Dr. Mark Nan Tu

The old buildings in Datong

Datong street scene

The carvings in Yungang Grotto

Shanxi in Chinese means on the west side of the mountain. It got its name because it is located in the west of the Taihang Mountain. Shanxi is on the west of Beijing and on the east of the Yellow river. Through out its history, Shanxi is known for its savvy merchants who started the first private bank in China and thus accumulated huge amount of wealth. These?wealth is shown today in those impressive residence which are hot tourist spots.

Shanxi is also known in China for its coal mines which in recent years have made many coal mine owner very rich. It is common to see luxury cars on the Shanxi streets where the average income for an office worker is no more than 200USD/month. Because of this large income gap, Shanxi is a place for impressive KTV rooms and seafood restaurant. I have personally been to a 100 room KTV building with more than 300

Located in the HuaiRou district, YouGuShengTan is by the side of the National highway of 111 some 70km from downtown Beijing. YouGuShengTan is a valley with dense forest. There is a creek that follows the valley. One can walk a few kilometers in by following the trail in the valley to reach a near 100 meter water fall. YouGu in Chinese means a quite and secret valley. ShengTan means the divine pond.

I visited YouGuShengTan in December 2006. Because of the cold winter, there were no visitors in the park. The water in the creek was frozen leaving the ice sheet reflecting the glow of the sunshine. Winter is not a pleasant season to hit the national forest as the tree leaves were dropped.

I went to visit the YouGuShengTan today. I took the JingCheng express way to reach HuaiRou. There were very few cars on the road. After exiting the JingCheng express road, I took the National highway 111. Before long, I was on the entrance to YouGuShengTan.

The entrance fee is a steep 30RMB. I believe that this is a privately operated scenic spot as the entrance fee is higher compared with those charged by the nationally designated parks. Since I arrived at about 4pm in the afternoon, there were fewer visitors. The trail in the bottom of the valley was well maintained and clean. The forest was dense which reminded me of that forest in the Guangdong province (southern China). The water in the creek was low. But the reservoir at the end of the valley was filled with water.

The trail was a very easy walk. The only difficult part was the 100 meter climb to the top of the water fall. There was a reservoir which held all the water there. Because of this, there was no water exit and no water fall. The water was tranquil. The shadow of the mountain, blue sky and the white cloud reflected in the water. A very peaceful and relaxing picture.

I felt that this valley is best suitable for the lovers for the following reasons:
1: The trail is easy and well maintained.
2: It is less visited
3: The forest is dense and the deep valley gives visitor a somewhat secret sense.
4: There are many rest areas along the trail, perfect place to sit and talk.

I returned back from the reservoir as it was getting dark. According to the map, there were at least a few kilometers more to walk. The tail was supposed to reach the peak of a mountain. I could only imagine the view from the top. I took out the GPS and it showed: 116:41:08 E 40:31:35N and 581 meters above sea level. Time: 2008 May 31st 17:17:35pm

On the way back to Beijing, I stopped at the HeFangKou Guan which was a guarding station of the Great wall. From the viewing platform, I could see the ruins of the Wall winding through treacherous mountain, disappearing into the distance.

I saw many fruit stand along the newly build road in HuaiRou. I stopped the car and planned to buy some watermelon. I found out that the price is actually higher than the supermarket just across the street from my apartment. The complain of a customer over the weight of her melon put an end to my buying impulse.

This man made dam is the reason this section of the Wall is under water

The sign says: Unrepaired Great Wall, No climbing (but camping is allowed according to the park guards)

Xiaoxihu, just over 60 kilometres northwest of Beijing, is one of the few places where the GreatWall is under water. What was once a forested valley is now a drowned landscape where only the highest hilltops survive and ruined sections of the Great Wall sink beneath its dammed waters, .

It’s this compact combination of hills and history in a lakeside setting that make this area so good to walk, especially where the forest thickens. There are two trails in the park. The first is a round the lake trail which goes around the lake in the wooded forest. The other one which starts near the guard’s station on the dam wall promises two hours of hike which leads to the watch towers of the greatwall on the hill top. This trail offers hikers spectacular views of the surrounding area, including a connecting creek that deserves a few hours’ exploration. I once met a French girl who was interested in camp on the watch towers. After asking the park guards, she was allowed to camp but live fire is banned thus no cooked meal up there.

The entry fee was used to be free through some farmers fields and broken sections of the Great Wall. Some local farmers will charge 2RMB for the passing fee through their

I found this on the web today: Great Wall of China. Very Interesting and comprehensive pieces. I have been to many of the sections of the Great Wall around Beijing area.