Why this ride
119 km from Tangxiang to Tangxiang, about 1 h 56 of riding. It goes by way of Shimenshan Cliffside Carvings, Shizhuanshan Cliffside Carvings and back through Shimenshan Cliffside Carvings. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Beishan Cliffside Carvings and Shizhuanshan Cliffside Carvings
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 119 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 56
- 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 Shizhuanshan Cliffside Carvings.
3. Shizhuanshan Cliffside Carvings
Dazu is a quiet, green corner of the Chongqing hills, a long way from the skyscraper image the municipality usually gets. The Shizhuanshan carvings sit in the countryside south-west of the old town, cut into a sandstone cliff beneath trees, and they belong to the same group of Song-dynasty sites that earned Dazu a place on the World Heritage list in 1999. They are smaller and more intimate than the better-known Baodingshan, and many visitors say they are the more peaceful of the two.
Read the complete Shizhuanshan Cliffside Carvings write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 59 km into the recorded legs you reach Shizhuanshan 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 Shizhuanshan Cliffside Carvings
Shimenshan Cliffside Carvings → Shizhuanshan Cliffside Carvings is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Shizhuanshan Cliffside Carvings to back through Shimenshan Cliffside Carvings
Shizhuanshan Cliffside Carvings → back through Shimenshan Cliffside Carvings is 40 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.