Flower Wood and Lily Village | A pine and a shrine in the mountains — A pine and a shrine in the mountains.

Mindful in the Mountains

Find your peace and quiet in Beijing’s countryside with a mindfulness and hiking experience.

Level 2

Easy trails with one main climb. 2–3 hours of hiking over approx. 5km. (Can I do it?)

This hike is not currently scheduled

Event outline

Hike a moderately easy 2–3 hour trail between villages.
Connect with nature on a mid-hike mindfulness session.
Wind down with a post-hike mindfulness training and coffee/tea break at a luxe village guesthouse.

Be mindful with Joanna—ten-year meditation practitioner and bilingual mindfulness teacher, with a passion to help you find a more fulfilled life.

Hike with Huijie—with nearly 20 years’ worth of Beijing hiking experience, follow Huijie for fun trail and expert local knowledge.

Guided meditation / silent hiking / no previous mindfulness experience required

Itinerary outline

Itinerary for the hike
07:30	Depart from Liangmaqiao subway pickup and drive to the Lido Metropark Hotel Starbucks pickup.
08:00	Driving to the hike, stopping for a bathroom break.
10:00	Start the hike from Nanzhuang village.
11:00	Stop for a break by a mountain shrine, and do a 20-minute mindfulness session.
11:30	Continue the hike.
12:30	Finish the hike at Lily Village, short drive to the guesthouse.
13:00	30-minute mindfulness session.
13:30	Tea, coffee, and snacks and drinks at the guesthouse.
14:00	Driving back to the city, stopping for a bathroom break.
15:30	Arrive at Lido Hotel, then on to Liangmaqiao.

The guesthouse

Shangzhuang Guesthouse photo #1 — We’ll use the yoga hall at this guesthouse for the second mindfulness session, plus a tea/coffee/snacks break.

COVID-19 and participation precautions

The current precautions are minimal. Please read in full here: Operating hikes under COVID-19 precautions

Extra information about the hike

This hike takes us along a trail that connects two villages in the hills of Huairou.

The hike starts off mostly flat, but there’s a bit of hill-climbing to do near the middle.

We begin on the outskirts of Nanzhuang Village and quickly crest a low hill. A dirt trail takes us down into a broad, flat valley of chestnut orchards. Halfway down the valley we make a quick climb over a low ridge, and then continue on paths through more chestnut orchards.

Our path takes us up another valley, and then to the biggest hill on this hiking trail. The climb up and over the ridge is the toughest part of today’s hike, a climb of approximately 200m over 1.5km of trail.

At the top of the hill is one of the main landmarks of the hike: an old, old pine tree, alongside a more recently-built shrine to the Tiger God. It’s by the shrine where we’ll take a break here for a mountain mindfulness session.

We’ll then continue on to Lily Village, following narrow dirt trails through more orchards on the way down to the village road.

Hike statistics

approx. 5km distance
2–3 hours to finish
162m starting elevation
424m peak
1.5 hour drive each way
Huairou District, Beijing

Packed lunch and snacks to eat during the hike
1–2 litres of water in a reusable container*
Warm clothes, gloves, and a hat
Good hiking boots or sports shoes
Standard hiking gear as per our packing list

* Why bring your own water?

For the hikes in Beijing our regular pick up locations are the Liangmaqiao Subway area and the Starbucks at the Lido Metropark Hotel. Occasionally we offer pick ups at other locations. Follow the link for details.

See details, maps, and photos of the pick up locations

For the day hikes in Beijing we collect your payment on the day.

You can pay with

Chinese dollars (AKA Yuan or Renminbi)
Wechat or Alipay mobile payments

For overnight trips and special activities we typically require payment in advance. We'll contact you to arrange that payment when we receive your booking.