In the Han dynasty, important places were marked with gate towers called que, tall pairs of stone pillars with carved roofs, set in front of tombs, temples and palaces. Only a few dozen survive in China, and three of them stand at the foot of Mount Song, in Henan. The Qimu Que, the gate of Lady Qimu, named for the mother of Qi, son of the legendary Yu of the Xia dynasty, is one of the group, and it stands in front of a temple that no longer exists. They date from the second century AD, about nineteen hundred years ago.
The stone gate carries relief carvings of horses, chariots, dancers and animals, in a lively, fluid style, and you can see how the carvers imitated wooden architecture in stone. Mount Song is one of the five sacred mountains of China, and the region around Dengfeng was thought to be the centre of the world, which is why UNESCO listed the historic monuments of Dengfeng in 2010. Nearby are the Zhongyue Temple, the Songyang Academy, the Shaolin Temple, famous for its martial arts, and an old observatory dating from the Yuan dynasty.
The landscape is stony, with steep limestone ridges, terraces and small orchards, and it is quite different from the flat plain further east. Roads climb gently towards the foothills, with long views to the ridge of Mount Song. The weather is moderate, with cold winters and warm, wet summers, and the best seasons are spring and autumn. The area is busy at weekends and holidays, when tour buses fill the roads.
Songyang is a small town only a couple of kilometres away, with about sixty thousand people, and Dengfeng nearby has fuel, restaurants and hotels. Try the local noodles and the steamed buns, and drink the tea. Riders from abroad should remember that riding a motorcycle in China usually requires local registration, so make sure you know the rules. Early morning is quiet, and the stones look their best in raking light.