The Couple's Retreat and Area of Yaoshan Site

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. The Couple's Retreat

   The Couple's Retreat, Ou Yuan, is a small garden in the Qing style, tucked in a lane in the old quarter of Suzhou and often missed by visitors who head for the larger gardens. The name refers to its layout, which is divided into two parts, east and west, that are joined by a covered walkway, a bit like two halves of a household, and the pairing of the pavilions on each side gives the place its romantic title. It was laid out by a Qing dynasty official and is part of the UNESCO list of Classical Gardens of Suzhou.

   Read the complete The Couple's Retreat write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   The Couple's Retreat is where the day begins. Next is Nanxun Section of Jiangnan Canal.

2. 2. Nanxun Section of Jiangnan Canal

   Nanxun is one of the water towns of the Yangtze delta, south of Lake Tai, where life has revolved around canals for more than a thousand years. In the nineteenth century, it became immensely rich through the silk trade, and its merchant families, known by nicknames like the four elephants and the eight bulls, built mansions that mixed Chinese courtyards with European columns, stained glass and Western-style furniture, an unusual blend you will not find in many other water towns. The canal running through the town is part of the Grand Canal, the immense waterway linking Beijing with Hangzhou, which UNESCO listed in 2014.

   Read the complete Nanxun Section of Jiangnan Canal write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Nanxun Section of Jiangnan Canal comes up about 68 km into the recorded legs. Next is Area of Yaoshan Site.

3. 3. Area of Yaoshan Site

   Five thousand years ago, on the plain north of Hangzhou, people built a city with a water system so sophisticated that archaeologists still marvel at it. This is the Liangzhu culture, and the Yaoshan site is one of its most intriguing pieces, thought to be a ritual platform where elites took part in ceremonies and where beautifully worked jades were buried. The Liangzhu people carved jade into discs called bi and tubes known as cong, with delicate, mask-like faces, and these objects were symbols of status and belief. The whole Liangzhu complex has been a UNESCO site since 2019.

   Read the complete Area of Yaoshan Site write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 151 km into the recorded legs you reach Area of Yaoshan Site. Next is back through Nanxun Section of Jiangnan Canal.

4. 4. back through Nanxun Section of Jiangnan Canal

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Nanxun Section of Jiangnan Canal write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Nanxun Section of Jiangnan Canal, late in the day. Next is The Couple's Retreat.

5. 5. The Couple's Retreat

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete The Couple's Retreat write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Back at The Couple's Retreat. That is the ride.