Why this ride
From Beijing it runs 305 km to Beijing; allow about 4 h 02 of riding. It goes by way of Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian, Western Qing Tombs and back through Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
The Imperial Palace of the Ming and Qing D and Western Qing Tombs
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 305 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 02
- 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.
Scenic road chapters
The Imperial Palace of the Ming and Qing D → Peking Man Site at Zhouko
This part of the ride is 57 km of The Imperial Palace of the Ming and Qing D → Peking Man Site at Zhouko.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 57 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. The Imperial Palace of the Ming and Qing D
The Forbidden City is the largest palace complex in the world, and from 1420 to 1912, it was the home of twenty-four emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties. It was built by the Yongle emperor, who moved the capital from Nanjing to Beijing, and who used tens of thousands of craftsmen and hundreds of thousands of labourers to finish it in about fourteen years. It covers about seventy-two hectares, with some nine hundred buildings, surrounded by a moat and a high wall. The name comes from the fact that ordinary people were forbidden to enter without permission, on pain of punishment.
Read the complete The Imperial Palace of the Ming and Qing D write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The Imperial Palace of the Ming and Qing D is where the day begins. Next is Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian.
2. Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian
In the 1920s and 1930s, excavations in the limestone caves of Dragon Bone Hill at Zhoukoudian, south-west of Beijing, uncovered the remains of early humans who lived here hundreds of thousands of years ago. They became known as Peking Man, a population of Homo erectus, and in 1929 the Chinese archaeologist Pei Wenzhong found a nearly complete skull. The fossils caused a sensation, offering evidence of early humans in Asia and their use of fire. Then, in 1941, during the Japanese occupation, the original bones were packed for shipment to the United States and vanished; their fate remains one of the great mysteries of archaeology. The site is listed by UNESCO, and a museum displays casts and later finds.
Read the complete Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian comes up about 57 km into the recorded legs. Next is Western Qing Tombs.
3. Western Qing Tombs
Ninety minutes from Beijing, where the North China Plain runs into the Taihang mountains, a line of tombs lies in a landscape of old pines. These are the Western Qing Tombs, in Yi County of Hebei province, the burial ground of four Qing emperors, including Yongzheng, Jiaqing, Daoguang and Guangxu, along with a crowd of empresses, concubines and princes. The Qing had a second great cemetery, the Eastern Tombs, on the other side of Beijing, and the two were laid out according to feng shui principles with hills behind and open ground in front.
Read the complete Western Qing Tombs write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 150 km into the recorded legs you reach Western Qing Tombs. Next is back through Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian.
4. back through Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian, late in the day. Next is The Imperial Palace of the Ming and Qing D.
5. The Imperial Palace of the Ming and Qing D
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete The Imperial Palace of the Ming and Qing D write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at The Imperial Palace of the Ming and Qing D. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
The Imperial Palace of the Ming and Qing D to Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian
The Imperial Palace of the Ming and Qing D → Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian is 57 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian to Western Qing Tombs
Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian → Western Qing Tombs is 93 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Western Qing Tombs to back through Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian
Western Qing Tombs → back through Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian is 97 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian to The Imperial Palace of the Ming and Qing D
back through Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian → The Imperial Palace of the Ming and Qing D is 58 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.