Why this ride
From Jinjiang it runs 182 km to Jinjiang; allow about 2 h 52 of riding. On the way it passes Shihu Dock, Statue of Lao Tze, Liusheng Pagoda and back through Statue of Lao Tze.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Statue of Mani in Cao'an Temple and Liusheng Pagoda
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 182 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 52
- 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.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Statue of Mani in Cao'an Temple
Hidden in the hills behind the coast of Fujian is a small stone temple with a figure that should not exist. Cao'an is the last surviving Manichaean temple in the world, and its main statue shows Mani, the third-century Persian prophet who founded a religion that once stretched from Spain to China, in the form of a serene Buddha-like figure with long white hair and eyebrows. It was carved in the fourteenth century, during the Yuan dynasty, from a single piece of local stone, and its identity was recognised only in the twentieth century, when scholars matched it with texts.
Read the complete Statue of Mani in Cao'an Temple write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Statue of Mani in Cao'an Temple is where the day begins. Next is Shihu Dock.
2. 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
Shihu Dock comes up about 27 km into the recorded legs. Next is Statue of Lao Tze.
3. Statue of Lao Tze
North of Quanzhou, where the city fades into granite hills and orchards, the road runs up to the foot of Qingyuan Mountain and a figure that stops most visitors for a moment. The Lao Tze statue is a seated old man with a long beard, carved out of a natural boulder, and it has been there since the Song dynasty, roughly a thousand years. It is among the largest carved Taoist figures in China, and because the stone was never moved, the whole thing feels grown rather than built.
Read the complete Statue of Lao Tze write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 60 km into the recorded legs you reach Statue of Lao Tze. Next is Liusheng Pagoda.
4. Liusheng Pagoda
Liusheng Pagoda stands on a hill at the edge of Quanzhou's coastal region in Fujian, and it has watched a lot of ships leave. It is a seven-storey octagonal tower of granite, usually dated to the Song dynasty, and sailors once used it as a landmark and, tradition says, as a bit of spiritual insurance for the sea. Quanzhou was one of the great ports of the medieval world, which Marco Polo and Arab travellers described as a bustling trading city, so a pagoda guarding its approaches fits easily into the picture.
Read the complete Liusheng Pagoda write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Liusheng Pagoda, about halfway. Next is back through Statue of Lao Tze.
5. back through Statue of Lao Tze
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Statue of Lao Tze write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Statue of Lao Tze sits at 107 km, about halfway. Next is back through Shihu Dock.
6. back through Shihu Dock
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
back through Shihu Dock comes up about 158 km into the recorded legs. Next is Statue of Mani in Cao'an Temple.
7. Statue of Mani in Cao'an Temple
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Statue of Mani in Cao'an Temple write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Statue of Mani in Cao'an Temple closes the day.
Leg by leg
Statue of Mani in Cao'an Temple to Shihu Dock
Statue of Mani in Cao'an Temple → Shihu Dock is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Shihu Dock to Statue of Lao Tze
Shihu Dock → Statue of Lao Tze is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Statue of Lao Tze to Liusheng Pagoda
Statue of Lao Tze → Liusheng Pagoda is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Liusheng Pagoda to back through Statue of Lao Tze
Liusheng Pagoda → back through Statue of Lao Tze is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Statue of Lao Tze to back through Shihu Dock
back through Statue of Lao Tze → back through Shihu Dock is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Shihu Dock to Statue of Mani in Cao'an Temple
back through Shihu Dock → Statue of Mani in Cao'an Temple is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.