Why this ride
116 km from Neikeng to Neikeng, about 1 h 59 of riding. It goes by way of Wanshou Pagoda, Zhenwu Temple and Estuary Docks and back through Wanshou Pagoda. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Anping Bridge and Zhenwu Temple and Estuary Docks
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 116 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 59
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
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 Wanshou Pagoda.
2. Wanshou Pagoda
On a hill above the coast south of Quanzhou, in China's Fujian province, a slender stone pagoda has watched the sea for some nine centuries. The Wanshou Pagoda on Baogai mountain, near the town of Shishi, was built in the Southern Song dynasty and served as a landmark for sailors approaching the port of Quanzhou, then one of the busiest harbours in the world. Locals call it the Aunt Pagoda, after a legend that tells of a woman who climbed the hill every day to wait for her husband to return from the sea.
Read the complete Wanshou Pagoda write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Wanshou Pagoda comes up about 28 km into the recorded legs. Next is Zhenwu Temple and Estuary Docks.
3. 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
about 60 km into the recorded legs you reach Zhenwu Temple and Estuary Docks. Next is back through Wanshou Pagoda.
4. back through Wanshou Pagoda
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Wanshou Pagoda write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Wanshou Pagoda, late in the day. Next is Anping Bridge.
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.
Leg by leg
Anping Bridge to Wanshou Pagoda
Anping Bridge → Wanshou Pagoda is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Wanshou Pagoda to Zhenwu Temple and Estuary Docks
Wanshou Pagoda → Zhenwu Temple and Estuary Docks is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Zhenwu Temple and Estuary Docks to back through Wanshou Pagoda
Zhenwu Temple and Estuary Docks → back through Wanshou Pagoda is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Wanshou Pagoda to Anping Bridge
back through Wanshou Pagoda → Anping Bridge is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.