The Fragrant Hills (香山)

To the northwest of Beijing is a range of large hills. From the city, they kind of look like mountains, but they also look like they're really far away. It's a bit deceiving, but all the same a nice touch, and quite a bit larger than anything you'll find near Toronto.

Beijing can be pretty foggy/smoggy/dusty/whatever. Sometimes the visibility is pretty crappy, and I'd been waiting for a nice clear day to check out the Hills. I got excited when it rained heavily all Saturday long, since last time it pseudo-rained (with the exception of Saturday, it doesn't really 'rain' here) the air was really clear on the following day. However, that rain turned into snow, and it snowed heavily through the night.

The snow was perfect snow-fight quality. I think the locals were too scared to challenge me.

The next day was a cold, snowy, overcast day... nowhere near the ideal weather I was looking for. But when I woke up on Monday morning, I saw the sun shining brightly through my window. I checked the weather, and the daily high was 2 degrees, which was good, cold means crisp and clear. I went out to my kitchen to look westward, and there they were, the "mountains" of Beijing. I was dead-tired, running on less than 5hrs of sleep, but my excitement was my espresso and I got ready to go.

The view that morning from our walkway on the 13th floor of my building. (big)

A zoomed in view, to highlight the "mountains". (big)

The Fragrant Hills was originally an empirial getaway, built in the 12th century and added to extensively in later centuries (more info here). There are three main areas: the base, the temple and the peak. The base has a bunch of nice pavillions, ponds, and trees. The Temple of Azure Clouds is a buddhist temple, full of stupas and bodhisattvas, however I didn't see it because I made the mistake of planning to see it after the climb. The peak is a 440m ascent, at the top of a series of stone stairs 2.1km long.

The view from the bus parking lot. (big)

Firstly, I checked out the main grounds. There were some cool ponds and pavillions, enough said. Nothing mind-blowing though.

These can be found at pretty much every cultural site in China.

This led to a cool courtyard...

...in a parallel dimension.

Beautiful stonework.

This pavillion was nice. Looked like there should be a killer whale in it, but there were only a few carp. (big)Another view. (big)

The fattest fish I've ever seen. It was swimming so slowly too. They get overfed by locals looking for tranquility... not sure how tranquil it will be when the fish begin to explode. It has been pointed out to me that she may be pregnant...

There were some quaint doorways here.

A cool pagoda.

I then undertook the climb. I'm not saying that it's really long and high, but it was good excercise, and I haven't exactly been doing many activities here. It took me a bit of mental effort. There are a number of midway stops, and each blocks the view of the top, and I kept thinking I had made it until I'd turn the corner and there was another stretch of upward-leading stairs. But I made it eventually. The journey was a mix of body heat and harshly cold winds, I kept removing and putting on my jacket. I saw one guy going up with no shirt on! When the winds kicked in, I suspect it was -5 or so around the stairs, and it became progressively colder as I approached the top.

Getting to the top was quite a relief, and the view was everything I imagined, making the trip well worth the while.

The views from the top. (big)

Zoomed in to see the city. Beijing spreads out so vastly. (big)

Same view, with some labels of where I've been and lived. It's interesting to coordinate it with this map. (big)

The hills further W of the peak. (big)

The structure at the peak. There was a little food-bar in there, to my relief. I had cucumber flavoured Lays... and they were damn good.

The view from that building, facing Beijing.

Looking W behind the outpost building.

That structure on the upper-right of the previous photo.

A video from under that structure.

The trail keeps going to all these other buildings in the distance. I was too tired to try my luck with those.

This may be the only picture I've had someone take of me in China so far, and I'm blinking...
The westward view from my apartment at night when I got home. (big)

I'm going to go back to check the temple and attempt the climb again. It's nice to get out of the city, and the bus ride only costs 8mao (=0.8Y=$0.12). Essentially, it's free. Also, there are some nice trails through the pine forests there, and after a month breathing the Beijing air it was a welcome change.