and share the Sun Trip’s humanist and progressive values.

Because the world cannot do without peaceful intercultural relations, every good idea must do its bit to unite us around what brings us together.

The solar adventure in China is just beginning!

Florian Bailly – Sun Trip Founder

FULL MOVIE – By Bruce Wang and his Team