Anping Bridge and Sites of Dehua Kilns

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Anping Bridge

   Five li, that is the old name for it, because the Anping Bridge was reckoned to be five li long, a little over two kilometres, which made it the longest bridge in China for centuries and the longest beam bridge of its kind anywhere in the medieval world. It crosses what used to be a tidal inlet at Anhai, in Jinjiang county south of Quanzhou, and it was begun in the twelfth century under the Southern Song, when this coast was making its money from trade with Arabia, India and Southeast Asia. Local merchants and monks put up much of the cost, and the work went on for the better part of two decades.

   Read the complete Anping Bridge write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Anping Bridge is where the day begins. Next is Zhenwu Temple and Estuary Docks.

2. 2. Zhenwu Temple and Estuary Docks

   In the Song and Yuan centuries, roughly a thousand years ago, Quanzhou on the coast of Fujian was one of the busiest ports on the planet. Arab, Persian, Indian and Southeast Asian merchants lived here, ships loaded silk, porcelain and tea for the Indian Ocean, and Marco Polo, who knew it as Zayton, described a harbour crowded with vessels. The Zhenwu Temple stands on a small rise by the estuary of the Jin river, where officials once made sacrifices to the god of the sea before the fleets sailed, and the old docks along the shore nearby are part of the World Heritage Site inscribed in 2021 as Quanzhou: Emporium of the World in Song-Yuan China.

   Read the complete Zhenwu Temple and Estuary Docks write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Zhenwu Temple and Estuary Docks comes up about 32 km into the recorded legs. Next is Sites of Dehua Kilns.

3. 3. Sites of Dehua Kilns

   Dehua, a county in the mountains of Fujian province, in south-eastern China, has been making porcelain for over a thousand years. Its white porcelain, known in the West as blanc de Chine, is famous for its pure, creamy white colour and its fine figures, especially statues of Guanyin, the goddess of mercy, and other Buddhist and Taoist figures. The ancient kiln sites of Dehua, including long dragon kilns built on hillsides, are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Quanzhou: Emporium of the World in Song-Yuan China, inscribed in 2021.

   Read the complete Sites of Dehua Kilns write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 149 km into the recorded legs you reach Sites of Dehua Kilns. Next is back through Zhenwu Temple and Estuary Docks.

4. 4. back through Zhenwu Temple and Estuary Docks

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Zhenwu Temple and Estuary Docks write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Zhenwu Temple and Estuary Docks, late in the day. Next is Anping Bridge.

5. 5. Anping Bridge

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Anping Bridge write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Anping Bridge. That is the ride.