Beijing Frangrance Hill 香山公园（Xiang Shan Gong Yuan)

Most of us have heard of the Great Wall of China（万里长城） and it is usually included in our itineries when we visit to Beijing. Fewer people have heard of Frangrance Hill (香山公园), which is a popular leisure escape out of the capital city for the locals! Marvel at the beauty of the lush folliage, rendered in every shade of green imaginable in Spring and Summer. It is a famed spot to catch the fiery red leaves during Autumn. In winter, the ground is covered in white powdered snow! It is a natural scenic attraction to escape the concrete jungle for all seasons.

If you have a day to spare, why not head to 香山公园 During late Sept/early Oct - There will be announcement over the radio, tv news and in the papers, on when the leaves will be turning red. There are two ways to get up to/ down from the peak (1) Chairlift (18 Mins) (2) Hike (1.5-2 Hours). Most of the locals will bring a picnic basket and have a break there before descending. If you find it too troublesome to pack your own food. There are kiosks at the peak, which sell food and drinks and stalls at the bottom of the hill to cater to your rumbling stomach.

* I hardly saw any red leaves in late sept, therefore hope you have better luck!

Have fun Hiking!

In Singapore, we have the "Monkey God Tree" at Jurong! At 香山 there is tree which according to the locals resemble a "tiger's face"! Rubbing the "face of the tiger" is supposed to bring good luck!

You might be interested in
Silver Fox Cave
Ju Du Shan Ski Resort

Jundushan Ski Resort

Would you relate skiing to Beijing? A lesser known fact about the Capital, is that it is surrounded by ski resorts. When the winter months draw by, the locals will head to one of the many ski resorts to practice this winter sport. I would consider skiing as a luxury, because we cannot ski in the Tropics! Adding on it is quite costly to ski in Europe, Canada, United States, Japan & Korea etc. Trust me skiing in China is a steal!

A list of ski resorts surrounding Beijing. Here's another site for you to check out.


Jundushan Ski Resort



We picked this resort as it is just 30km away from the city. We had a little misadventure at the ski resort due to our slight disobedience. There was a sign warning beginners not to get onto the ski lift. However curiosity got the better of us and we got on. To our horror, we found ourself at the top of the expert slope and there was no other way except to ski down! After deliberating for 1/2 an hour, we decided to take the plunge. And I bade farewell to the resort by leaving a "bum imprint" on the snow for the very last time! *Learning lesson - do not take the ski lift if you are just a novice.

Address: 588 Zhenshun Cun, Cuicun Zhen (5 km north of the Xiaotangshan Hot Spring Holiday Village), Changping District 昌平区崔村镇真顺村588号
Opening Hours: 8am-10pm daily
T: 6072 5888 (You might like to check if they provide shuttle services to and from the resort, that will save you the hassle of making your own way there. We managed to catch the shuttle service from the resort to a train station.)

Getting There

Option A) Take subway line 2 to Ji Shiu Tan. From exit A, walk east to the De Sheng Men bus station and take express bus 919 to Chang Ping then hire a taxi to the resort.

Option B) Take subway line 13 to Long Zi, exit and cross the road and hire a taxi to take you to the resort.


You might be interested in:
Yabuli Ski Resort (Harbin)

Silver Fox Cave/ Ying Hu Dong / 银狐洞

I was tired of Modernism, Sky Scrappers, Crowds(The Chen Yu Ren Shan Ren Hai best describe the multitudes in Beijing) and Shopping so I decided to embark on an excursion out of Beijing! I was looking for something relatively intriguing and unheard off, yet close enough to the capital so that I could make it back by night fall. I liked the idea of a nature retreat with fresh country air, so after bouncing off ideas, we decided to enter the Fox's Den tucked away in Fangshan District! Opening Hours: 8am-5pm, daily. Admission: 41 yuan. Please give them a call to check if the cave is still open 6036-3236; 6036-3166.



The Silver Fox Cave is a network of underground caves, with a freshwater river system beneath. It is a geological beauty consisting of many limestone formations resembling icons such as The Great Wall of China, Statue of Chairman Mao, A Praying Sea Lion, Corn hanging from the Ceiling and A Mother carrying a Child. Colourful lights are used to highlight the icons. However these structures pale in comparison to the Star in the cave. It is a white "furry" rock structure resembling a fox, which explains the name of the cave.











The ticket for the cave includes a Mandarin Guided Tour, a Boat Ride and Tram Ride which does not take you to the surface. You still have to climb a long flight of stairs to exit! Do not worry if you do not understand Mandarin, as there are English signs beside the rocks. During the Summer months there is a contrast between the outside and internal temperature of the cave, so please bring a light cardigan. Renting a cardigan is an option, if you don't mind using a garment worn by many people.

Picture of Boat Ride, Flight of Stairs and Walk way in the cave





To get to the cave is an adventure of its own!

There are two ways to get there
1)Bus No 917北 from Tianqiao to Silver Fox Cave.
2)Bus No 948 from Pingguoyuan to Fouzizhuang and a 1-2km walk to the site


We caught bus 948 from the bus stop outside 苹果园(Píngguǒ Yuán = Apple Garden) subway station. Just ask around if you cannot locate the bus stop. Do not be deceived by the name 苹果园, there are no 苹果树(Píngguǒ shù = Apple Trees) there! There may not be 苹果树 there, but that area is famous for pickpockets, so do watch your belongings!

During the weekends, the bus frequency is approx 1 1/2 hours. We reached the bus stop around 8am and had to wait slightly over an hour for the bus. While you wait for the bus, be prepared to be harassed by touts. Here are two tactics which they used on us 1)They told us that the bus wouldn't come and when that trick didn't work 2)They told us that we were wasting time waiting for the bus and it would be faster to just take their cab. My friend was so irritated with the touts that she told them off - 你知道你多么烦！像乌鸦一样kwa kwa 的叫! (Do you know you are as irritating as a CROW!)The bus came around 10am and it took us about 2 hours to reach the Fou Zi Zhuang stop(银狐洞). In total we took about 3 hours to reach the entrance! We spent about 1 1/2 hours in the cave and waited for the bus back to 苹果园 at 4pm.

View along the 1-2km walk














our 导游 who followed us all the way to the cave and back to the main road to wait for the bus!


When you board the bus
1) Double confirm with the driver that the bus will take you to 银狐洞

2) Ask him to notify you when it is time to alight (Fou Zi Zhuang Stop)

Picture of surrounding area of the bus stop



3) Please check the timing of the bus heading from the end stop back to 苹果园. Try and catch the earliest possible bus.
*Eg:Give yourself sufficient time to wait for the bus at 银狐洞 stop. Don't lose track of time! Try to catch the bus which leaves from the end stop at around 4pm instead of a later one.

I visited the cave during the winter months and by 5+ it was almost pitched black. Instead of vultures hovering around us to look for their prey. We were surrounded by a couple of 黑车(illegal taxis), confronted with the prospect that we might have missed the last bus and was stranded almost 60 over km away from BJ City! The temperature was dipping to below 0 degrees and we were very cold & hungry! Not exactly a nice position to be in! So please try and catch the 7am bus instead!

4) If you want to return to 苹果园. Please remember to board the bus from the opposite direction.






Here are some suggestions for a Day Trip out of Beijing
1)Cuandixia Village
2)Shidu (10 ferry crossings)- "The Guilin of the North"
3)Shihua (Stone-flower) Cave
4)Feng Huang Ling
5)Hong Luo Temple
6)Green Brook Fishing Garden (Bi Xi Chui Diao Yuan)
7)Qinglong Lake