(btmbeijing.com)
Updated: 2007-05-10 09:22

 

Before a tour, select your activity; choose your destination; and pick your date. During your tour, guide yourself, following the detailed instructions given in a reliable tourist handbook or on a good map. When dining on a self-guided tour, you get to choose your own meals. Begin by planning a simple picnic lunch or by making your own special food discoveries en route.

Below are some urban, suburban and rural tourist attractions for self-guided tourists in Beijing. Escape the city's hustle and bustle; take the time to travel by yourself or with your own companions in a car or by bicycle and enjoy the wonders of Beijing Municipality.

A good place to begin is the Nangong Tourist Zone is in Nangong Village, Fengtai District, which has a reputation as the "No. 1 Village for China Geothermal Resources." Relying on its rich geothermal resources, Nangong has strongly developed its agricultural tourism industry, offering comforts such as hot-spring body fitness, entertainment and holiday industry facilities. A garden-like small tourist city with a harmonious environment, the village is representative of a new-type village community.

After a good rest, it's time to have some exercise. One great therapy and enjoyment for people hounded by office work is picking fruit or vegetables in Beijing's rural areas. One recommended area is the Xiaotangshan Special Vegetable Base in Changping District. Xiaotangshan is a very special place for agricultural tourism, picking your own fruits and vegetables and touring an agricultural exhibition. More than 100 greenhouses provide pollution-free vegetables and fresh fruit. Many tropical fruits such as guava, papaya and the Taiwan green jujube can be picked during the four seasons at the Xiaotangshan Special Vegetable Base. One suggestion: bring plenty of money! You won't want to stop picking for yourself, your family and friends back in the city. Here you can load up on fresh fruit and vegetables.

Some local residents, including expatriates, may be somewhat bored with visiting the Great Wall, but no one should forget that there are many wonderful places and sites to see in its vicinity. The lakes and valleys there are charming for fans of nature. Xiangshui Lake is a one-of-a-kind tourist resort in rural Beijing, located west of the Mutianyu Great Wall, about 28 kilometres from Huairou. The 18-square-kilometre area contains a part of the Great Wall, ancient caves, streams and rivers, fountains, pools and waterfalls. The resort is located in a valley where fortresses and beacons were built along the Great Wall during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Engravings on the cliffs add to the grandeur of the area. The Lianyun Cave and Totem Pavilion, formed by natural forces, are great attractions. The resort has cliffs and fountains, fruit trees and grass. In the spring, the mountain is filled with the fragrance of flowers. Visitors can dine in folk villages and nearby villas on farmer's family food. Rainbow trout can be snagged in a nearby pool for delicious barbecued fish. For urbanites that have long lived in the city, the resort, with its green mountains, fresh water, flowers and singing birds, is an excellent place to enjoy your leisure time and holidays.

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