Badachu (八大处) means the “Eight Great Sites” and refers to the eight Buddhist temples and monasteries scattered across the Cuiwei, Pingpo, and Lushi hills in the Shijingshan District, at the foot of Beijing’s Western Hills Scenic Area. Located along the outskirts of Beijing, it was restored during the 1980s and has since become a famous tourist destination.
Enough of an introduction. What with Siqi busy in preparation for her finals this June and the fine weather we’ve been having, it was about time I got out the house and made some little day trips of my own. Things kicked off last week with a trip to Badachu Park on a scorching summers day (37 C). It was nice to get out of the hustle and bustle of the city and I was surprised to see that there were so few Chinese tourists visiting this beautiful park. The whole loop around all eight “Great Sites” took me three or four hours and was hard work under the glaring sun. Still, managed to get some nice snaps and some good exercise. Definitely worth a visit.
That’s it for now, it’s been chucking it down over the last couple of days and there are forecasts for more rain tomorrow so my Beijing adventures must be postponed momentarily – which at least gives me some time to put some photos up and get some blog entries written. Maybe time to get the guidebook out again and seek some more inspiration, sure I can get somewhere a bit further afield on Wednesday!
I’ll leave you with some more photos…
























































