Why this ride
From Beijing it runs 252 km to Beijing; allow about 3 h 36 of riding. It goes by way of Tongzhou Section of Tonghui Canal, Ming Tombs, Badaling and back through Ming Tombs. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Beijing Central Axis: A Building Ensemble and Badaling
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 252 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 36
- 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. Beijing Central Axis: A Building Ensemble
A line runs through Beijing, and you can ride beside it for nearly eight kilometres, from the Yongding Gate in the south to the Bell and Drum Towers in the north. It is the central axis of the old city, and everything of importance in imperial Beijing was arranged along it or symmetrically on either side. The Forbidden City sits at its heart, with the great halls of the emperors, and the axis passes through Tiananmen, the Gate of Heavenly Peace, the artificial hill of Jingshan Park, and the old temple precincts. UNESCO listed the axis in 2024.
Read the complete Beijing Central Axis: A Building Ensemble write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Beijing Central Axis: A Building Ensemble is where the day begins. Next is Tongzhou Section of Tonghui Canal.
2. Tongzhou Section of Tonghui Canal
For centuries, Beijing depended on grain shipped from the south along the Grand Canal, the longest artificial waterway in the world, and Tongzhou was where the boats arrived. The Tonghui canal connected Tongzhou with the capital, carrying grain, timber and goods to the city's markets and granaries. The Grand Canal, built and rebuilt over more than two thousand years, was listed by UNESCO in 2014, and the Tongzhou section is its northernmost part. Today, the waterfront has been landscaped into parks, with walkways, bridges and the old Ranteng pagoda rising above the water.
Read the complete Tongzhou Section of Tonghui Canal write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Tongzhou Section of Tonghui Canal comes up about 22 km into the recorded legs. Next is Ming Tombs.
3. Ming Tombs
North of Beijing, where the plain meets the first ridges of the Jundu mountains, thirteen emperors of the Ming dynasty lie buried in a broad valley chosen for its perfect feng shui: mountains behind, a gentle slope, water in front. The first to be buried here was the Yongle emperor, the ruler who moved the capital to Beijing and built the Forbidden City in the early fifteenth century; his tomb, Changling, is the largest and best preserved, with a magnificent hall supported by enormous columns of nanmu wood. UNESCO lists them with the other imperial tombs of the Ming and Qing dynasties.
Read the complete Ming Tombs write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 91 km into the recorded legs you reach Ming Tombs. Next is Badaling.
4. Badaling
Badaling is the part of the Great Wall that most of the world has seen, and for good reason. The Ming dynasty rebuilt and strengthened the wall here in the sixteenth century, at a pass in the mountains northwest of Beijing, to guard the approach to the capital through the Juyong Pass. The wall climbs steeply over the ridges, with watchtowers at intervals, and the view from the top, with the line of stone snaking away over bare hills, is as epic as the photographs suggest. Restored in the 1950s, it was the first section opened to visitors, and later received many foreign leaders, including Richard Nixon in 1972.
Read the complete Badaling write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Badaling, about halfway. Next is back through Ming Tombs.
5. back through Ming Tombs
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Ming Tombs write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Ming Tombs sits at 171 km, about halfway. Next is back through Tongzhou Section of Tonghui Canal.
6. back through Tongzhou Section of Tonghui Canal
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Tongzhou Section of Tonghui Canal write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Tongzhou Section of Tonghui Canal comes up about 230 km into the recorded legs. Next is Beijing Central Axis: A Building Ensemble.
7. Beijing Central Axis: A Building Ensemble
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Beijing Central Axis: A Building Ensemble write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Beijing Central Axis: A Building Ensemble closes the day.
Leg by leg
Beijing Central Axis: A Building Ensemble to Tongzhou Section of Tonghui Canal
Beijing Central Axis: A Building Ensemble → Tongzhou Section of Tonghui Canal is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Tongzhou Section of Tonghui Canal to Ming Tombs
Tongzhou Section of Tonghui Canal → Ming Tombs is 69 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Ming Tombs to Badaling
Ming Tombs → Badaling is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Badaling to back through Ming Tombs
Badaling → back through Ming Tombs is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Ming Tombs to back through Tongzhou Section of Tonghui Canal
back through Ming Tombs → back through Tongzhou Section of Tonghui Canal is 70 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Tongzhou Section of Tonghui Canal to Beijing Central Axis: A Building Ensemble
back through Tongzhou Section of Tonghui Canal → Beijing Central Axis: A Building Ensemble is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.