Day trip leaves me seeing red - but not as I had hoped

Ever since the autumn wind arrived, I've been planning a trip to see the red leaves. Fragrant Hill in western Beijing is too famous and crowded; the Hongluo Temple in Huairou district too far away. So I chose Jiufeng, a national forest park northwest of the Summer Palace.

The traffic turned heavy as soon as we entered the Badaling Expressway and when we finally made it to the mountain, two hours had gone by.

Although a sudden wind almost blew us away, we were determined to find some red leaves but were first enchanted by the many brilliant roadside chrysanthemums.