‘Big Cloud’ Valley and Shuiquan Canyon
Hike down 'Big Cloud' Valley, climb a short, steep stretch of the Longquanyu Great Wall, and then descend into Shuiquan Canyon for a fun walk up a boulder-filled river valley.
This hike is not currently scheduled
Changes incoming: the top part of Shuiquan Canyon is flooded and we can’t get past that way. We’ll either do a shorter version of the hike, or switch to a different trail. Sign up anyway, and we’ll send you all the updates.
We'll start the hike by walking down through a small village.
The village is popular with weekend day trippers because it is right by the Longquanyu Great Wall, which we also love to visit for a day hike.
Out the back of the village we'll find the trail that leads down into 'Big Cloud' Valley. To start with, it's fairly easy going on a dirt road. As we get further down into the valley, we cross the stream a few times and then descend on to the narrow floor of the valley, picking a path around the trees and rocks by the stream.
Near the end of the valley is the Little West Lake park area. Instead of hiking out through the park, we'll climb a steep section of Great Wall and head for Shuiquan Canyon.
We'll go up and over the wall, and then down to a dip where we’ll find the steep track that leads down into the canyon.
Once we’re down into the canyon we’ll follow a short section of the Little West Lake park trail up to the Black Dragon Pool. We’ll use stepping stones to cross the first part of the pool, and then cross over large boulders and a rushing stream as we exit the park area.
It’s not far until the next big pool. Back in the day we used to have to use boats to cross this pool – it was either that or swim – but the boat team got kicked out for operating without permits and a little bridge was built instead. The little bridge isn’t in great shape, with some of the footboards missing. The frame of the bridge is solid, and you don’t need to worry about falling in the water.
Beyond that pool, the path continues over and around boulders as we hike up to the head of the canyon and out to the village where we finish the hike.
COVID-19 and participation precautions
The brief version:
- Please DO NOT participate if you are sick or showing symptoms of fever and/or have an elevated temperature, or have been in close contact with someone who was/is.
- You MUST agree to the mitigation and prevention measures outlined here and that Beijing Hikers will not be held responsible if any participants become sick.
Please read in full here: Operating hikes under COVID-19 precautions
