China, from South to North

hi there
I don't know who had told you about the roads :-) but the 213 up to Xian is just awesome :-)
The road is very very very good (exept some 150 km between Kinming and Ghengdu - stones, no tarmac)
and very impressive with the changing landscape and tribes
From jungle to tibetan grasslands etc.

so . .don't worry
if you ask about the condition of the roads - China is not a place to worry about it :-)
regards
robb