Travel and Hiking

Explore an ancient interconnected series of cave dwellings in the hills of Yanqing County; visit the Longqingxia Ice Festival on the way home.

Tang Dynasty Cave Dwellings

Nobody is certain exactly who it was that established the cave dwellings, only that they were made during the Tang Dynasty (618-907AD) and inhabited for approximately 200 years. The cave dwellings were carved from the sandstone cliff and are extensive and well-designed, connected by tunnels and stairways, and featuring heated “kang” beds, temples and meeting rooms, and animal shelters on the lower levels. Most of the rooms are three to four cubic meters in size, and some are high up on the cliff face.

It was hard for the cave-dwellers to survive on the produce of the valley, and they would often raid the nearby villages for food (and sometimes women). This annoyed the villagers, and after a while it became known that the hidden valley was inhabited by rebels and bandits. By this time, the Tang Dynasty had fallen to the Khitans who established the Liao Dynasty (907-1125AD). The valley was besieged by the army of the Liao, and all of the inhabitants (approximately 1,000) were killed.

Local legend has it that the caves were built in the body of a dragon, and that a curious rock on one of the paths is a meteorite fallen from the sky. In the 1960s some of the caves at the foot of the valley were used to store weapons and ammunition. In 1976 the caves were damaged by an earthquake. As a result, some of outer rooms are visible in cross-section.

We'll get an early dinner at a local restaurant after the hike, after which it should be dark enough to witness the full spectacle of the Longqingxia Ice Festival.

Longqingxia Ice Festival

The Longqingxia Ice Festival is sort of a mini-Harbin Ice
Festival – smaller in scale, but closer to Beijing … and we're pretty sure it's not going to be -40°C!

We're timing our visit for near the beginning of the Chinese New Year holiday, hopefully avoiding huge crowds but still getting a good look at the sculptures before the festival winds down.

We’ll organise our visit at Longqingxia as sort of free time – with two hours to look around, you can stick with the group or explore by yourself, and we’ll all meet up again back at the bus at the predetermined time.

Cost: ¥555 / ¥500 for members / ¥300 for kids

See a full description, more photos, and book online at https://www.beijinghikers.com/hike-in-beijing/view/1212/longqingxia-ice-festival-and-tang-dynasty-caves-2/

Beijing Hikers—fun and friendly hikes and trips around Beijing and greater China, since 2001.

For more updates on hikes and trips follow our WeChat account BeijingHikers北京爱山 and keep an eye on www.beijinghikers.com

https://www.beijinghikers.com / info@beijinghikers.com

Moderately difficult hill walking in the mountains north of the Ming Tombs.

We start off at Longevity Village, the midpoint of our popular Silver Pagodas hike. We’ll be heading in the opposite direction to the pagodas, aiming to cross a notch in a ridge on the southern side of the village.

The first part of the hike is on mostly flat ground, first on the road that leads through Longevity Village, and then on a dirt trail that heads up into the hills, passing through all the terraced chestnut fields that are a major source of income for the villagers.

As we get closer to the point where we cross over the ridge, the trail starts to zig-zag as it climbs up the hillside, eventually rising to the saddle between two peaks—a good place for a rest!

From the saddle, we follow a largely disused trail down into the valley on the other side.

Near the bottom of the valley, we pass through a nice narrow ravine before arriving at the village on the other side of the hill. Just before the village we walk along a narrow lane between brick buildings that are some sort of small factory. Depending on the mood of the workers, and the state of the gate, we might need to skirt around the buildings instead of strolling through.

A sealed road leads down into the village where we begin a hike called Tomb Raiders, and, after a sharp turn at the village square and exercise machine yard, we’re back into the hills, following another valley trail up on to a ridge.

It’s a slightly tougher climb this time, getting rather steep near the top. There are quite a few false peaks on the way up, but these provide a good opportunity for a rest! If you don’t think it’s tough enough, there’s an option to take a short detour to the highest hill in the area, where there’s a rusted trig and great 360° views of the area, including many of the Ming Tombs.

We hike by and around a few of the closed Ming Tombs, but can’t go inside either of them. This hike is more about exercise than tomb-visiting.

Cost: ¥380 / ¥340 for members

See a full description, more photos, and book online at https://www.beijinghikers.com/hike-in-beijing/view/345/longevity-village-to-the-ming-tombs/

Beijing Hikers—fun and friendly hikes and trips around Beijing and greater China, since 2001.

For more updates on hikes and trips follow our WeChat account BeijingHikers北京爱山 and keep an eye on www.beijinghikers.com

https://www.beijinghikers.com / info@beijinghikers.com

A moderately difficult hike that follows a line of wild wall up to a tall tower with 360° views of mountains, valleys, small villages, and a long line of wall heading high into the hills. Some sections extremely tricky underfoot.

We start the hike not far past Chenjiapu Village, taking a short walk up a concrete road before turning off on to a dirt track that leads up a valley towards the Great Wall.

The valley is narrow to begin with, and slowly opens up to give views of Great Wall and towers on a high ridgeline.

At the top of the valley we’ll find the Great Wall, with two mostly-intact towers sited to guard a pass at a dip in the mountains.

We’ll be headed north from the dip, following a rough line of ‘wild’ Great Wall through the two towers and up to the local “General’s Tower”.

At an elevation of 1,040m, the General’s Tower has superb views of all the Great Wall in the area.

To the east we’ll be able to spot the eastern side of the Stone Valley Great Wall and possibly parts of the Badaling Ancient Great Wall; to the south we’ll see the higher parts of this line Great Wall, and, if it’s a clear day, the High Tower on a faraway peak.

Cost: ¥420 / ¥380 for members

See a full description, more photos, and book online at https://www.beijinghikers.com/hike-in-beijing/view/1920/chenjiapu-great-wall-4/

Beijing Hikers—fun and friendly hikes and trips around Beijing and greater China, since 2001.

For more updates on hikes and trips follow our WeChat account BeijingHikers北京爱山 and keep an eye on www.beijinghikers.com

https://www.beijinghikers.com / info@beijinghikers.com

Hike down 'Big Cloud' Valley, climb a short, steep stretch of the Longquanyu Great Wall, and then descend into Shuiquan Canyon for a fun walk up a boulder-filled river valley.

In winter, in the valleys and canyons in Yanqing District, the streams, rivers, and any little trickles of water freeze up into slabs of ice.

As more water runs over the slabs of ice, it too freezes, and the ice expands to cover hiking trails and, in some cases, the entire valley floor. Boulders and rocks are encased in ice, and tree trunks are enveloped.

'Big Cloud' Valley is shaded by high cliffs, and it holds a small stream that flows from a spring, year-round.

In winter, that small stream freezes and expands to make something like a mini-glacier.

Shuiquan Canyon is wider, and the boulders and pools of water are larger—the pools of water freeze, and we're able to pick a path over and around boulders as we hike up.

On this hike, we'll head down ‘Big Cloud’ Valley, and then hike a short, steep stretch of the Longquanyu Great Wall before descending into Shuiquan Canyon.

Cost: ¥380 / ¥340 for members

See a full description, more photos, and book online at https://www.beijinghikers.com/hike-in-beijing/view/1484/big-cloud-valley-and-shuiquan-canyon-winter/

Beijing Hikers—fun and friendly hikes and trips around Beijing and greater China, since 2001.

For more updates on hikes and trips follow our WeChat account BeijingHikers北京爱山 and keep an eye on www.beijinghikers.com

https://www.beijinghikers.com / info@beijinghikers.com

We’ll be following the White River as it winds through a deep and wide canyon with numerous forks and steep rocky cliffs, making this an extremely picturesque hike that is easy to finish.

All up, there are around eight places the path crosses the river. In summer we need to take our shoes off to wade across, but in winter we’ll be able to walk across the thick ice.

At times, the trail leads us through trees, but for most of the walk we’ll follow the course of the river. It’s flat the whole way, and the only thing that might slow us down is slippery ice.

Sometimes, we cross over ice that has frozen clear, and we can see all the way down to the bottom of the river. It’s like walking on thick glass – a little unnerving, but very pretty!

Midway on the hike we’ll stop for a quick lunch in a nice spot with rocks and (hopefully!) a bit of sun.

From that spot we’ll walk on down the river, crossing a few more times on the way to the end.

Cost: ¥420 / ¥380 for members / ¥220 for kids

See a full description, more photos, and book online at https://www.beijinghikers.com/hike-in-beijing/view/575/white-river-ice-hike-3/

Beijing Hikers—fun and friendly hikes and trips around Beijing and greater China, since 2001.

For more updates on hikes and trips follow our WeChat account BeijingHikers北京爱山 and keep an eye on www.beijinghikers.com

https://www.beijinghikers.com / info@beijinghikers.com

Let's enjoy the winter view of White River.

Baihe is a canyon landscape and has been described as a "Hundred Miles Gallery". Baihe canyon keeps the natural features and there are relatively few villages. Therefore, it is suitable for natural exploration. You can enjoy the canyon from the northeast of the Baihebao Reservoir in Yanqing County. Nearly 100 meters high cliffs like sharp swords splits Baihe. The towering Ming Dynasty Great Wall winds in the mountains. Cliffs on both sides of the river, the nature scenery is quite fantastic. Great for summer and winter.

In summer, we hiked here and followed the paths beside the river or chose to cross several times on the way down. In the winter, the river freezes over, we can walk on the ice or follow side trails if necessary.

Hike Information:

l Date: Jan. 11th (Sunday)

l Location: Miyun section

l Drive time: 2 hours each way

【The route type】walking along with the rive side

【The route description】No climbing; walking and enjoy the view and sunshine. (There is a cave coffee at the end point. You could enjoy a cup of hot coffee to warm your body.)

l Distance: 8km

l Time to complete: 4-5hours

l Total ascent: 53m

l Total descent: 43m

l Peak: 243m

l Lowest point: 197m

Notice:

1. Take at least 2 bottles of water

2. Bring some lunch, and some snacks.

3. Hiking boots are recommended. (keep your feet warm).

4. More details will be posted in the group the day before the hike.

Itinerary:

08.00: Departure from Dongzhimen (line2 exit B)

10.00: Arrive the place, beginning of hike.

15.00: Ending the hike.

17:00: Back to Beijing.

Activity Fee: 160RMB/person without entrance fee.

Activity Price includes:

1. Transportation with a driver

2. Hiking Leaders: Lengzhi and Nuanyang

3. One day outdoor insurance

4. Payment: transfer the fee by Wechat or Alipay when we confirm the event.

Note: the entrance ticket fee is 20.00rmb/person. (The prices listed is for the winter of 2024. If the price increases slightly, we will cover the difference. Thank you for joining in this event during the cold winter.)

Please note:

- Do not participate if you are sick or showing symptoms of ever or couching.

- Customer service: Mona (wechat id: mona_zhangli) If you have any suggestions orcomplaint, please feel free to leave messages.

- Photos will be used in the social media platform. If you don't want to show in the picture, let us know.

Cancellation:

1. Kindly reminder: You can cancel anytime till the deadline on Saturday 13:00PM. As we have to fix capacties for the bus and pay the driver and the guides. After deadline, we will have charge you 80% activity fee. Or you find another person not yet registered to join the hike. If your cancellation is on Sunday morning or if you are late and missed the hike, please pay 100% activity fee. We repect your choice. When you register for this activity, you accept this cancelation policy.

2. Bad weather plan:We will message you 1-2 days before the hike to let you know about theweather condition. If there is a thunderstorm, heavy rain or strongwinds it will be dangerous to do the hike in the high mountains. So we will cancel it or change the dates.

Explore an ancient interconnected series of cave dwellings in the hills of Yanqing County; visit the Longqingxia Ice Festival on the way home.

Cost: ¥555 / ¥500 for members / ¥300 for kids

See a full description, more photos, and book online at https://www.beijinghikers.com/hike-in-beijing/view/445/longqingxia-ice-festival-and-tang-dynasty-caves/

Beijing Hikers—fun and friendly hikes and trips around Beijing and greater China, since 2001.

For more updates on hikes and trips follow our WeChat account BeijingHikers北京爱山 and keep an eye on www.beijinghikers.com

https://www.beijinghikers.com / info@beijinghikers.com

The Lupiguan ‘Deerskin Pass’ Great Wall was built during the Ming Dynasty to block off a pass in the mountains north of Beijing.

The Great Wall across the floor of the valley – a tall wall, with an arch called a ‘Water Pass’ to let the water through – was demolished to make way for a modern-era bridge over the river. The ruins of the Water Pass are now completely submerged by the Miyun Reservoir.

The large towers atop the ridges on either side of the bridge are still visible, and if you’ve done our White River hike before then it’s likely you will have spotted them high up on the cliffs as we drove past on the way home.

On this hike we’ll explore the east side of the pass, getting a look at the towers and nearby wall and checking out an internet-famous viewpoint of a horseshoe bend in the lower reaches of the White River.

Cost: ¥400 / ¥360 for members

See a full description, more photos, and book online at https://www.beijinghikers.com/hike-in-beijing/view/1951/lupiguan-great-wall/

Beijing Hikers—fun and friendly hikes and trips around Beijing and greater China, since 2001.

For more updates on hikes and trips follow our WeChat account BeijingHikers北京爱山 and keep an eye on www.beijinghikers.com

https://www.beijinghikers.com / info@beijinghikers.com

Hike through and out of a park filled with icy water falls and pools to reach a beautiful ridgeline trail with views of mountains and the Miyun Reservoir.

There's a lot to see on our Immortal Valley Loop hike – many pools filled with clear spring water, waterfalls, big trees, wild flowers, some Great Wall, the Miyun Reservoir, and views of valleys and mountains. Much of the valley is shaded, and we will walk by pools and waterfalls that have frozen into fantastic shapes—a really scenic hike in winter with all the ice.

The first section of the trail is through a park and is well shaded by leafy trees. A clear stream runs down through the valley, passing large granite boulders, forming natural pools, and flowing off cliffs in waterfalls that are up to twenty metres high.

After about twenty minutes’ walk up the concrete park trail, we'll climb a steep set of stairs to reach an overlook on the the first of the big falls. The waterfall is fed by water from the small reservoir above, and used for ice climbing when it's all frozen during winter.

From there we continue up Immortal Valley, passing pools of water and caves in the steep cliffs and heading for the shaded valley trail that will take us up to the top.

Cost: ¥400 / ¥360 for members

See a full description, more photos, and book online at https://www.beijinghikers.com/hike-in-beijing/view/1854/immortal-valley-loop-winter-3/

Beijing Hikers—fun and friendly hikes and trips around Beijing and greater China, since 2001.

For more updates on hikes and trips follow our WeChat account BeijingHikers北京爱山 and keep an eye on www.beijinghikers.com

https://www.beijinghikers.com / info@beijinghikers.com

Explore the Panlongshan section of the the Gubeikou Great Wall, starting with a climb up to the 24-Eyes Tower, finishing with a look at some of the Great Wall towers on the west side of the big North Gate, and hiking all the wall in between. Includes a post-hike lunch at a countryside restaurant.

We’ll start off nearby the small hamlet where we used to finish this hike, and hike up to the small reservoir further up the valley from the houses.

By the reservoir is a hill track that will take us up to the top section of the Great Wall at Gubeikou. It’s not a difficult climb, but once we’ve finished it we’ll be almost at the highest point of the whole hike.

The actual highest point of the whole hike is the 24-Eyes Tower, and we’ll follow the wall up for long views of more Great Wall and mountains all around.

24-Eyes Tower is the highest tower on the Panlongshan ‘Coiling Dragon Mountain’ part of the Great Wall, and was one of the largest, too. The name ‘24-Eyes’ came from the number of windows—six on each of the tower’s four sides. The tower only has two sides now due to damage over the years, including explosions and gunfire during a 1930s battle between Chinese and Japanese armies.

After a break at 24-Eyes Tower we’ll hike down the Great Wall, heading for Gubeikou’s North Gate. We’ll be on the wall most of the way there, passing through Haowang Tower and the General’s Tower along the way.

Just after the General’s Tower we’ll take a detour off the wall to head for the North Gate, hiking hill trails to get back to the wall that encircled Gubeikou Village, and then along the wall to the North Gate, an arched gate in the wall.

Cost: ¥470 / ¥420 for members / ¥240 for kids

See a full description, more photos, and book online at https://www.beijinghikers.com/hike-in-beijing/view/1772/gubeikou-great-wall-3/

Beijing Hikers—fun and friendly hikes and trips around Beijing and greater China, since 2001.

For more updates on hikes and trips follow our WeChat account BeijingHikers北京爱山 and keep an eye on www.beijinghikers.com

https://www.beijinghikers.com / info@beijinghikers.com