Everyone loves novelty, and Beijing has plenty of hidden leisure spots offering interesting new day trips in the city surrounds. Here are three of the best.
*Village View Resort, Huairou: European villas for Chinese, Chinese courtyards for foreigners.
Situated beside a lake with a football pitch sized lawn, Village View Resort combines Chinese farmhouse dishes with authentic German cuisine and Chinese courtyards with European villas. It attracts metropolitan Chinese fond of European style and foreigners fascinated by Chinese courtyards.
Standard rooms are RMB 650 per night, European villas with five rooms and two living areas (lake view included) are RMB 8,800 and Chinese courtyards are RMB 4,000 to RMB 6,000.
Tips:
1. Breakfast seedcakes are delicious and so popular you may find yourself elbowing others aside to get the last one.
2. The hotel bathrooms are rather small and not well equipped.
3. Footballs are available for rent.
4. Bank cards are accepted.
How to get there:
Take Jingshunlu and head north. Continue past Kuliushu roundabout. Take a left turn when you reach Kaifang roundabout. Continue and take a right turn at the T-intersection. Go straight at Fule roundabout, then turn left at Yanqi roundabout. Continue following the mountain path. Village View Resort is a five-minute drive away.
* Painters' Village, Erdaoguan, Huairou: a unique cozy house
Despite its name, Painters' Village has just one painter in residence and one house consisting of three tile rooms. But it's located at the entrance of the real village which is also called Painters' Village.
Hidden between mountains and rivers, Painters' Village is not well known, and has managed to preserve its original rustic flavor. Rooms are decorated like a countryside bar with unpainted tables and woodcarvings. Bricks, tiles, tree stumps, and wooden furniture are scattered around the courtyard where pets chase each other. The owner is an impressionist style painter and his pictures - mainly of the Great Wall, cover one side of the main room's walls.
Bathrooms have cartoons of Pan Jinlian (a famous historical Chinese coquette) and Xi Menqing (a famous historical Chinese playboy) on the doors instead of the usual signs for men and women.
Tips:
1. There are six guest rooms. The three large rooms are RMB 120 per night (some are big enough to sleep ten people). Small rooms are RMB 50 per night. Couples' rooms are also available at different prices.
2. If you want to eat sturgeon, walk along the river from the courtyard to Tianyuan Yugang.
3. Guests can also climb mountains nearby and the Great Wall.
How to get there:
Get onto Jingmilu Street at Sanyuanqiao. Head towards Huairou roundabout and go on to Miaozhen. Then, head towards Huanghuacheng to reach Huanghuacheng Reservoir. The Painter's Village is not far from there.
* Woniushan (Crouched Cow Mountain) Huailai County, Hebei Province
If you're tired of the concrete jungle, and need some fresh air, take a trip to Woniushan and learn to sail. June and July have the best wind conditions for beginners. Sailing isn't hard to learn and most people need only 10 minutes or half an hour to grasp the basics.
You can also watch films being shot at the nearby Bayi Film Studio, with replica sets of buildings from pre-1949 China.
Tips:
1. Sailboat lessons: RMB 100 per hour.
2. Don't miss the delicious farmhouse dishes especially river shrimp and fish, herbs, buckwheat and vintage Great Wall red wine.
3. Lodgings range from standard rooms to villas, priced between RMB 200 and RMB 800. They are reasonably well equipped with average cleanliness. In winter, the rooms may be a little cold at night.
4. Activities: yacht racing competition; free fishing if you have your own gear; barbequing, camping, bonfire parties and horse riding.
5. Specialties: fruit vinegar, red wine and buckwheat noodles.
How to get there:
Take Badaling Highway and change to 110 National Highway at Yanqing Exit. Here you have two options:
Option 1: The shortest route. Go straight along 110 National Way for 35km, until you arrive at Woniushan. But 110 National Highway is often jammed with large coal trucks in the morning.
Option 2: Roundabout. At Yanqing Exit off the Badaling Highway, head towards Zhangjiakou and get on the Jingzhang Highway. Exit at Shacheng Exit. Then go through Huailai County and turn east to get on 110 National Highway. Head towards Beijing. Follow the road signs to reach Woniushan. This route takes around 2 hours.
Warning for drivers: Take sufficient water and food for the trip and avoid taking the winding mountain path at night.
*Village View Resort, Huairou: European villas for Chinese, Chinese courtyards for foreigners.
Situated beside a lake with a football pitch sized lawn, Village View Resort combines Chinese farmhouse dishes with authentic German cuisine and Chinese courtyards with European villas. It attracts metropolitan Chinese fond of European style and foreigners fascinated by Chinese courtyards.
Standard rooms are RMB 650 per night, European villas with five rooms and two living areas (lake view included) are RMB 8,800 and Chinese courtyards are RMB 4,000 to RMB 6,000.
Tips:
1. Breakfast seedcakes are delicious and so popular you may find yourself elbowing others aside to get the last one.
2. The hotel bathrooms are rather small and not well equipped.
3. Footballs are available for rent.
4. Bank cards are accepted.
How to get there:
Take Jingshunlu and head north. Continue past Kuliushu roundabout. Take a left turn when you reach Kaifang roundabout. Continue and take a right turn at the T-intersection. Go straight at Fule roundabout, then turn left at Yanqi roundabout. Continue following the mountain path. Village View Resort is a five-minute drive away.
* Painters' Village, Erdaoguan, Huairou: a unique cozy house
Despite its name, Painters' Village has just one painter in residence and one house consisting of three tile rooms. But it's located at the entrance of the real village which is also called Painters' Village.
Hidden between mountains and rivers, Painters' Village is not well known, and has managed to preserve its original rustic flavor. Rooms are decorated like a countryside bar with unpainted tables and woodcarvings. Bricks, tiles, tree stumps, and wooden furniture are scattered around the courtyard where pets chase each other. The owner is an impressionist style painter and his pictures - mainly of the Great Wall, cover one side of the main room's walls.
Bathrooms have cartoons of Pan Jinlian (a famous historical Chinese coquette) and Xi Menqing (a famous historical Chinese playboy) on the doors instead of the usual signs for men and women.
Tips:
1. There are six guest rooms. The three large rooms are RMB 120 per night (some are big enough to sleep ten people). Small rooms are RMB 50 per night. Couples' rooms are also available at different prices.
2. If you want to eat sturgeon, walk along the river from the courtyard to Tianyuan Yugang.
3. Guests can also climb mountains nearby and the Great Wall.
How to get there:
Get onto Jingmilu Street at Sanyuanqiao. Head towards Huairou roundabout and go on to Miaozhen. Then, head towards Huanghuacheng to reach Huanghuacheng Reservoir. The Painter's Village is not far from there.
* Woniushan (Crouched Cow Mountain) Huailai County, Hebei Province
If you're tired of the concrete jungle, and need some fresh air, take a trip to Woniushan and learn to sail. June and July have the best wind conditions for beginners. Sailing isn't hard to learn and most people need only 10 minutes or half an hour to grasp the basics.
You can also watch films being shot at the nearby Bayi Film Studio, with replica sets of buildings from pre-1949 China.
Tips:
1. Sailboat lessons: RMB 100 per hour.
2. Don't miss the delicious farmhouse dishes especially river shrimp and fish, herbs, buckwheat and vintage Great Wall red wine.
3. Lodgings range from standard rooms to villas, priced between RMB 200 and RMB 800. They are reasonably well equipped with average cleanliness. In winter, the rooms may be a little cold at night.
4. Activities: yacht racing competition; free fishing if you have your own gear; barbequing, camping, bonfire parties and horse riding.
5. Specialties: fruit vinegar, red wine and buckwheat noodles.
How to get there:
Take Badaling Highway and change to 110 National Highway at Yanqing Exit. Here you have two options:
Option 1: The shortest route. Go straight along 110 National Way for 35km, until you arrive at Woniushan. But 110 National Highway is often jammed with large coal trucks in the morning.
Option 2: Roundabout. At Yanqing Exit off the Badaling Highway, head towards Zhangjiakou and get on the Jingzhang Highway. Exit at Shacheng Exit. Then go through Huailai County and turn east to get on 110 National Highway. Head towards Beijing. Follow the road signs to reach Woniushan. This route takes around 2 hours.
Warning for drivers: Take sufficient water and food for the trip and avoid taking the winding mountain path at night.
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