The complicated ’cuan’ character, seen on a wall of a courtyard house in the village.
Cuandixia ‘Ming Village’ day trip
Spend the day out in Cuandixia, a Ming Dynasty-era village in the mountains west of Beijing – first a walk in the hills near the village, then a good look about the old courtyards, temples, and narrow lanes of the village itself. Lunch included.
Level 2+
3–4 hours of walking and hiking over approx. 8km. (Can I do it?)
This hike is scheduled as a join-in group tour on the following date
Follow the link to see current hike information and booking details.
Price update—Cuandixia Village has added shuttle buses from the lower car park and closed the upper car park, and it’s more-or-less required that we ride the shuttle buses up to the village. (It’s a long walk otherwise.) That means we’ve increased the price by 20 RMB to cover the extra costs.
The name of this village – ‘Cuandixia’ – translates roughly as ‘Below the cooking-stove’, which could be interpreted as meaning a good safe spot that’s hard to find. You’ll also find it on maps as ‘Chuandixia,’ as the character for Chuan (川) is much less complicated than that of Cuan (爨).
We’ll start our day out with a walk in the hills around the village, making a loop that will bring us back to the starting point for a big lunch.
Then we’ll take a tour of the alleys, lanes, paved stairs, and courtyard houses. It will be quite a long day, but well worth it!
The village lies on the side of a hill on the old road between Beijing and Xi’an, and is made up of many well-preserved stone buildings, including about 70 courtyards. The majority of these courtyards are now guesthouses, and the owners are usually happy enough to let people explore. In the village we’ll find much history, with old Cultural Revolution slogans slowly fading on some of the walls, and art, stone, and wood work from the Qing and Ming Dynasties. Cuandixia was lucky to escape destruction during the war, while some other villages in the area were destroyed almost completely.
Outline of itinerary
Arrive at Cuandixia
Climb up to viewing point opposite the village
Walk up main street of village and out to visit the narrow canyon in the hills behind the village; hike up to caves (optional, if trail is repaired)
Lunch at village restaurant
Explore the key sites inside the village
Some free time to look about
Drive back to Beijing
Related content
Photos and trip reports: Cuandixia ‘Ming Village’ day trip
Photos from short hikes in the hills around the village, and from a tour of the lanes and courtyards inside the village—see 10 photos from a day trip to Cuandixia.
See a set of 30 photos from a visit to Cuandixia Village in the mountains to the west of Beijing—a tour of the old lanes of the village, and short hikes in the nearby hills.
A lovely day in a mountain village, despite the rain—see 22 photos from the lanes and courtyards of the village, and the autumn colours in the surrounding hills.
Take a look at 20 photos from our trip to the ancient village of Cuandixia—see shots of the old courtyards, temples, and narrow lanes of the village, plus pictures from a hike up into the hills above.
