In Beijing, summer is gradually leaving us and autumn is pacing into our life. Although it is still a bit hot at noon, it is already cool in the morning and afternoon. This is the early autumn of Beijing. The Phoenix Ridge during this season looks stunningly gorgeous, especially when you visit it under the cloudless sky.
One of best friends and I visited this park on last Saturday (Sept. 3), hoping to experience the beautiful scenery of it under a cloudless sky. We did, out of great luck.
The smog in Beijing still hovers everyday and may smear your view sometimes if it is heavy. Indeed, the summer of 2016 was nearly ruled by it, but not the early autumn of the year. These days you may easily see a blue sky and breathe fresh air even when you stay in the center of the city. If you like us travel to the mountainous areas of Beijing, you will enjoy yourself a great deal.
The time we entered the park was 11 am. It was a bit hot but not that much. Walking along the road where my friends and I got off Bus No. 346 straight forward about 900 meters, we came to the entrance of the park of rocks and stone. Indeed, this description serves it right, for no matter where you go in the park, you can see large varieties of rocks and stones, which pose in different positions and various appearances to amaze each and every visitor touring the park.
In fact, the first view from outside the entrance of the park can impress your vision and heart. It is a 1,200-meter-latitude-high of mountain range which stretches as long as miles from the north to the south. What comes your view are a mountain-range of white rocks and stone. Under the cloudless sky, it is like an extremely large white jade set on the ground of Haidian District.
For me and my friends, it transformed our surprises into a series of “wow” and “beautiful” even before we entered the park. Outside was not a bit hot and inside was somewhat cool thanks to the large lines of trees and the high rocks. Taking pictures was something my friend did all the way to the summit of the Phoenix Ridge, and I took some whenever I found a good angle to shoot a good picture under the blue sky.
There are three well-chiseled paths leading to the top of the mountain: north, south and middle paths. Among the three the north path is considered the most interesting one for each traveler who enjoys consuming energy along an zigzagging path. Although I had already tried this way last November, I still chose it and enjoyed myself while my friend accompanying me to the top of it.
We were both energetic climbers and are perhaps a little weak in the strength, and so we sat down, watching the scenery from both near and afar and chatting about whatever topic we could think of. Indeed, the climb was energy-consuming for us, and so sitting under the shades of some tall trees and rocks seemed quite helpful. Drank a few mouthfuls of water and ate the fast food including biscuits, sausages and bread we brought in my bags. It was relaxing! More importantly, on a higher place in the mountain you will feel quite cool because breeze frequently caresses your body from different directions. In the park you can see a few traditional Chinese pavilions on your way to the top, and these places are the best for you to have a good rest.
On this path there is a bridge built between two high peaks. If you view it from under a few hundred years, you will see a bridge in Heaven. Walking across it seems not that awe-inspiring, but standing on it will give quite a good experience of the mountains below and the rocks surrounding you. It was windy there and indeed cool!
If you are still energetic, you can continue climbing the mountain with us.
Before you reach the peak of the mountain, you have to walk down to a valley of cool scenery. It was that beautiful when we visited it last weekend but looked quite amazing when I visited it last November. According to my memory, it was a fairyland outside of the human world: very cool air, stunningly golden leaves and a valley of imagination. You can stay in the valley for a while, but the peak is waiting for you. By the way, there is a cool spring on the way to the valley. We saw many travelers fetch water under the spring, and we did it too and drank the spring water. It was natural!
Walking 20 minutes or so, you will reach the peak named Fei Lai Shi Tai, which can be literally translated as Stone Pagoda Flying Down From the Heavens. In fact, it is a man-made attraction among some extremely large rocks. You can view the bridge between the two peaks below and the grotesque rocks around you. And of course, you can stand in front of the largest rock here and take a picture. Why take a picture here? There is a relatively large stone tower on top of the rock. That’s why this attraction is called Stone Pagoda Flying Down From the Heavens. However, not all travelers can reach this spot because of the steepness and the long distance. As far as I know, you will have to cover as long as 5-6 kilometers before you reach this spot.
After a good rest, let’s go down! It was not easy for my friend this time, for he felt light-headed walking down the 60-75 degrees of wooden and stone ladders. He sprained his leg downing these ladders and felt so uneasy all the way down the mountain. Before we left the park, we came to the nearly-90-degree-rock-ladder. We chose the easier path down but I tried the harder one a second time. The feel was good!
