Longqing Gorge: Nature, Chinese-style

In the past 2 weeks, temps have definitely warmed up in ye old Beijing.  They are definitely nowhere near Texas levels of heat, but it is pretty toasty.  We wanted to take the kids out for some nature, but preferably nature in the mountains outside the city where cooler temps prevail.  I have a fabulous new book called the Beijing Excursion Guide, which details day trips and weekend trips around the city.  It includes basic driving and travel directions, descriptions and pictures.  This is pretty indispensable since most travel guides about Beijing are written for tourists, not for folks who live here and can wander a bit farther afield. We chose Longqing Gorge for this excursion because it is relatively close to the city, has water and promised to be about 10 degrees cooler than the city itself.  Located in Yanqing County about 85 kilometers outside Beijing proper, Longqing Xia is known for its limestone karsts.  It is supposed to resemble the famous Three Gorges along the Yangtze river in the south.  I can't speak to that resemblance, but it was very beautiful.

The trip there was pretty uneventful as far as Chinese road trips go.  We brought along an extra child whose parents were crazy enough to say OK when we suggested we bring him along on a trip to possibly nowhere, but hopefully somewhere. Of course we didn't know exactly where we were going, but we had a decent idea and a GPS unit and there was a highway going most of the way there.  Along the route, we passed several relatively small sections of the Great Wall as well as the very famous -- and insanely crowded -- Badaling section.  It was thrilling to drive along the highway and then see the wall clinging to the tops of the mountains surrounding us.  We stopped at a building labeled "Beijing Tourist Information" to attempt to use the restroom -- fail since it was apparently not working or closed or something -- but we were encouraged to see pictures of the Longqing Gorge on brochures in the waiting area.  Encouraged because we did appear to be heading the right direction.  Using a combination of the brown road signs that identify cultural or historical attractions and our GPS, we did finally end up in the parking lot of Longqing Gorge.  Once there, things were a bit iffy since there were plenty of people, but no clearly identified entrance or place to purchase tickets for the attraction. Well, it was clearly identified in Chinese perhaps, but not English.  We wandered around a bit and attempted to ask at an information kiosk but they didn't speak English and we reach the limits of our Chinese quickly.  At this point, one of my children who shall remain nameless, got a bit irate and wondered loudly why on earth we go to these places without any type of advance planning. I pointed out that clearly I had planned enough to get us here, but that the details such as where you enter, how much it costs, etc. are just something you have to figure out as you go along.  After watching the crowd for a few minutes, we figured out that we needed to buy tickets for some battery cars that would then drive us to the entrance of the attraction.  That is, indeed, exactly what happened.  When in doubt, follow the throngs.

At the Gorge, you get on a giant escalator encased in a dragon.  This takes you to a boat where you cruise the river for 20 minutes or so.  It then stops and you get out to look around at some temples or do bungee jumping if you are extremely brave (i.e. foolhardy -- Hello, this in CHINA!).  We hiked a wee bit up the mountain, but my son's friend is clearly not used to the breakneck pace at which our family rolls.  After hiking for a few minutes, he suggested that he was tired and asked if we could call it a day. Of course NOT since we had just gotten there, but we did cut him some slack and stopped actively climbing up the mountain.  We didn't get to see the famed Illusion Pavilion, but we did purchase ice cream and shore up everyone's morale. We also took our first Chinese cave tour.  Caves in the United States are a very serious affair.  They put a lot of time and effort into preserving their natural state and the guides admonish you constantly not to touch any part of the cave. Um, not so much in China, where the entire cave had been turned into a giant diorama full of stuffed pandas, peacocks, cheetahs, tigers, elephants and winter cabins.  I think the theme was the 4 seasons.  Whatever it was, it was brilliantly hilarious and we all enjoyed it. Then, we all took a toboggan slide down the mountain and finally called it a day.

The Gorge really was beautiful and relatively uncrowded.  It was also very kid-pleasing.  I mean, who doesn't love boat rides, giant dragon escalators, trippy psychedelic caves and slides? I highly recommend this excursion for folks who want to see a bit more of the Beijing environs. I'm always stunned by just how scenic it is and how quickly it all turns pastoral when you get just outside the city.

Lovely temple in the park dating from the 11th century

Yes, this park included a petting zoo of sorts.  There was also a squirrel on a leash?!

How awesome is this Chinese tiger?

Psychedelic peacock!

Everybody in the boat had a parasol up to protect them from the sun.  They were quite pointy.

Awesome dragon escalator.

They had a guy on a motorcycle with another dangling below him just randomly happening up above us.