Now that the weather is picking up in Beijing and the season for shorts and t-shirts is rapidly drawing near, me and Siqi decided we would head slightly out of Beijing to 香山 (The Fragrant Mountain), a popular walking spot for Beijinger’s who want to get a breath of fresh(er) air. Conveniently located on the western fringe of Beijing, 香山 is only a 20-30 minute bus ride away from our apartment.
Whilst renowned for being absolutely packed out with people on Weekends and during the summer tourist season, if you make a sneak visit late on a Friday afternoon (as we did) you can have the place to yourselves - well… almost!
The path is the walkers equivalent of a motorway and there is also a chairlift to the top for lazy chinese businessmen - although this hasn’t started up yet this year. Its probably about a 1:30 h walk to the top for the fit and healthy and is pretty steep at some sections… I couldn’t help but think about some parts of the great wall during the climb up!
Once at the top there is a ‘great’ view of Beijing (smog, greyness and what I can assume is an increasingly patch of greenness separating the city from the mountains). On the other side of the hill you can also see some Coal fired power stations that have been hidden away from the public eye - this may well have something to do with the olympics! It must be said that there was a pleasant and reasonably fresh breeze on the summit of the mountain and it was nice to do some exercise again and get out of the city for a bit. After a bite to eat on top, we headed down the mountain as it was getting dark quite rapidly. We did the last section in complete darkness which was rather interesting!
Last stop, a lovely restaurant where we enjoyed 京酱肉丝 (Beijing sweet pork strips wrapped in tofu skin) and 清炒油菜心 (Stir fried bok-choi hearts) along with a couple of bowls of rice. Feeling somewhat full, we got the bus back to our house and watched some DVD’s!
I really enjoyed this walk and it was lovely to get out of the city and into the countryside again. I think more than anything I was surprised that the countryside was so accessible and at such a short distance from Beijing. Me and Siqi are hoping to make a habit of this and try and get out every Friday afternoon (neither of us have classes) for a stroll up the mountain - especially as the weather gets warmer.
Here are some photos:
Jono
March 7, 2008
Lovely to see some countryside. I went and googled these mountains and there were lots of photos of blossom trees so I guess later on it could look quite beautiful. Take a head torch nest time!
March 7, 2008
Hello
Will look out for the blossom, also heard that in the autumn there are lots of red leaves (maple maybe?) on the trees which is supposed to be really beautiful… but I missed that!!
We’re going again this afternoon but earlier this time!
Glad you liked the photos.
Jono