West to Italy
 

I am planning a July/August trip from Los Angeles to Italy.

I would like to ship my bike to Beijing (Tianjin), and ride across China, Mongolia, Russia, Ukraine, and Eastern Europe.

Reading these threads makes me think that permission to cross China may be difficult if not impossible to obtain.

Can it be done?

As far as I know, you must be followed by a local guide authorized by the Chinese Government.
Two friends of mine rode Italy to Beijing some years ago astride two small 50-cc. scooters and could not ride a meter without being escorted by the Chinese guides.
They were two firefighters going to visit the local Chinese firefighters, so an officially organized thing, but they could not avoid the guides in any case.


But other HUBBers will have more updated info on this.