Why this ride
From Tangxiang it runs 92 km to Tangxiang; allow about 1 h 35 of riding. The stops in between: Shimenshan Cliffside Carvings, Baodingshan Cliffside Carvings and back through Shimenshan Cliffside Carvings.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Beishan Cliffside Carvings and Baodingshan Cliffside Carvings
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 92 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 35
- 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. Beishan Cliffside Carvings
Beishan is a hill above the town of Dazu in Chongqing, and its cliff is one of the finest galleries of Buddhist sculpture in China. Beginning in the late Tang dynasty, in the ninth century, a local official ordered carvings into the rock face, and over the next two and a half centuries the work grew into a long wall of niches, with figures of Buddhas, bodhisattvas, monks and guardians, carved with extraordinary refinement. It is part of the Dazu Rock Carvings, which UNESCO listed in 1999.
Read the complete Beishan Cliffside Carvings write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Beishan Cliffside Carvings is where the day begins. Next is Shimenshan Cliffside Carvings.
2. Shimenshan Cliffside Carvings
Shimenshan is one of the clusters of rock carvings around Dazu, in Chongqing, where sandstone cliffs were turned into sacred art between the ninth and thirteenth centuries. The Dazu Rock Carvings, a UNESCO listing since 1999, include several sites: Beishan with its small niches, Baodingshan with its sweeping Buddhist tableaux, and Shimenshan, Nanshan and Shizhuanshan, each with its own character. At Shimenshan the carvings, made in the Song dynasty, blend Buddhist, Daoist and Confucian figures, something rare at a single site.
Read the complete Shimenshan Cliffside Carvings write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Shimenshan Cliffside Carvings comes up about 20 km into the recorded legs. Next is Baodingshan Cliffside Carvings.
3. Baodingshan Cliffside Carvings
Of all the stone carvings in China, the ones at Baodingshan are the most surprising, because they are not tucked into a cave but laid out like a huge outdoor theatre in a horseshoe-shaped valley. This is the best-known part of the Dazu Rock Carvings, in the hills of Chongqing, about fifteen kilometres from the old county town, and it was largely the work of one monk, Zhao Zhifeng, who spent decades in the twelfth century turning a valley into a sermon in stone.
Read the complete Baodingshan Cliffside Carvings write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 46 km into the recorded legs you reach Baodingshan Cliffside Carvings. Next is back through Shimenshan Cliffside Carvings.
4. back through Shimenshan Cliffside Carvings
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Shimenshan Cliffside Carvings write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Shimenshan Cliffside Carvings, late in the day. Next is Beishan Cliffside Carvings.
5. Beishan Cliffside Carvings
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Beishan Cliffside Carvings write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Beishan Cliffside Carvings. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Beishan Cliffside Carvings to Shimenshan Cliffside Carvings
Beishan Cliffside Carvings → Shimenshan Cliffside Carvings is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Shimenshan Cliffside Carvings to Baodingshan Cliffside Carvings
Shimenshan Cliffside Carvings → Baodingshan Cliffside Carvings is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Baodingshan Cliffside Carvings to back through Shimenshan Cliffside Carvings
Baodingshan Cliffside Carvings → back through Shimenshan Cliffside Carvings is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Shimenshan Cliffside Carvings to Beishan Cliffside Carvings
back through Shimenshan Cliffside Carvings → Beishan Cliffside Carvings is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.