CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. 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.
247 km from Songling to Songling, about 3 h 39 of riding. On the way it passes The Couple's Retreat, Wuxi City Section of Jiangnan Canal, Changzhou City Section of Jiangnan Canal and back through Wuxi City Section of Jiangnan Canal. The line favours views over speed.
The name says almost everything. Tuisi Garden, the Garden of Retreat and Reflection, was built in the 1880s in the water town of Tongli by an official named Ren Lansheng after he was dismissed from his post, and he called it after the old idea that a man out of office should withdraw and think about his faults. What he actually created was one of the most graceful small gardens in the region: pavilions and halls arranged around a pond as if they were floating on it, with rockeries, covered walkways and windows that frame views like paintings.
Read the complete The Retreat & Reflection Garden write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
The Retreat & Reflection Garden is where the day begins. Next is 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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
The Couple's Retreat comes up 46 km in. Next is Wuxi City Section of Jiangnan Canal.
The Grand Canal is the longest artificial waterway in the world, stretching from Beijing to Hangzhou, and some of its sections have been in use for more than two thousand years. In the Jiangnan region, south of the Yangtze, it flows through a landscape of rice paddies, lakes and old towns, and in Wuxi it runs right through the city. The canal was listed by UNESCO in 2014, and the Wuxi section includes historic streets, bridges and warehouses along its banks.
Read the complete Wuxi City Section of Jiangnan Canal write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
93 km in you reach Wuxi City Section of Jiangnan Canal. Next is Changzhou City Section of Jiangnan Canal.
Changzhou does not appear on many bucket lists, which is a pity, because it holds a living stretch of the Grand Canal, the longest man-made waterway in the world. The canal here is the Jiangnan section, the southern part that links the Yangtze with Hangzhou, and it runs right through the city, past old lanes, stone bridges and modern towers. UNESCO added the Grand Canal to its list in 2014, and Changzhou's urban section is one of the segments that make up the listing.
Read the complete Changzhou City Section of Jiangnan Canal write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Changzhou City Section of Jiangnan Canal, about halfway. Next is back through Wuxi City Section of Jiangnan Canal.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Wuxi City Section of Jiangnan Canal write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Wuxi City Section of Jiangnan Canal sits at 185 km, about halfway. Next is back through The Couple's Retreat.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete The Couple's Retreat write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through The Couple's Retreat comes up 232 km in. Next is The Retreat & Reflection Garden.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete The Retreat & Reflection Garden write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
The Retreat & Reflection Garden closes the day.
The Retreat & Reflection Garden → The Couple's Retreat is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The Couple's Retreat → Wuxi City Section of Jiangnan Canal is 56 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Wuxi City Section of Jiangnan Canal → Changzhou City Section of Jiangnan Canal is 57 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Changzhou City Section of Jiangnan Canal → back through Wuxi City Section of Jiangnan Canal is 57 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Wuxi City Section of Jiangnan Canal → back through The Couple's Retreat is 56 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through The Couple's Retreat → The Retreat & Reflection Garden is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.