Ningbo Sanjiangkou and Hangzhou Xiaoshan - Shaoxing Section of Zh
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
252 km
Riding-time estimate
3 h 24
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.
From Ningbo it runs 252 km to Ningbo; allow about 3 h 24 of riding. On the way it passes Ningbo Section of Zhedong Canal, Shangyu-YuyaoSection of Zhedong Canal, Hangzhou Xiaoshan - Shaoxing Section of Zh and back through Shangyu-YuyaoSection of Zhedong Canal. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Ningbo Sanjiangkou
Ningbo is where three rivers meet, the Yao, the Fenghua and the Yong, and Sanjiangkou, the three rivers' mouth, is the heart of the old city. For more than a thousand years, Ningbo was one of the great ports of China, a place from which silk, porcelain and tea went to Japan, Korea and Southeast Asia, and where the monks and merchants of those countries landed. It was also the southern end of the Grand Canal, which connected it to Hangzhou and the north, and so it was a meeting point of river, canal and sea. Today, Ningbo-Zhoushan is the busiest cargo port in the world by tonnage, and the old waterfront is a neat, modern riverfront park.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Ningbo Sanjiangkou is where the day begins. Next is Ningbo Section of Zhedong Canal.
2. 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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Ningbo Section of Zhedong Canal comes up about 25 km into the recorded legs. Next is Shangyu-YuyaoSection of Zhedong Canal.
3. 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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 68 km into the recorded legs you reach Shangyu-YuyaoSection of Zhedong Canal. Next is Hangzhou Xiaoshan - Shaoxing Section of Zh.
4. 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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Ningbo Sanjiangkou closes the day.
Leg by leg
Ningbo Sanjiangkou to Ningbo Section of Zhedong Canal
Ningbo Sanjiangkou → Ningbo Section of Zhedong Canal is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Ningbo Section of Zhedong Canal to Shangyu-YuyaoSection of Zhedong Canal
Ningbo Section of Zhedong Canal → Shangyu-YuyaoSection of Zhedong Canal is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Shangyu-YuyaoSection of Zhedong Canal to Hangzhou Xiaoshan - Shaoxing Section of Zh
Shangyu-YuyaoSection of Zhedong Canal → Hangzhou Xiaoshan - Shaoxing Section of Zh is 47 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hangzhou Xiaoshan - Shaoxing Section of Zh to back through Shangyu-YuyaoSection of Zhedong Canal
Hangzhou Xiaoshan - Shaoxing Section of Zh → back through Shangyu-YuyaoSection of Zhedong Canal is 65 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Shangyu-YuyaoSection of Zhedong Canal to back through Ningbo Section of Zhedong Canal
back through Shangyu-YuyaoSection of Zhedong Canal → back through Ningbo Section of Zhedong Canal is 47 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Ningbo Section of Zhedong Canal to Ningbo Sanjiangkou
back through Ningbo Section of Zhedong Canal → Ningbo Sanjiangkou is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.