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China : Héběi Shěng

2.3 km (1.4 miles) NE of Zhailing, Héběi, China
Approx. altitude: 487 m (1597 ft)
([?] maps: Google MapQuest OpenStreetMap ConfluenceNavigator)
Antipode: 41°S 63°W

Accuracy: 11 m (36 ft)
Quality: good

Click on any of the images for the full-sized picture.

#2: View to the South #3: View to the West #4: View to the North #5: View to the East #6: GPS reading #7: Ground Zero #8: The Confluence Hunter #9: In the village Píngshān

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  41°N 117°E (visit #3)  

#1: The Confluence from 20 m

(visited by Rainer Mautz and Thoggol)

05-Jul-2012 -- General information about the tour

This is the first out of 20 confluence points that I reached on a bicycle trip to the North-East of China. The report for this confluence can be found below the tables. It is not the first time that I did such trip, see the overview below of previous bicycle-confluencing tours in China:

Year Provinces

Confluences visited

(in China)

Cycling Days

(in China)

Cycled Distance

(in China)

Link to Reports at Confluence.org Pictures of Tour
2004 Guìzhōu 8 11 876 27°N 109°E Here
2006 Sìchuān, Gānsù, Xīnjiāng 12 22 2155 32°N 107°E Here
2008 Běijīng, Héběi 23 28 3828 40°N 117°E Here
2010 Yúnnán 6 21 2050 25°N 102°E Here
2011 Héběi, Inner Mongolia, Shǎnxī, Níngxià, Gānsù, Qīnghǎi 20 35 4046 41°N 115°E Here
2012 Héběi, Inner Mongolia, Hēilóngjiāng 20 26 3674 41°N 117°E Here
  89 143 16629    

China's North-East (东北) region is rarely visited by tourists with less spectacular cultural attractions than China’s South can offer. Therefore, many confluence points remain unvisited. Travelling during the summer months in China’s North has the advantage of long daylight hours and warm, but not too hot temperatures. However, the summer is the raining season and the cyclist intending to travel on remote routes should take into account the road conditions after heavy rains on unsealed tracks. The travelled route and some pictures can be found here. The first 10 days (i.e. 5 confluence visits) I cycled together with my friend Thoggol.

Here is an overview of the visited confluence points in table form:

DCP Visit No. Day No. Date Time Hight / m Distance Bike Parking / m Minimal Distance / m GNSS Accuracy / m
41°N 117°E 3 2 05.7.2012 9:20 476 260 1 11
42°N 117°E 3 4 07.7.2012 9:10 1449 1800 0 11
43°N 118°E 1 7 10.7.2012 11:05 1374 190 0 3
44°N 118°E 1 8 11.7.2012 18:36 1031 1100 0 3
45°N 118°E 1 10 13.7.2012 12:15 968 0 0 3
45°N 119°E 1 11 14.7.2012 9:14 1009 950 1 3
46°N 121°E 1 13 16.7.2012 15:09 756 500 0 4
47°N 121°E 1 14 17.7.2012 16:06 838 750 0 4
48°N 122°E 1 16 19.7.2012 9:24 689 190 1 7
48°N 123°E 2 17 20.7.2012 8:13 275 80 0 3
48°N 124°E 1 17 20.7.2012 17:47 171 240 0 3
48°N 125°E 1 18 21.7.2012 12:50 228 120 1 3
48°N 126°E 1 19 22.7.2012 7:12 239 40 0 4
48°N 127°E 1 19 22.7.2012 17:45 288 1300 0 5
48°N 128°E 1 20 23.7.2012 18:15 366 50 0 3
48°N 129°E 1 22 25.7.2012 5:16 278 30 1 5
48°N 130°E 1 23 26.7.2012 12:00 504 890 0 8
47°N 130°E 1 24 27.7.2012 15:34 121 890 0 4
46°N 129°E 1 25 28.7.2012 15:55 101 450 4 3
46°N 128°E 1 26 29.7.2012 9:30 133 180 5 4

Here is an overview of the bicycle tour in table form:

Day Date Overnight Place km Hotel (Yuan) Getup Time Riding Time DCP
1 04.7.2012 平坊乡 Píngfāng 161 10 4:04 4:35 - 16:30 -
2 05.7.2012 丰宁县 Fēngníng 110 100 4:30 5:00 - 17:00 41°N 117°E
3 06.7.2012 南山咀乡 Nánshānjǔ 123 20 5:00 5:50 - 17:00 -
4 07.7.2012 围场县 Wéichǎng 109 40 4:50 5:40 - 19:00 42°N 117°E
5 08.7.2012 赤峰市 Chìfēng 124 60 4:20 5:00 - 17:15 -
6 09.7.2012 新开地乡 Xīnkāidì 132 15 4:30 5:00 - 18:00 -
7 10.7.2012 双井乡 Shuāngjǐng 107 15 4:20 5:20 - 18:30 43°N 118°E
8 11.7.2012 毡铺乡 Zhānpù 114 15 4:45 5:10 - 20:15 44°N 118°E
9 12.7.2012 巴拉格尔镇 Balagear 83 60 4:55 6:00 - 17:00 -
10 13.7.2012 巴彦花乡 Bayanhua 150 10 4:10 5:00 - 20:30 45°N 118°E
11 14.7.2012 霍林郭勒市 Huolingele 150 138 4:00 4:50 - 17:15 45°N 119°E
12 15.7.2012 土列毛都镇 Tuliemaudu 123 60 4:45 5:30 - 18:15 -
13 16.7.2012 阿力德尔苏木 Alidearsumu 163 128 3:50 4:45 - 19:00 46°N 121°E
14 17.7.2012 蛤蟆沟林场 Hamagou 157 30 3:50 4:30 - 18:30 47°N 121°E
15 18.7.2012 伊其罕村 Yīqíhàn 142 20 3:45 4:30 - 18:15 -
16 19.7.2012 扎兰屯市 Zhālántún 180 260 3:00 3:50 - 18:45 48°N 122°E
17 20.7.2012 东阳镇 Dōngyáng 157 100 4:30 5:30 - 19:15 48°N 123°E, 48°N 124°E
18 21.7.2012 克山县 Kèshān 150 120 4:20 4:50 - 19:45 48°N 125°E
19 22.7.2012 建设农场 Jiànshè 156 60 4:00 5:45 - 21:30 48°N 126°E, 48°N 127°E
20 23.7.2012 东股流林场 Dōnggǔliú 136 10 5:15 7:00 - 18:00 48°N 128°E
21 24.7.2012 上甘岭区 Shànggānlǐng 196 70 3:20 3:45 - 18:00 -
22 25.7.2012 新青区 Xīnqīng 96 80 4:30 5:30 - 16:00 48°N 129°E
23 26.7.2012 鹤北镇 Hèběi 186 118 2:18 3:15 - 19:20 48°N 130°E
24 27.7.2012 汤原县 Tāngyuán 165 80 3:50 4:30 - 18:40 47°N 130°E
25 28.7.2012 通河县 Tōnghé 168 130 4:10 5:00 - 18:00 46°N 129°E
26 29.7.2012 哈尔滨市 Harbin 135 238 4:00 5:30 - 14.30 46°N 128°E
      3674 1950     20
Ø       141 75 4:11 5:05 - 18:30 0.77/day

Information about this confluence

At 4:00 a.m. I got up at my sister-in-law’s house. I set off at 4:35 a.m. from Běijīng’s Cháoyáng (朝阳) district. The early start helped me and Thoggol to get out of Běijīng before the rush hour traffic started. The first day, we stayed in the village Píngfāng (平坊乡) 30 km south-east of the confluence point. In the late morning of the second day, we reached this confluence point.

From the main road, it is 1.8 km beeline to the confluence. From there, a little road consisting of concrete slabs took us to the village Píngshān (平山村). Then a footpath took us up to a point in 260 m distance, where we abandoned the bikes and hiked to the confluence. The dense vegetation with thorny shrubs gave us a little challenge to reach the point. The previous winter visits didn’t have that challenge. In winter, the confluence looks very different – almost unrecognizable – due to the missing vegetation.

The exact location of the confluence is in a ca. 10 m wide, but steep gully. I made a successful attempt climbing down and fighting with the shrubs, but at the end I got only an GPS accuracy of 11 m (due to the restricted view to the sky in the gully). The images are taken at the edge of the gully, because the dense vegetation in the gully would make them meaningless.

CP visit details:

  • Distance to an asphalt (or concrete) road: 1000 m
  • Distance to a track (or footpath): 260 m
  • Distance of bicycle parking: 260 m
  • Distance to houses: 630 m
  • Time at the CP: 9:20 AM
  • Measured height: 476 m
  • Minimal distance according to GPS: 1 m
  • Position accuracy at the CP: 11 m
  • Topography: southern flank of a mountain range, in a gully
  • Vegetation: not identified trees, various kinds of bushes, grass
  • Weather: overcast, 26° C (felt temperature)
  • Given Name: The Overgrown Gully Confluence

Story continues at 42°N 117°E.


 All pictures
#1: The Confluence from 20 m
#2: View to the South
#3: View to the West
#4: View to the North
#5: View to the East
#6: GPS reading
#7: Ground Zero
#8: The Confluence Hunter
#9: In the village Píngshān
ALL: All pictures on one page