Amid travel restrictions, magic can be found in your own backyard

My heart, I have become aware, has been left somewhere, though not in the San Francisco of song.

With recent winter winds whistling past the windows, my fondest thoughts have gone back to a Beijing resort whose charm never wanes.

I most recently visited Gubei Water Town, which is about a two-hour drive from the heart of Beijing, during a few sweltering days in August, when the buzz was loud about the opening of a fancy new theme park elsewhere in the capital city.

Far be it from me to judge how anyone spends their hard-earned vacation time, but I chuckled to see the fervor that accompanied the opening of the urban theme park. Disneyland and Universal Studios in California were enjoyable enough, but such popular attractions generally hold no allure for me.

I chose instead to cash in some vacation time by traveling no farther than the outskirts of Beijing for an outing that I will remember for the rest of my days.

I initially had intended to venture farther afield to Shandong province, but at the last minute, travel advisories strongly suggested, as a cautionary measure amid a fresh outbreak of COVID-19 cases, that I not leave Beijing.

What could I possibly do in my own backyard to rival the swelling tides and rolling waves I hoped to see at seaside in Shandong?

Then I had an epiphany. I recalled a pleasant day trip in the winter of 2019 to Gubei, which is a replica of Wuzhen Water Town in Zhejiang province.

Gubei offers a quaint mixture of newly built and restored structures. On that cold December day two years ago, I ambled along the river, which was frozen solid, the locals sliding and skating on its surface. I later hiked on the Great Wall, hustling back down the slopes before sunset as the temperature plunged.

While we prepared to depart this enchanting town that evening, I gazed at the Great Wall, which was illuminated like a glowing snake that stretched out atop steep cliffs. How spellbinding this splendid resort must be in warmer weather, I thought.

And so, with that in mind, I boarded a charter bus beneath the roasting August sun at Dongzhimen station in Beijing for the comfortable ride, at a mere 48 yuan ($7.50), to the water town.

Upon my arrival, I was greeted by my old friend the river. Long past its winter repose, it gurgled and gently flowed beneath the bridge leading into this wonderland of (mostly) yesteryear.

As luck would have it, our hotel room－tucked away in an old brick courtyard－was magnificent. One window overlooked the river, and the room itself was a castle-style turret that jutted out over the water.

My eyes beheld, just across the river, the moat wall of the fortress that once stood there. Illuminated at night by river-level lights, which cast long shadows on its sheer face, this wall came to symbolize the sleeping-dragon spirit of the water town, where past and present weave a magical spell.

In the span of two exciting days, we sampled delectable traditional snacks, feasted at riverside on grilled fish, took in a shadow puppet show, enjoyed a river ride in an old wooden boat, toured a baijiu distillery museum, wandered through huge breeze-tossed fabrics in an open-air dye house, and attended an exhilarating nighttime water and light show.

Most memorable, though, was strolling on the lantern-lit Great Wall at night and viewing the twinkling water town far below and a sea of stars above.

While exploring by day the wandering flagstone streets that follow the river's winding course, we even stumbled across (and made use of) a bowling alley within sight of the guard stations that dot the Great Wall's towering cliffs.

And so today, with winter poised to wrap Beijing in its icy grip, I long once more for the beloved river, whether flowing or frozen, and think about how Gubei Water Town, a seamless mix of modern and ancient, is no mere fair weather friend.

Gubei, whether frosted by wintry gusts or aglow in the blazing sunlight of summer－and presumably at all times in between－is truly a town for all seasons.