Why this ride
A 190 km round trip from Fengzhou - roughly 3 h 02 in the saddle. It goes by way of Zhenwu Temple and Estuary Docks, Shihu Dock, Islamic Tombs and Liusheng Pagoda.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Jiuri Mountain Wind-Praying Inscriptions and Liusheng Pagoda
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 190 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 02
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. 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. Jiuri Mountain Wind-Praying Inscriptions
Before the sailing season, officials and merchants climbed a hill above Quanzhou to ask the gods for wind. The Jiuri mountain inscriptions, carved on cliff faces and boulders between the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, record these prayers, and they are among the most unusual documents of China's maritime past. They were written by local officials of the Song dynasty, and they appeal to the sea gods and to the spirits of the mountain to send a favourable monsoon, so that the trade ships bound for Southeast Asia, India and Arabia could set out in safety and return. Standing before a rock face carved with neat columns of characters, you are reading a note that someone left when the world's biggest port was run by hand and weather.
Read the complete Jiuri Mountain Wind-Praying Inscriptions write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Jiuri Mountain Wind-Praying Inscriptions is where the day begins. Next is Zhenwu Temple and Estuary Docks.
2. Zhenwu Temple and Estuary Docks
In the Song and Yuan centuries, roughly a thousand years ago, Quanzhou on the coast of Fujian was one of the busiest ports on the planet. Arab, Persian, Indian and Southeast Asian merchants lived here, ships loaded silk, porcelain and tea for the Indian Ocean, and Marco Polo, who knew it as Zayton, described a harbour crowded with vessels. The Zhenwu Temple stands on a small rise by the estuary of the Jin river, where officials once made sacrifices to the god of the sea before the fleets sailed, and the old docks along the shore nearby are part of the World Heritage Site inscribed in 2021 as Quanzhou: Emporium of the World in Song-Yuan China.
Read the complete Zhenwu Temple and Estuary Docks write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Zhenwu Temple and Estuary Docks comes up 19 km in. Next is Shihu Dock.
3. Shihu Dock
In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, Quanzhou was one of the busiest ports in the world. Arab, Persian, Indian and Italian merchants lived in the city, which Marco Polo knew as Zayton, and ships loaded with silk, porcelain and tea left for the Indian Ocean. The port stood on the Fujian coast of southern China, at the mouth of the Jin river, and the whole system of temples, mosques, bridges, docks and kiln sites was listed by UNESCO in 2021 as Quanzhou, Emporium of the World in Song-Yuan China.
Read the complete Shihu Dock write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
37 km in you reach Shihu Dock. Next is Islamic Tombs.
4. Islamic Tombs
Quanzhou is easy to underestimate. Today it is a busy, rather industrial Fujian city, but a thousand years ago it was Zayton, one of the busiest ports in the world, and merchants from Persia and Arabia settled here to trade silk, ceramics and spices. The two Islamic tombs sit on a hill east of the centre, close enough to the city, about four kilometres, that the neighbourhood is a mix of apartment blocks and old stonework.
Read the complete Islamic Tombs write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Islamic Tombs, about halfway. Next is Liusheng Pagoda.
5. Liusheng Pagoda
Liusheng Pagoda stands on a hill at the edge of Quanzhou's coastal region in Fujian, and it has watched a lot of ships leave. It is a seven-storey octagonal tower of granite, usually dated to the Song dynasty, and sailors once used it as a landmark and, tradition says, as a bit of spiritual insurance for the sea. Quanzhou was one of the great ports of the medieval world, which Marco Polo and Arab travellers described as a bustling trading city, so a pagoda guarding its approaches fits easily into the picture.
Read the complete Liusheng Pagoda write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Liusheng Pagoda sits at 74 km, about halfway. Next is back through Islamic Tombs.
6. back through Islamic Tombs
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Islamic Tombs write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Islamic Tombs comes up 93 km in. Next is back through Shihu Dock.
7. back through Shihu Dock
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Shihu Dock write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
111 km in you reach back through Shihu Dock. Next is back through Zhenwu Temple and Estuary Docks.
8. back through Zhenwu Temple and Estuary Docks
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Zhenwu Temple and Estuary Docks write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Zhenwu Temple and Estuary Docks, late in the day. Next is Jiuri Mountain Wind-Praying Inscriptions.
9. Jiuri Mountain Wind-Praying Inscriptions
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Jiuri Mountain Wind-Praying Inscriptions 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 190 km.
Leg by leg
Jiuri Mountain Wind-Praying Inscriptions to Zhenwu Temple and Estuary Docks
Jiuri Mountain Wind-Praying Inscriptions → Zhenwu Temple and Estuary Docks is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Zhenwu Temple and Estuary Docks to Shihu Dock
Zhenwu Temple and Estuary Docks → Shihu Dock is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Shihu Dock to Islamic Tombs
Shihu Dock → Islamic Tombs is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Islamic Tombs to Liusheng Pagoda
Islamic Tombs → Liusheng Pagoda is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Liusheng Pagoda to back through Islamic Tombs
Liusheng Pagoda → back through Islamic Tombs is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Islamic Tombs to back through Shihu Dock
back through Islamic Tombs → back through Shihu Dock is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Shihu Dock to back through Zhenwu Temple and Estuary Docks
back through Shihu Dock → back through Zhenwu Temple and Estuary Docks is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Zhenwu Temple and Estuary Docks to Jiuri Mountain Wind-Praying Inscriptions
back through Zhenwu Temple and Estuary Docks → Jiuri Mountain Wind-Praying Inscriptions is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.