Why this ride
From Hanoi it runs 356 km to Hanoi; allow about 7 h 12 of riding. The stops in between: Bo Da Pagoda, Vinh Nghiem Pagoda, Thai Mieu and Yen Giang Stake-yard. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of and Yen Giang Stake-yard
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 356 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 7 h 12
- 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. Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of
In 1010 the Vietnamese king Lý Thái Tổ moved his capital to the banks of the Red River and named it Thăng Long, Ascending Dragon, after he is said to have seen a dragon rising from the water. The city grew up around the royal citadel, and for most of the next eight centuries it was the political heart of Vietnam. The Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of Thăng Long, in the middle of modern Hanoi, preserves layers of this history, from the foundations of palaces excavated beneath the ground to buildings of the Nguyễn dynasty and the French colonial era. It was listed by UNESCO in 2010, the year Hanoi celebrated its thousandth anniversary.
Read the complete Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of is where the day begins. Next is Bo Da Pagoda.
2. Bo Da Pagoda
Bổ Đà is a pagoda that was built from the earth up, quite literally. Its long perimeter walls are made of rammed earth, mixed with broken pottery and tiles, a traditional technique that has kept them standing for centuries, and inside lies one of the most remarkable features of any Vietnamese temple: a garden of more than a thousand stupas, the tombs of monks who lived and died here, standing in rows among the trees. The pagoda, on a hill in Việt Yên in Bắc Giang province, is also famous for its collection of wooden printing blocks carved with Buddhist texts, a treasure of Vietnamese woodblock printing.
Read the complete Bo Da Pagoda write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Bo Da Pagoda comes up about 41 km into the recorded legs. Next is Vinh Nghiem Pagoda.
3. Vinh Nghiem Pagoda
In the countryside of Bắc Giang province, in northern Vietnam, about fifty kilometres north-east of Hanoi, the Vinh Nghiem Pagoda stands by the Thương river, surrounded by rice fields and villages. It is one of the oldest and most important Buddhist centres in Vietnam, associated with the Trúc Lâm school of Zen Buddhism, founded in the thirteenth century by King Trần Nhân Tông, who abdicated to become a monk.
Read the complete Vinh Nghiem Pagoda write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 79 km into the recorded legs you reach Vinh Nghiem Pagoda. Next is Thai Mieu.
4. Thái Miếu
This is Trần dynasty country. In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries the Trần kings ruled Đại Việt from here and from the delta, and they are best remembered for turning back the Mongol armies three times, in 1258, 1285 and 1288, under the general Trần Hưng Đạo. The Thái Miếu, an ancestral temple associated with the dynasty, belongs to this landscape of royal tombs and shrines in the hills near Đông Triều, in Quảng Ninh province, at the northern edge of the Red River delta.
Read the complete Thai Mieu write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Thai Mieu, about halfway. Next is Yen Giang Stake-yard.
5. Yen Giang Stake-yard
Twice in Vietnamese history, the tide at the mouth of the Bạch Đằng river decided the fate of the country. In 938, Ngô Quyền defeated a Southern Han fleet by planting iron-tipped stakes in the riverbed, hidden at high tide, then luring the enemy ships upstream and waiting for the water to fall. In 1288, during the third Mongol invasion of Đại Việt, the general Trần Hưng Đạo used the same trick against the fleet of Kublai Khan's Yuan dynasty, trapping and destroying it. In the fields around Quảng Yên, archaeologists have found rows of those ancient wooden stakes, still standing in the mud, and the Yên Giang stake yard is one of the sites where you can see them preserved.
Read the complete Yen Giang Stake-yard write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Yen Giang Stake-yard sits at 159 km, about halfway. Next is back through Thai Mieu.
6. back through Thai Mieu
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Thai Mieu write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Thai Mieu comes up about 227 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Vinh Nghiem Pagoda.
7. back through Vinh Nghiem Pagoda
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Vinh Nghiem Pagoda write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 277 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Vinh Nghiem Pagoda. Next is back through Bo Da Pagoda.
8. back through Bo Da Pagoda
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Bo Da Pagoda write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Bo Da Pagoda, late in the day. Next is Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of.
9. Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 356 km.
Leg by leg
Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of to Bo Da Pagoda
Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of → Bo Da Pagoda is 41 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Bo Da Pagoda to Vinh Nghiem Pagoda
Bo Da Pagoda → Vinh Nghiem Pagoda is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Vinh Nghiem Pagoda to Thai Mieu
Vinh Nghiem Pagoda → Thai Mieu is 49 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Thái Miếu to Yen Giang Stake-yard
Thái Miếu → Yen Giang Stake-yard is 49 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Yen Giang Stake-yard to back through Thai Mieu
Yen Giang Stake-yard → back through Thai Mieu is 50 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Thai Mieu to back through Vinh Nghiem Pagoda
back through Thai Mieu → back through Vinh Nghiem Pagoda is 50 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Vinh Nghiem Pagoda to back through Bo Da Pagoda
back through Vinh Nghiem Pagoda → back through Bo Da Pagoda is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Bo Da Pagoda to Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of
back through Bo Da Pagoda → Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of is 41 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
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