Why this ride
From Jinjiang it runs 87 km to Jinjiang; allow about 1 h 24 of riding. The stops in between: Site of Shunji Bridge, Shihu Dock and back through Site of Shunji Bridge. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Statue of Mani in Cao'an Temple and Shihu Dock
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 87 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 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.
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 Site of Shunji Bridge.
2. Site of Shunji Bridge
The bridges of Quanzhou were as astonishing as its port. In the Song dynasty, when the city grew rich on trade with Arabia, India and South-East Asia, its builders spanned the estuaries with long stone bridges set on huge foundations of boulders and oyster shells, and some of them are still standing. The Shunji Bridge, whose site is on our list, belongs to this tradition, and what remains is a place beside the river where engineers once solved a problem that seemed impossible: how to build a stone bridge across a tidal estuary with strong currents.
Read the complete Site of Shunji Bridge write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Site of Shunji Bridge comes up about 18 km into the recorded legs. Next is Shihu Dock.
3. 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
about 44 km into the recorded legs you reach Shihu Dock. Next is back through Site of Shunji Bridge.
4. back through Site of Shunji Bridge
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Site of Shunji Bridge 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 Shunji Bridge, late in the day. Next is Statue of Mani in Cao'an Temple.
5. 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
Back at Statue of Mani in Cao'an Temple. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Statue of Mani in Cao'an Temple to Site of Shunji Bridge
Statue of Mani in Cao'an Temple → Site of Shunji Bridge is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Site of Shunji Bridge to Shihu Dock
Site of Shunji Bridge → Shihu Dock is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Shihu Dock to back through Site of Shunji Bridge
Shihu Dock → back through Site of Shunji Bridge is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Site of Shunji Bridge to Statue of Mani in Cao'an Temple
back through Site of Shunji Bridge → Statue of Mani in Cao'an Temple is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.