Hike a relatively mellow track through the mountains northwest of Beijing, reaching the quirky and intriguing Baipu Temple for a mid-afternoon look about.
A lot of visits here just cover the temple area – which is fine by itself, of course! – but we’ll make our visit a mini-pilgrimage by hiking in through the hills.
The hike
We start off at an out-of-the-way spot on the side of the road that goes over the mountains in the northwest of Beijing, stepping off the bus and right on to the trail.
The trail is flat to begin, but we’ll soon be starting the first climb of the day.
We’ll be hiking up a narrow valley, heading for a low ridge. Before 2023, this part of the hike would have been on a nice dirt track, passing through pine forest. But this area was hit hard by the Typhone Doksuri flooding mid-2023, and now the scenery features exposed tree roots and a lot of rocks that were previously covered by pine needles and top soil.
From the pavilion we’ll follow a track along the ridge for a short while before hiking down into a valley. This part of the track was mostly untouched by the torrents, but we’ll still see some slips.
The valley track eventually leads to the backdoor of Baipu Temple, but we’ll have to get by the pig farm first!
After the pig farm, not far down the valley, we’ll get on to a concrete road. That road eventually brings us down to the temple, which is where the hiking part of our day finishes.
The temple
Stelae at the Baipu ‘White Waterfall’ Temple site date it to the Liao Dynasty (916–1125), and there are carved tablets and stelae that date restorations and extensions to various times during the Jin(1115–1234), Yuan (1279–1368), Ming (1368–1644) dynasties, and the Republic of China era (1912–1949).
Of particular interest is the shrine inside a cave high on the hillside, the huge dragon sculptures, and the can’t-miss-it white Buddha surrounded by gold.
At the temple, you’ll be able to look around by yourself, or follow the guides about the main sites. We’ll set aside about 45 minutes for your tour of the temple.
Cost: ¥380 / ¥340 for members / ¥220 for kids
See a full description, more photos, and book online at https://www.beijinghikers.com/hike-in-beijing/view/1968/through-the-hills-to-baipu-temple/
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