Observatory and Site of Dingding Gate

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Observatory

   The oldest surviving observatory in China sits in an unassuming spot in Dengfeng, in Henan, and it makes astronomy look more like architecture. The Gaocheng Astronomical Observatory was built in 1276 under the Yuan dynasty by the astronomer Guo Shoujing, who designed a stout stone tower about 9 metres high with a long stone scale running north from its base. The tower was a giant gnomon: the sun cast a shadow along the scale, and by measuring its length at noon through the year, the astronomers could fix the solstices and the length of the year with remarkable accuracy. The calendar that Guo helped create was in use for several centuries.

   Read the complete Observatory write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Observatory is where the day begins. Next is Shaoshi Que Gates.

2. 2. Shaoshi Que Gates

   A que is a gate tower, and the Shaoshi Que is a pair of them, standing like two stone gateposts at the foot of Mount Shaoshi in Henan province, on the approach to the sacred mountain. They date from the Han dynasty, nearly two thousand years ago, and are among the oldest surviving examples of this type of monument in China. The tall stone shafts, with carved reliefs of hunting scenes, animals and chariots, stand on the slope with the mountain behind them. Together with the Taishi and Qimu que on neighbouring mountains, they belong to the group of monuments in Dengfeng that UNESCO recognised in 2010 as the Centre of Heaven and Earth.

   Read the complete Shaoshi Que Gates write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Shaoshi Que Gates comes up about 25 km into the recorded legs. Next is Site of Luoyang City from the Eastern Han.

3. 3. Site of Luoyang City from the Eastern Han

   Luoyang, in Henan province, is one of the four great ancient capitals of China, a city that served as the seat of more than a dozen dynasties over a thousand years. East of the modern city, in the fields along the Luo river, lie the remains of the capital of the Eastern Han dynasty, which ruled from Luoyang from the first to the early third century AD, and of the later Wei, Jin and Northern Wei capitals built on the same site. The site is part of the UNESCO-listed Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor, inscribed in 2014.

   Read the complete Site of Luoyang City from the Eastern Han write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 82 km into the recorded legs you reach Site of Luoyang City from the Eastern Han. Next is Site of Dingding.

4. 4. Site of Dingding Gate

   Luoyang was a capital for so many Chinese dynasties that locals like to say it holds the history of thirteen of them, and the Dingding Gate was the grand southern entrance of the outer city in the Sui and Tang periods, when Luoyang was one of the largest cities in the world. Through it passed officials, merchants, pilgrims and ambassadors, many of them travelling on the routes that linked China with Central Asia and beyond, which is why it forms part of the UNESCO listing of the Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor, inscribed in 2014. Excavations revealed the foundations of the gate and the road surface, with ruts and even footprints of people and animals, now protected inside a modern museum building that echoes the shape of the original gate.

   Read the complete Site of Dingding Gate write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Site of Dingding, about halfway. Next is back through Site of Luoyang City from the Eastern Han.

5. 5. back through Site of Luoyang City from the Eastern Han

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Site of Luoyang City from the Eastern Han write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Site of Luoyang City from the Eastern Han sits at 141 km, about halfway. Next is back through Shaoshi Que Gates.

6. 6. back through Shaoshi Que Gates

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Shaoshi Que Gates write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Shaoshi Que Gates comes up about 189 km into the recorded legs. Next is Observatory.

7. 7. Observatory

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Observatory write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Observatory closes the day.