TheGreatWallisoneofChina鈥檚mostrecognizablelandmarks.
MiyunDistrict,innortheasternBeijing,canmaketouristsfeelasthoughtheyareworldsawayfromthecitycenter.
SweepingwillowtreesframethelakesofYuanmingyuanPark,ortheOldSummerPalace.Beijing,thesprawlingcapitalofChina,isfamousworldwideformanythings.Ithasanincrediblehistorystretchingbackthousandsofyears,it鈥檚thebeatingheartofaculturethathasfascinatedtheoutsideworldforgenerations,and,ofcourse,it鈥檚themodern-dayadministrativeandpoliticalcenteroftheworld鈥檚second-largesteconomy.Butonethingthisgiganticmetropolisdoesn鈥檛haveareputationforisgreenoutsidespace.Asthecityhasexpandedandringroadafterringroadhasencircledthecity鈥檚22million-plusresidents,thegreatoutdoorscanfeelfurtherremovedthaneverfromdailylifeinBeijing.Butifyoulookhardenough,opportunitiestogetbacktonaturecanstillbefound.
Farfrombeingjustaquickstopfortouriststocrossofftheirbucketlists,theGreatWallofChinaisafascinatingtreasureoftheancientworld,andvisitingitalsoentailsgettingoutofthecityandintothecountryside.What鈥檚more,tofullyappreciatetheWall,youreallyneedtovisitmorethanoneofitsmanysections.Withvaryingdegreesofaccessibilityandinverydifferentconditions,dependingonhowrecentlytheyhavebeenrestored,thedifferentsectionscanfeellikeentirelydifferentplaces鈥攁ndtheyare,sincetheWallstretchesmorethan8,000kilometersfromLiaoningProvinceintheeasttotheXinjiangUygurAutonomousRegioninthewest.Insomeplaces,painstakingconservationhasrestoredtheWalltoitsformerglory,andit鈥檚easytoimaginethesoldiersofcenturiespastpatrollingalongthejaggedramparts.Elsewhere,thewholestructurehasbeenleftuntouched,andnaturehasreclaimedit,withencroachingundergrowthalmostswallowingitupinplaces.AvisittooneofthequietersectionsoftheGreatWallcanbeanunforgettabletripoutofBeijing,andachancetogetoutintheopenair.It鈥檚goodexercise,too,sincetheWallisverysteepinplaces,undulatingaccordingtothenaturalslopesoftheterrain.
Otheroptionsthatusuallytakeupadaytripincludethedistrictsthataread-ministrativelyclassedasBeijing,butarenotpartofthemaincity.Theseareoftenoverlooked,asit鈥檚easytoassumethatanywherelabeled鈥楤eijing鈥檓ustbepartoftheconcretejungle,butjustashortjourneyoutfromthecitycenter,it鈥檚possibletofindyourselfrightbackintheheartofnature.MiyunDistrictinthenortheasternsuburbsofBeijing,forexample,hassomeamazingsceneryandallowsyoutogetoutforawalkinthecountryside.Here,pathswindbetweenorchardsandpineforests,circlingfarmlandandsmallvillages.Theterraincanbehilly,buttheviewsareworthit!AnotheroptionistheFragrantHills,inthenorthwestofthecity;afeatureineverytouristguidebook,theyarefloodedwithpeopleeveryautumn,whentheleavesfamouslyturnfieryred.Visitinanotherseason,however,andit鈥檚possibletoenjoyamuchquieterstrollamongthetreesatthefootoftheWesternHills,whicharejustasimpressiveallyearround.HiddengemslikethesearedottedaroundtheperipheryofBeijingcitycenter,andallarewellworthavisit.
Ifyoudon鈥檛havethetimeorenergyforatripoutofthecity,Beijing鈥檚parkscanalsoofferabriefrespitefromthetrafficjamsandrushingshoppers.Theyaredottedaroundthecity'sdifferentdistricts,andeachhasitsownparticularcharacter.YuanmingyuanPark,alsoknownastheOldSummerPalace,featuressweepingwillowtreesandpicturesquelakes,hometotheresidentswans.Thenthere鈥檚theSummerPalaceitself鈥攎oreofanattractioninitsownrightthanjustapark,butalsobeautiful,anddominatedbythevastKunmingLake.Ifsweepingvistasarewhatyoulike,JingshanParkliesjustnorthoftheForbiddenCity,offeringapanoramaofthewholeimperialarchitecturalcomplex.Onaclearday,youcanseerightacrossthecity.Eachoftheseparksactslikeanoasisinitsrespectivelocalarea,providingahomeforwildlifeandanopportunityforpeopletospendsometimere-connectingwithnature.
Ofcourse,thisisstillBeijing,soavisittoalocalparkdoesn鈥檛alwaysmeanpeaceandsolitude鈥攖hecrowdscan鈥檛beescapedthateasily鈥攂utevenashortspelloftimeoutdoorscanbewhatittakestoshakeoffthecityblues.Ifyouhavetheabilitytogetoutofthecityandexplorealittlefurtherafield,evenbetter.Withspringwellandtrulyuponus,whynottakethechancetoheadoutdoorsandseewhatBeijinghastooffer?Youmightjustfindthatitsurprisesyou.
Onaclearday,theviewacrosstheForbiddenCityfromJingshanParkisspectacular.
Beijing鈥檚parkscanprovideanopportunitytogetawayfromthecity鈥檚trafficandnoise.