Songyang Academy of Classical Learning and Zhengzhou Section of Tongji Canal
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
345 km
Riding-time estimate
4 h 33
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.
345 km from Songyang to Songyang, about 4 h 33 of riding. On the way it passes Site of Luoyang City from the Eastern Han, Zhengzhou Section of Tongji Canal and back through Site of Luoyang City from the Eastern Han. The line favours views over speed.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Songyang Academy of Classical Learning
Long before there were universities in Europe, Chinese scholars gathered at academies in quiet places to read, argue and teach, and the Songyang Academy at the foot of Mount Song was one of the four great ones of the Song dynasty. It began life as a Buddhist temple and a Daoist retreat, and in the eleventh century it was turned into a school. Its most famous teachers were the brothers Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi, who helped shape the school of thought called Neo-Confucianism. The buildings you see today are mostly later rebuildings, in the Ming and Qing styles, with courtyards and halls in grey brick and tile.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Songyang Academy of Classical Learning is where the day begins. Next is Site of Luoyang City from the Eastern Han.
2. 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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Site of Luoyang City from the Eastern Han comes up about 62 km into the recorded legs. Next is Zhengzhou Section of Tongji Canal.
3. Zhengzhou Section of Tongji Canal
Zhengzhou is a modern city of over four million people built on top of a very old one. Under the streets lie the walls of a Shang dynasty city some three and a half thousand years old, parts of which are still visible as long banks of rammed earth, and the Yellow River runs just north of town. The city is the capital of Henan, the province that some Chinese call the cradle of civilisation, and for much of history the plains around here were the political centre of the country.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Songyang Academy of Classical Learning. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Songyang Academy of Classical Learning to Site of Luoyang City from the Eastern Han
Songyang Academy of Classical Learning → Site of Luoyang City from the Eastern Han is 62 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Site of Luoyang City from the Eastern Han to Zhengzhou Section of Tongji Canal
Site of Luoyang City from the Eastern Han → Zhengzhou Section of Tongji Canal is 111 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Zhengzhou Section of Tongji Canal to back through Site of Luoyang City from the Eastern Han
Zhengzhou Section of Tongji Canal → back through Site of Luoyang City from the Eastern Han is 110 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Site of Luoyang City from the Eastern Han to Songyang Academy of Classical Learning
back through Site of Luoyang City from the Eastern Han → Songyang Academy of Classical Learning is 62 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.