Ningbo Section of Zhedong Canal and West Lake Cultural Landscape of Hangzhou · 314 km from Ningbo
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
314 km
Riding-time estimate
4 h 11
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.
314 km from Ningbo to Ningbo, about 4 h 11 of riding. On the way it passes Shangyu-YuyaoSection of Zhedong Canal, Hangzhou Xiaoshan - Shaoxing Section of Zh, West Lake Cultural Landscape of Hangzhou and back through Hangzhou Xiaoshan - Shaoxing Section of Zh. Lakes are the scenery here.
Scenic road chapters
Hangzhou Xiaoshan - Shaoxing Section of Zh → West Lake Cultural Landsc
Slow enough to look. The surface follows the shoreline, so the corners arrive where the water decided, not where an engineer did. Water arrives beside the road and stays for 64 km. The line follows the shore because there is nowhere else for it to go.
Chapter facts
Length
64 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. 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 is where the day begins. Next is Shangyu-YuyaoSection of Zhedong Canal.
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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Shangyu-YuyaoSection of Zhedong Canal comes up 58 km in. Next is Hangzhou Xiaoshan - Shaoxing Section of Zh.
3. 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
115 km in you reach Hangzhou Xiaoshan - Shaoxing Section of Zh. Next is West Lake Cultural Landscape of Hangzhou.
4. West Lake Cultural Landscape of Hangzhou
There is a Chinese saying that in heaven there is paradise, and on earth there are Suzhou and Hangzhou. The West Lake, on the western edge of Hangzhou, has inspired poets, painters and garden designers for more than a thousand years, and its blend of water, hills, causeways, pagodas and temples became a model for landscape gardens across China, Japan and Korea. UNESCO inscribed it as a cultural landscape in 2011. The Su causeway, built by the poet-governor Su Dongpo in the eleventh century, and the Bai causeway, named after the Tang poet Bai Juyi, cross the lake, lined with willows and peach trees.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Ningbo Section of Zhedong Canal closes the day.
Leg by leg
Ningbo Section of Zhedong Canal to Shangyu-YuyaoSection of Zhedong Canal
Ningbo Section of Zhedong Canal → Shangyu-YuyaoSection of Zhedong Canal is 52 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 57 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hangzhou Xiaoshan - Shaoxing Section of Zh to West Lake Cultural Landscape of Hangzhou
Hangzhou Xiaoshan - Shaoxing Section of Zh → West Lake Cultural Landscape of Hangzhou is 64 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
West Lake Cultural Landscape of Hangzhou to back through Hangzhou Xiaoshan - Shaoxing Section of Zh
West Lake Cultural Landscape of Hangzhou → back through Hangzhou Xiaoshan - Shaoxing Section of Zh is 64 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Hangzhou Xiaoshan - Shaoxing Section of Zh to back through Shangyu-YuyaoSection of Zhedong Canal
back through Hangzhou Xiaoshan - Shaoxing Section of Zh → back through Shangyu-YuyaoSection of Zhedong Canal is 57 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Shangyu-YuyaoSection of Zhedong Canal to Ningbo Section of Zhedong Canal
back through Shangyu-YuyaoSection of Zhedong Canal → Ningbo Section of Zhedong Canal is 52 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.