Area of Yaoshan Site and Classical Gardens of Suzhou starting at Deqing

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Area of Yaoshan Site

   Five thousand years ago, on the plain north of Hangzhou, people built a city with a water system so sophisticated that archaeologists still marvel at it. This is the Liangzhu culture, and the Yaoshan site is one of its most intriguing pieces, thought to be a ritual platform where elites took part in ceremonies and where beautifully worked jades were buried. The Liangzhu people carved jade into discs called bi and tubes known as cong, with delicate, mask-like faces, and these objects were symbols of status and belief. The whole Liangzhu complex has been a UNESCO site since 2019.

   Read the complete Area of Yaoshan Site write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Area of Yaoshan Site is where the day begins. Next is Nanxun Section of Jiangnan Canal.

2. 2. Nanxun Section of Jiangnan Canal

   Nanxun is one of the water towns of the Yangtze delta, south of Lake Tai, where life has revolved around canals for more than a thousand years. In the nineteenth century, it became immensely rich through the silk trade, and its merchant families, known by nicknames like the four elephants and the eight bulls, built mansions that mixed Chinese courtyards with European columns, stained glass and Western-style furniture, an unusual blend you will not find in many other water towns. The canal running through the town is part of the Grand Canal, the immense waterway linking Beijing with Hangzhou, which UNESCO listed in 2014.

   Read the complete Nanxun Section of Jiangnan Canal write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Nanxun Section of Jiangnan Canal comes up about 82 km into the recorded legs. Next is Classical Gardens of Suzhou.

3. 3. Classical Gardens of Suzhou

   A classical Chinese garden is a whole landscape squeezed into a courtyard: rocks stand in for mountains, ponds for lakes, and a winding covered walkway reveals one framed view after another, each window cut in a different shape. Suzhou, a canal city west of Shanghai, perfected the art over centuries, as scholars, officials and merchants built private retreats behind high white walls. Nine of its gardens are listed by UNESCO as the Classical Gardens of Suzhou, among them the Humble Administrator's Garden, the Lingering Garden and the tiny, exquisite Master-of-Nets Garden, and the Retreat and Reflection Garden in the water town of Tongli.

   Read the complete Classical Gardens of Suzhou write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 157 km into the recorded legs you reach Classical Gardens of Suzhou. Next is back through Nanxun Section of Jiangnan Canal.

4. 4. back through Nanxun Section of Jiangnan Canal

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Nanxun Section of Jiangnan Canal write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Nanxun Section of Jiangnan Canal, late in the day. Next is Area of Yaoshan Site.

5. 5. Area of Yaoshan Site

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Area of Yaoshan Site write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Back at Area of Yaoshan Site. That is the ride.