This hike is a new version of our old ‘Ancient Horse Hoofprints’ hike, which we stopped doing after a big road was built right through the middle of the hiking trail. We’ve found a new start point which adds a longer walk on the Jingxi Ancient Road and avoids the big road.

The hike

We start off in a village that sits at a crossroads on the Jingxi Ancient Road, a network of old trails and trading routes that cross over the mountains in the west of Beijing.

Behind the village we stay on the path of the trading route, making a slow climb up 'Flower Valley' into the hills.

Part of the way up into the hills we'll come to a split in the trail, and we'll either go the steep way – a chain-assisted clamber up a cliff – or take a more meandering route around. (On this visit we’re planning to do the chains route. See some photos below.)

After stopping for a lunch break we’ll continue up to a pass in the mountains. On the other side of the pass is a long trail that leads down to the outskirts of Beijing city. Before we hike down, we’ll do a little detour to check out the ‘ancient horse hoofprints’.

The hike finishes in another village that was one of the main stops on the trading route.