Why this ride
76 km from Fengzhou to Fengzhou, about 1 h 16 of riding. It goes by way of Zhenwu Temple and Estuary Docks, Shihu Dock and back through Zhenwu Temple and Estuary Docks.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Jiuri Mountain Wind-Praying Inscriptions and Shihu Dock
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 76 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 16
- 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 17 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
34 km in you reach Shihu Dock. Next is back through Zhenwu Temple and Estuary Docks.
4. 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.
5. 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
Back at Jiuri Mountain Wind-Praying Inscriptions. That is the ride.
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 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Shihu Dock to back through Zhenwu Temple and Estuary Docks
Shihu Dock → back through Zhenwu Temple and Estuary Docks is 17 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.