Yanggu Section of Huitong Canal and Temple and Cemetery of Confucius and the K

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Yanggu Section of Huitong Canal

   The Grand Canal is the world's longest artificial waterway, and in Shandong, near Yanggu, you can still see why it was a fiendish piece of engineering. The Huitong Canal was dug in the Yuan dynasty, at the end of the thirteenth century, to link the Yellow River region with the Wei River and carry grain north to the capital at Beijing, and it crossed ground that rises and falls, so that boats had to be lifted by locks over a high ridge. The Ming dynasty reopened and improved it in the early fifteenth century, after the canal silted up, with the engineer Song Li often credited with the repair.

   Read the complete Yanggu Section of Huitong Canal write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Yanggu Section of Huitong Canal is where the day begins. Next is Nanwang Complex.

2. 2. Nanwang Complex

   China's Grand Canal has a trick at its summit. The canal runs north to south for nearly two thousand kilometres, but in Shandong the land rises to a ridge between the Yellow River and the Huai, and boats cannot cross a hill. At Nanwang, near Wenshang, Ming dynasty engineers solved the problem in the early fifteenth century. The overseer Song Li and the water expert Bai Ying built a dam across the Wen River to divert its water to the summit of the canal, where it split, sending a share north and a share south. The idea was to feed both slopes from one high point.

   Read the complete Nanwang Complex write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Nanwang Complex comes up about 101 km into the recorded legs. Next is Temple and Cemetery of Confucius and the K.

3. 3. Temple and Cemetery of Confucius and the K

   Confucius was born in 551 BC in the small state of Lu, in what is now Shandong province, and Qufu was his home town. When he died in 479 BC, his disciples buried him on the banks of the Si river, and a small shrine was built to his memory. Over two thousand years, that modest shrine grew into a huge temple complex, rebuilt and enlarged by emperors who wanted to link themselves to the sage whose teachings underpinned the Chinese state. The temple, the Kong family mansion and the Kong Lin, the family cemetery, were listed together by UNESCO in 1994.

   Read the complete Temple and Cemetery of Confucius and the K write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 167 km into the recorded legs you reach Temple and Cemetery of Confucius and the K. Next is back through Nanwang Complex.

4. 4. back through Nanwang Complex

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Nanwang Complex write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Nanwang Complex, late in the day. Next is Yanggu Section of Huitong Canal.

5. 5. Yanggu Section of Huitong Canal

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Yanggu Section of Huitong Canal write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Back at Yanggu Section of Huitong Canal. That is the ride.