Hello to all fellow travellers to china,

I made the trip from Schweinfurt/Germany to Beijing/China just this July, passing Poland, Ukraine, Russia, Kazakstan, with a party of three. We entered at Korgas (400 km east of Almaty) and guess the Chinese border guard's first question before even letting us cross the border line into China: "where is your guide?" Only after I had called our guide by cell phone and made him appear in person with all documents at the border control we were permitted to enter into China. Normal border procedures were handled efficiently, but the formalities for the bikes took more than an hour, and we had to unpack and show all our luggage at customs. - Trying to get our route approved (three months earlier) was not easy, most of the smaller and interesting roads "not open to foreigners". So we have been restricted to the main roads, controlled tightly by our "guide". As I am resident in China I can go whereever I want, but having entered into China on a motorcycle and with two non-residents, I was not allowed to deviate from the official route also. (However, I am exploring western China on my locally purchased and registered F650dakar anyway...). The bikes which we used for the trip to China had to be shipped out immediately after we reached Beijing, no hope to import my KTM, even if paying official duty and taxes.
So all in all, my experience from this trip: the regulations for entering China by motorcycle are strict and tightly controlled. As we three had to return to our jobs immediately and did not have any leeway timewise, we did not try to enter on a remote border station, taking risks. Rather followed the regulations and succeeded, but at a price: costwise and because we could not take the intended route. But anyhow, we made it!
I wish good luck to all who try it by other ways and means, and maybe (just maybe...) China really opens up like other countries and even Russia have done.