I believe that road is still there. But we've ignored it for many years :') and I will not suggest you to ride a bike on that road. It's not safe neither clean enough. Too many trucks and buses.

There're little restrictions for foreign tourists today. I remember there was a tourist who walked across China in year 2003 or 2004. However, it's still a bit difficult to just go to anywhere in China. The people are good but they are usually too shy to communicate with you directly. And there may be no good hotels and restaurants. If you want to walk around, you'd better not travel alone. Go with a friend and if can, invite a real Chinese to go with you.

In each of its 31 provinces there're many good places to go. A few of them are listed below:

Suzhou: famous for the many gardens there. The gardens were built by nobles hundreds years ago.

Tibet: good people, good mountains, good place to meet lama.

Shanxi: Pingyao, a small city but keeps its old style till today. Wutaishan, a famous Buddhism land. Qiaojiadayuan, a yard of a family, shows the structure of a traditional Chinese family - how a hundred individuals live together.

Sichuan: Chongqing and Chengdu are the two most famous cities. Sichuan is a very nice province for not only its culture but also the 'lazy' life style.

Henan: Shaolinsi (Temple of Shaolin). Chinese KongFu has many branches. A famous one is the Shaolin KongFu.

There're many more great places. We just created two more categories so that to list the best of them. Hopefully, there will be enough information when you require a trip plan in more detail.