Hangzhou Xiaoshan - Shaoxing Section of Zh and Ningbo Section of Zhedong Canal

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Hangzhou Xiaoshan - Shaoxing Section of Zh

   Shaoxing is a city built on water. Its canals, bridges and narrow stone-paved lanes have made it one of the most photogenic towns in eastern China, and the Zhedong Canal, which links Hangzhou, Shaoxing and Ningbo, is its great artery. The canal belongs to the Grand Canal system, the longest artificial waterway in the world, which UNESCO listed in 2014. The Zhedong section carried grain, silk, tea and travellers for more than a thousand years, and in Shaoxing you can still see black-awninged boats, arched stone bridges and old warehouses along the banks.

   Read the complete Hangzhou Xiaoshan - Shaoxing Section of Zh write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Hangzhou Xiaoshan - Shaoxing Section of Zh is where the day begins. Next is Shangyu-YuyaoSection of Zhedong Canal.

2. 2. Shangyu-YuyaoSection of Zhedong Canal

   The Grand Canal is usually thought of as the great waterway linking Beijing and Hangzhou, but it did not stop there. From Hangzhou, the Zhedong Canal, the canal of eastern Zhejiang, continued east through Shaoxing, Shangyu and Yuyao to the port of Ningbo, linking the inland waterway system with the sea and maritime trade. The Shangyu to Yuyao section, a waterway of rivers and canals through the flat, fertile plain south of Hangzhou Bay, is part of the Grand Canal World Heritage site, inscribed in 2014. Along it, boats carried rice, silk, tea and porcelain for centuries, and towns grew up along its banks with bridges, locks and warehouses.

   Read the complete Shangyu-YuyaoSection of Zhedong Canal write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Shangyu-YuyaoSection of Zhedong Canal comes up about 65 km into the recorded legs. Next is Ningbo Section of Zhedong Canal.

3. 3. Ningbo Section of Zhedong Canal

   East of Hangzhou, the Grand Canal does not simply stop. A further waterway, the Zhedong Canal, carries on across the coastal plain of eastern Zhejiang through Shaoxing and Yuyao to Ningbo and the sea, linking the inland canal system to one of China's great ports. This point sits on the Ningbo section, in a flat, intensely worked landscape of rivers, locks, villages and factories between Yuyao and the city.

   Read the complete Ningbo Section of Zhedong Canal write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 112 km into the recorded legs you reach Ningbo Section of Zhedong Canal. Next is back through Shangyu-YuyaoSection of Zhedong Canal.

4. 4. back through Shangyu-YuyaoSection of Zhedong Canal

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Shangyu-YuyaoSection of Zhedong Canal write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Shangyu-YuyaoSection of Zhedong Canal, late in the day. Next is Hangzhou Xiaoshan - Shaoxing Section of Zh.

5. 5. Hangzhou Xiaoshan - Shaoxing Section of Zh

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Hangzhou Xiaoshan - Shaoxing Section of Zh write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Hangzhou Xiaoshan - Shaoxing Section of Zh. That is the ride.