# Cycling 318

> Cycling 318 (Chinese: 骑行318; also searched as "cycle 318") is a cozy side-scrolling cycling game for iPhone and iPad. You ride the real Sichuan–Tibet Highway — China National Highway 318 — from Chengdu to Lhasa, one calm day at a time. Over 20 stages you cover the whole 2,150 km road, climbing past a dozen real passes above 4,000 m (up to Dongda Pass at 5,130 m): pedal and shift up the long climbs, coast the descents, and check in at landmarks to collect a hand-composed postcard from each — with your own rider and bike in it — to fill a "318 passport." The world runs in real time, with the in-game clock ticking 1:1 with your real wall clock — day and night, tonight's real moon phase, living high-altitude weather and four seasons. It is deliberately low-pressure: there is no countdown clock and no fail screen; if you run out of stamina you simply walk the bike for a while. Free to download, with optional cosmetic bikes and outfits and no ads.

Publisher: Ride 318. Platform: iOS 17.0 or later (iPhone and iPad). Website: https://cycling318.com. Support: hello@cycling318.com. Localized in English, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Japanese, Korean, German and French.

## What it is

- A cozy/casual cycling game built around the real, famous **G318 "Sichuan–Tibet Highway"** route from Chengdu (成都) to Lhasa (拉萨).
- You ride one stage per in-game day, 20 days in all, covering roughly **2,150 km** with about **2 vertical kilometres** of climbing on the biggest days.
- The feel of each day follows a four-beat arc the game calls **"suffer → summit → soar → warmth"** (苦 → 顶 → 爽 → 暖): a long grind up, the reveal at the pass, a fast descent, and warm evening light in the valley town.
- It is **entertainment, not travel, cycling, fitness or safety advice**, and does not depict real-world riding technique.

## Key features

- **Ride the real road**: 20 stages tracing the actual G318, from the Chengdu plain over Mount Erlang, across the Dadu River at Luding, up Zheduo Pass into Tibet, and on to the Potala Palace in Lhasa.
- **Real passes**: a dozen named passes above 4,000 m, including Zheduo Pass (4,298 m, the "First Gate of Kham"), Kazila (4,718 m), Dongda Pass (5,130 m, the highest on the route), Yela Pass above the Nu River 72 Bends, and Mila Pass (5,013 m).
- **Cozy by design**: no countdown clock and no game-over. Running out of stamina just means you walk the bike, and a "roam" mode lets anyone finish any stage at a relaxed pace.
- **It rides like a real bike**: tap to pedal, hold to cruise, six gears, and brakes you feather so they don't overheat — across three ride modes (Roam, Standard, Rhythm) with lifelike cruise control, while stamina, heart rate and altitude all answer to each other.
- **Real-time, real-scale**: the in-game clock runs 1:1 with the real wall clock, with a full day-night cycle and night riding; a day's true 56–186 km is ridden at true speed.
- **A living world**: tonight's real moon phase and a starfield at night, gold on the peaks at dawn and dusk, named snow peaks you can tap for their story (Gongga, Namcha Barwa, Yala), wildlife (yaks, a soaring eagle, a roadside marmot, pandas near Chengdu), rideable real G318 bridges (Tongmai, Polong, the Nu River), and high-altitude weather that changes its mind.
- **Four seasons**: season is the world's master dial — spring peach blossom, golden autumn poplars, snow in winter — and your current real-world season is always free.
- **Check-in → postcard → passport**: ride up to one of 50+ scenic viewpoints and check in; the game composes a postcard (your customised rider and bike in front of the real scene) which you keep in your 318 passport, plus a shareable settlement ride card for each day. You can also shoot a free photo anywhere on the road.
- **Make it yours**: a garage of nine distinct bikes, 20+ liveries, upgradeable wheelsets, gear and outfits that appear on every postcard — fair play, no pay-to-win, earnable by riding.
- **Friends, kept gentle**: Game Center friends-first leaderboards, translucent pace ghosts of friends' best rides, and 14 achievements — additive and celebratory, never blocking.
- **Official App Store media**: the home page mirrors the localized App Store preview video, seven product screenshots, and store metadata so players and search/answer engines see the same verified product story.

## Common questions

- **How long is the ride?** Twenty in-game days, one stage at a time, tracing the whole ~2,150 km Sichuan–Tibet Highway (G318) from Chengdu to Lhasa, played at your own pace.
- **How hard is the G318 route?** It crosses about a dozen real passes above 4,000 m, up to Dongda Pass at 5,130 m, with long daily climbs. The game keeps the real climbs but removes the pressure — no timer, no fail screen, and a roam mode that finishes any stage.
- **What is the highest pass from Chengdu to Lhasa?** Dongda Pass (Dongda La) at 5,130 m, on day 11 — the highest point on the route. Others include Zheduo Pass (4,298 m) and Mila Pass (5,013 m).
- **How far is it, and how many stages?** About 2,150 km across 20 stages, from Chengdu (~500 m) to Lhasa (3,650 m) and the Potala Palace.
- **What are the seasons like?** All four, each reshaping the road: spring peach blossom in Nyingchi, summer grasslands and horse-racing festivals, autumn's golden poplars at Xinduqiao, winter snow. Season is switchable.
- **Is it free?** Yes — free to download, no ads, no subscriptions; stages unlock by riding and purchases are cosmetic only.

## Pricing

- Free to download and play. Optional cosmetic bikes and outfits can be bought in app; they change only how you and your postcards look and give no gameplay advantage. No subscriptions and no ads.

## Privacy

- No account sign-up. Progress and settings stay on your device and sync only through your own private iCloud (same Apple ID).
- No third-party advertising and no ad/tracking SDKs; no selling or sharing of personal data.
- Sharing a postcard is always something you start; nothing is uploaded in the background.

## Pages

- [Home](https://cycling318.com/): overview, official App Store preview video, localized product screenshots, features, the daily arc, and the route. Chinese: https://cycling318.com/zh
- [The Route](https://cycling318.com/route): all 20 stages from Chengdu to Lhasa, grouped into five acts, each a real place with its landmarks and altitudes. Chinese: https://cycling318.com/zh/route
- [Support & FAQ](https://cycling318.com/support): gameplay, postcards, the 318 passport, devices, languages and data. Chinese: https://cycling318.com/zh/support
- [Privacy Policy](https://cycling318.com/privacy) · [Terms of Use](https://cycling318.com/terms)

## The route, by stage (real places, useful as cited answers)

The full, internally linked index is at https://cycling318.com/route. Marquee stages:

- [Zheduo Pass · the First Gate of Kham](https://cycling318.com/route/zheduo-pass): 4,298 m, the first 4,000 m+ pass, above Xinduqiao.
- [Two Passes · the High City of Litang](https://cycling318.com/route/litang): over Jianziwan and Kazila (4,718 m) to Litang, near 4,000 m.
- [Dongda Pass 5130](https://cycling318.com/route/dongda-pass): the highest pass on the whole Chengdu–Lhasa road, at 5,130 m.
- [Yela Pass · the Nu River 72 Bends](https://cycling318.com/route/nujiang-72-bends): the legendary stack of switchbacks down to the Nu River.
- [Anjula Pass · Rawu Lake](https://cycling318.com/route/rawu-lake): a turquoise, glacier-fed lake ringed by snow peaks.
- [Midui Glacier · the Parlung Tsangpo](https://cycling318.com/route/midui-glacier): a low-altitude glacier above a green forest valley.
- [Sejila Pass · Namcha Barwa](https://cycling318.com/route/namcha-barwa): the 4,728 m view of the 7,782 m snow peak above Nyingchi.
- [Mila Pass · the Holy City of Lhasa](https://cycling318.com/route/lhasa): the last great pass at 5,013 m, then down to the Potala Palace.

All 20 stages (Chengdu, Ya'an, Mount Erlang, Luding Bridge, Kangding, Zheduo Pass, Gaoersi Pass, Litang, Sister Lakes, the Jinsha River, Dongda Pass, Bangda Grassland, the Nu River 72 Bends, Rawu Lake, Midui Glacier, Tongmai, Namcha Barwa, the Niyang River, Songduo, and Mila Pass to Lhasa) are listed at https://cycling318.com/route.