Area of High-dam at the Mouth of the Valle and West Lake Cultural Landscape of Hangzhou

Scenic road chapters

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Area of High-dam at the Mouth of the Valle

   Five thousand years ago, on a plain south of Lake Tai, a society built a city with walls, canals, palaces and an advanced water-control system, and then it vanished. Liangzhu, in Zhejiang province not far from Hangzhou, came to light only in the 1930s, and the full extent of its remains was revealed in the early twenty-first century. UNESCO added the Archaeological Ruins of Liangzhu City to its list in 2019, recognising an early regional state in the lower Yangtze valley.

   Read the complete Area of High-dam at the Mouth of the Valle write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Area of High-dam at the Mouth of the Valle is where the day begins. Next is West Lake Cultural Landscape of Hangzhou.

2. 2. West Lake Cultural Landscape of Hangzhou

   There is a Chinese saying that in heaven there is paradise, and on earth there are Suzhou and Hangzhou. The West Lake, on the western edge of Hangzhou, has inspired poets, painters and garden designers for more than a thousand years, and its blend of water, hills, causeways, pagodas and temples became a model for landscape gardens across China, Japan and Korea. UNESCO inscribed it as a cultural landscape in 2011. The Su causeway, built by the poet-governor Su Dongpo in the eleventh century, and the Bai causeway, named after the Tang poet Bai Juyi, cross the lake, lined with willows and peach trees.

   Read the complete West Lake Cultural Landscape of Hangzhou write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   West Lake Cultural Landscape of Hangzhou comes up about 42 km into the recorded legs. Next is Area of City Site.

3. 3. Area of City Site

   Five thousand years ago, on the plain south of Lake Tai, a society built a city without metal tools. Liangzhu, now in the suburbs of Hangzhou, was a centre of a culture that carved jade into ritual objects, tubes called cong and discs called bi, and that grew rice in irrigated fields, and that built a complex water system of dams, dikes and canals, on a scale that no one expected from a Neolithic culture. UNESCO listed the Archaeological Ruins of Liangzhu City in 2019, and the entry covers the city walls, the palace area, the waterworks and the burial grounds of the elite.

   Read the complete Area of City Site write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 76 km into the recorded legs you reach Area of City Site. Next is West Lake Cultural Landscape of Hangzhou.

4. 4. West Lake Cultural Landscape of Hangzhou

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete West Lake Cultural Landscape of Hangzhou write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   West Lake Cultural Landscape of Hangzhou, about halfway. Next is back through Area of City Site.

5. 5. back through Area of City Site

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Area of City Site write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Area of City Site sits at 137 km, about halfway. Next is back through West Lake Cultural Landscape of Hangzhou.

6. 6. back through West Lake Cultural Landscape of Hangzhou

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete West Lake Cultural Landscape of Hangzhou write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through West Lake Cultural Landscape of Hangzhou comes up about 178 km into the recorded legs. Next is Area of High-dam at the Mouth of the Valle.

7. 7. Area of High-dam at the Mouth of the Valle

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Area of High-dam at the Mouth of the Valle write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Area of High-dam at the Mouth of the Valle closes the day.