(lifestyle.com)
Updated: 2006-10-02 14:18

Scenic spots in Beijing suburbs

Beijing suburbs are host to a great many beautiful scenic spots. The most beautiful is Huairou (to the north of Beijing) with famous spots like Hongzunyu Yitiaogou (a valley famous for its brown trout) and Yougu Shentan (a secret pond) as well as 300 cute holiday villages. Fangshan (to the southwest of Beijing) has the famous Shidu mountain and water. People may also go grape picking at Daxing (to the south of Beijing) and Tongzhou (to the east of Beijing). Others also include the Changping (to the north of Beijing) imperial tomb and the Miyun (to the northeast of Beijing) reservoir, which is home to many fish. Out of all these choices, here are two Citylife recommendations.

Baihe 3 days
Located east of the Yunmeng Mountains, 85km north of Beijing, Baihe valley is also known as the "Yarlung Zangbo River (a grand river in Tibet) Valley in Beijing" for its wild scenery. In Baihe Valley, people can go rock climbing, ice cliff climbing, trekking and camping apart from enjoying the scenery of the Great Wall relics and Baihepu reservoir.

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Tips
1 Take an extra sweater for the night. It's pretty cool in the mountains in October at night.
2 The water is cold. Be careful of muscle spasms when swimming.
3 Take mosquito and insect repellent. There are always many insects near the water.
4 Hostels and holiday villas are available at scenic spots and villages on the way providing lodging and accommodation (RMB 15 is enough for a pretty rich farmhouse banquet).
5 There are no gasoline stations in the mountainous area. Make sure you have a full tank of gas before you head out.

Bolitai Xincun (glass platform new village) 3 days

Apart from visiting legendary ancient pass ruins and the Great Wall relics, two things distinguish Bolitai Xincun from other suburban spots. First, it hosts a cluster of Hui style villas. Hui architecture is a famous branch of ancient Chinese architecture and it comes in groups, always neatly patterned with high walls and narrow lanes, located beside beautiful rivers and mountains. Second, it has the unique Boliyan (glass banquet) featuring dishes cooked using Boliye (the leaves of a unique local plant) as the seasoning.

Other interesting activities include peach picking in orchards (lining the road connecting Pinggu County, to the east of Beijing, to Jinhai lake) and unique fish tasting in the village of Haizi (booking hotline: 010-69991688 from Honghuo farmhouse, one of the eateries in this village).

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