Why this ride
A 119 km round trip from Tangxiang - roughly 1 h 58 in the saddle. On the way it passes Shimenshan Cliffside Carvings, Shizhuanshan Cliffside Carvings and back through Shimenshan Cliffside Carvings. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Dazu Rock Carvings and Shizhuanshan Cliffside Carvings
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 119 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 58
- 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. Dazu Rock Carvings
Dazu is the place where a medieval Buddhist vision was carved on a human scale, and the surprise is how alive it still feels. Across the hills around the town in Chongqing, more than seventy sites hold carvings from the ninth to the thirteenth centuries, made in the late Tang and Song dynasties, when a local community of monks, officials and lay believers turned the soft red sandstone into a theatre of faith. UNESCO recognised the group in 1999. Visitors usually see two main sites, Beishan and Baodingshan, and they make a pair.
Read the complete Dazu Rock Carvings write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Dazu Rock 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 Dazu Rock Carvings.
5. Dazu Rock Carvings
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Dazu Rock Carvings write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Dazu Rock Carvings. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Dazu Rock Carvings to Shimenshan Cliffside Carvings
Dazu Rock 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 Dazu Rock Carvings
back through Shimenshan Cliffside Carvings → Dazu Rock Carvings is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.